Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - Twin Peaks in name only

The TV series of Twin Peaks was widely regarded as `monumental' and some of the most original TV-viewing ever made. However, it's second (and untimely last) season was dogged by cast in-fighting, schedule changes, production difficulties and network pressure to tell the writers what to writer. Therefore, it was cancelled, but left behind not only a lasting legacy among loyal fans, but also a `cliff-hanger' ending which had Twin Peaks' followers begging for some sort of resolution.
Therefore, many were pleased when a film was made straight away - everyone thinking it would pick up where the series left off. It didn't. And it paid the price.

What the fans (and cinema audiences in general) got, was a darkened version of their beloved show which seemed to belong to a different story entirely. In short... `Fire Walk With Me' couldn't win. It wasn't the `ending' TV viewers were hoping for. And yet it relied heavily on people having watched the series to really understand what was happening. Half the cast were missing and it became a prequel to the series, showing us the last week of murder victim Laura Palmer's life. However, if you watched the TV series, you'll already know what happened to her, so watching what we already knew seemed a little pointless.

The TV version of Twin Peaks had a certain charm. Yes, it covered (very) adult subject matter, but it also had a quirkiness which gave it a healthy dose of light-heartedness. The film however only has the darkness with none of the humour. A lot of fans found this jarring. In some ways Fire Walk With Me is more in keeping with (writer/director) David Lynch's later works: Lost Highway and Mullholland Drive, both of which are `dark only' in tone.

However, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is a good film (believe it or not). But, I can totally see why it wasn't successful. For a start, if you haven't watched the TV series then you'll probably have no idea what's happening. But, if you watch the film before the series then you'll totally ruin the series (should you ever decide to watch it) as the film has MAJOR spoilers for the TV show. Despite lacking all the `favourite' characters from the show you will find a damn fine horror movie which is both hauntingly atmospheric and visually stunning. Just don't expect to understand what's happening if you haven't watched the series.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one