What a masterful adapter of circumstance David Lynch is! Orson Welles once said that a director is someone who presides over accidents and Lynch’s ability to continually develop his stories in spite of certain actors not being available or funds drying up or various incidents occuring marks his true artistry and is proof of how he is beholden only to ideas and nothing more. In the case of Fire Walk with Me, which was announced shortly after the television series Twin Peaks was cancelled, Lynch originally intended to have Special Agent Dale Cooper occupy a larger role but was forced to adjust when Kyle MacLachlan would only work in a limited capacity. The result was the brief but important character Chet Desmond, whose initials suggest a duality to Dale Cooper, and as played by musician Chris Isaak indicates that Cooper’s dogged methods of tracking clues and heeding all details are common to this regional FBI. His story leads us to Cooper’s brief involvement, where all that can be determined is that Laura Palmer’s death seems imminent and not a unique case. Indeed, one of the questions lingering in our minds for the first twenty minutes is how many Laura Palmers have there been? Lynch’s ability to incorporate these ideas into the movie’s introduction shows how he is capable of rolling with the changes in order to fit the loose ends together, thus creating a whole new understanding of this world.

Aside from MacLachlan’s reservations, a number of significant actors from the series did not participate for various reasons, increasing the need for Lynch to adopt new ideas for the story. In the end, the majority of the actors from the show reprised their roles though most of them were cut entirely from the picture because the story focuses almost exclusively on the one character who set the whole series into motion but was never given her proper due: Laura Palmer. Since her death became so mythologized in the first season and then mostly forgotten in the second season, it was clear to Lynch that a backstory was needed not only to explain the events leading up to Laura’s death but also to show what kind of person she actually was compared to the plethora of opinions we get from the various characters in the show. In this sense, the movie is compelling and required viewing for any fan of the show. As a movie on its own terms, it would be confusing to anyone who had never seen Twin Peaks before, which leads to the question of whether a movie made in relation to a previous established project can stand on its own terms?

Initially, the answer for many was no. Mixed reactions of boos and cheers greeted Fire Walk with Me at Cannes. Quentin Tarantino famously said after seeing the movie that he had no desire to see another Lynch picture again, and the movie did little business at the box office. Yet, just like the television series, time allowed certain viewers to revisit the world and others to be introduced and it has become the centerpiece for much of the Twin Peaks universe. Fire Walk with Me occupies that unusual position in that it goes farther than the tv show was allowed (given the medium), yet does not explore previously included elements fully. Some of this was simply a matter of arithmetic since the movie had to be a workable length and many of the characters from the show were insignificant to the main story. In the case of the tone and attitude of the movie, Fire Walk with Me exhibits a far darker take on the story of the residents of Twin Peaks, which in the show were a careful combination of quirky and menacing. Here, Lynch focuses almost wholly on the menace and the comedic elements are few and far between. The reasons for this are as varied as the interpretations of the mystery surrounding Twin Peaks. For critic Owen Gleiberman, upon seeing the movie in its initial release, Lynch’s obsessive focus on the abusive, satanic forces that haunt Laura’s life is less about the character and more about Lynch himself and his need “to transform the story into a deep-dish metaphysical reverie of good and evil.” Gleiberman goes on to highlight how Laura, the audience’s guide through this thorny trail of twisted malevolence and deceit, is merely a victim to these dark forces unlike Jeffrey Beaumont in Blue Velvet who has a pernicious allure to the evil he follows. Thus, Gleiberman concludes, Fire Walk with Me holds its spell over viewers in a loose mixture of high-brow symbolism and low-brow horror storytelling. He calls the movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street directed by Michaelangelo Antonioni” and seems disappointed by Lynch trying to go too far to the dark side of his artistic nature in order to make the childish elements of Twin Peaks appear mature for the movie-going adult crowd. This represents just one of the many responses to the movie with others echoing their dissatisfaction with this abrupt change in tone or because they rejected the show from the outset.

As 25 years have come and gone and the legacy of Twin Peaks has grown for audiences more willing to accept unpredictability and ambiguity in television, Fire Walk with Me has also grown in stature both as a counterpart but also as a key piece to the overall puzzle. A number of articles about the movie were written when The Return approached its initial release and the overall attitude appears to be one of respect and understanding of a project initially maligned and ignored. In The Guardian, Martyn Conterio calls it “a huge creative gamble, paddling in the shallows of the horror genre but never taking the plunge.” He also comments on the relentless approach to the horrors plaguing Laura and how a lack of humor may have turned off a number of fans of the show. Yet, as is often the case with overlooked movies, time gives viewers the chance to recollect their thoughts and reconsider their own hang-ups or reasons for not liking a picture. Of the performances by Sheryl Lee and Ray Wise there can be no doubt that they fully immerse themselves into the characters and bring the audience closer to the anguish and fear. Lee, in particular, who was unable to show her full range of ability when playing a corpse or Laura’s timid doppelganger, proves that Lynch’s gamble on her was worth it as she exhibits a compelling mixture of dread, despair, sadness and acceptance that someone consistently abused by a close family member must go through on a daily basis. As Laura’s story in Twin Peaks is the crux rather than Cooper’s, the movie feels slighter than its television counterpart but if Lynch casts his net in more shallow waters, he is also willing to go as deep as possible, even amidst the darkest parts.

Is it possible, then, for a movie based entirely on a television series to be accessible to anyone who has not seen the show? The short answer here is probably no, but it is also unlikely that someone unfamiliar with Twin Peaks would see Fire Walk with Me at all. However, that does not mean that Lynch’s artistry falters here. The ominous sound design seems even more omnipresent than in Lynch’s previous work, and the thematic battle between fear and courage raging within Laura Palmer continues what had been introduced in the series. However, perhaps it is unfair to judge Fire Walk with Me in light of the show because they are remarkably different. Given the different freedoms and constraints associated with each medium, Lynch was certainly aware of what he could and could not get away with. It could be that he simply pushed the darkest elements of the Twin Peaks universe as far as possible in order to either introduce a whole world of new ideas or seal the door permanently. Of course, The Return continues the narrative 25 years later but Fire Walk with Me‘s unique position makes it all the more unique of a feature. It is Lynch at his most horrifying, a relentless closeup of the evils of the world stalking a beautiful, innocent creature. Who would go out of their way to see such a story? Only those who trust Lynch enough to guide them.