Okay, so for the first part the hair stands out. The detached senses of Barton throughout the movie. Sex with the beautiful woman and blood and then "Did you have sexual intercourse?" to the horrified man echoes the same feeling. A detached head perhaps ends up in the box, parallel to the head of Henry and well I suppose that's enough. There, I think that's the similarities I felt in a nutshell.

In order for a movie to connect on some level, you need to define what you want to convey. You as a film maker should have a goal. (Or not! What do I care, but then I wouldn't care for what you do either.) I as a viewer, might get there, or have some other perception. But Lynch doesn't seem to have one. And he says he does things as he goes. So there, that's my problem. I'd like to see work of someone who knows what he wants to do before he starts filming.