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Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Updated: 12/11/2025, 8:16:16 AM Wikipedia source

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a 1992 psychological horror film directed by David Lynch, and co-written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It serves as a prequel/sequel to the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), created and produced by Mark Frost and Lynch. It begins with the FBI's investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks (Pamela Gidley) before shifting to the last seven days of the life of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), a popular-but-troubled high school student in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington. Palmer's murder was the primary plot thread of the TV series. Greenlit shortly after the TV series was cancelled, Fire Walk with Me has a much darker tone than the TV series and does not address many of season two's unfinished narratives, including its cliffhanger ending. Although most of the television cast reprised their roles for the film, many comparatively lighthearted scenes featuring town residents were cut. In addition, the series' main star, Kyle MacLachlan (Dale Cooper), asked for his role to be downsized, and Lara Flynn Boyle's character Donna Hayward was recast with Moira Kelly. In 2014, several deleted scenes were recut and released as Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces.

Fire Walk with Me premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. The film was notoriously polarizing: Lynch said that the film was booed at Cannes, and the American press generally panned the film. The film was controversial for its frank and vivid depiction of sexual abuse, its relative absence of fan-favorite characters, and its surrealistic style. The film was a box-office bomb in North America, but fared better in Japan and France. Due to the poor reception, plans for a sequel were abandoned. However, the film has been positively re-evaluated in the 21st century, and is now widely regarded as one of Lynch's major works. Lynch and Frost eventually received funding to produce a third season of the TV series in 2017, which revisited several plot threads from the film. In 2019, the British Film Institute ranked Fire Walk with Me the fourth-best film of the 1990s.

Infobox

Directed by
David Lynch
Written by
mw- David Lynch Robert Engels
Based on
Twin Peaksby Mark FrostDavid Lynch
Produced by
Gregg Fienberg
Starring
Sheryl Lee Moira Kelly David Bowie Chris Isaak Harry Dean Stanton Ray Wise Kyle MacLachlan
Cinematography
Ron Garcia
Edited by
Mary Sweeney
Music by
Angelo Badalamenti
Productioncompany
CIBY Pictures
Distributed by
AMLF (France) New Line Cinema (United States) Spelling Films International (International)
Release dates
May 16, 1992 (1992-05-16) (Cannes) July 3, 1992 (1992-07-03) (France) August 28, 1992 (1992-08-28) (United States)
Running time
134 minutes
Countries
France United States
Language
English
Budget
$10–12 million
Box office
$4.2 million (North America)

Tables

· Awards and nominations
Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
Award(s)
Cannes Film Festival
Category – Nominee(s)
Palme d'Or – David Lynch
Result
Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
Award(s)
Independent Spirit Awards
Category – Nominee(s)
Best Original Score – Angelo Badalamenti
Result
Won
Best Female Lead – Sheryl Lee
Best Female Lead – Sheryl Lee
Award(s)
Best Female Lead – Sheryl Lee
Category – Nominee(s)
Nominated
Saturn Awards
Saturn Awards
Award(s)
Saturn Awards
Category – Nominee(s)
Best Music – Angelo Badalamenti
Result
Won
Best Actress – Sheryl Lee
Best Actress – Sheryl Lee
Award(s)
Best Actress – Sheryl Lee
Category – Nominee(s)
Nominated
Best Horror Film – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Best Horror Film – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Award(s)
Best Horror Film – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Category – Nominee(s)
Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Ray Wise
Best Supporting Actor – Ray Wise
Award(s)
Best Supporting Actor – Ray Wise
Category – Nominee(s)
Nominated
Best Writing – David Lynch and Robert Engels
Best Writing – David Lynch and Robert Engels
Award(s)
Best Writing – David Lynch and Robert Engels
Category – Nominee(s)
Nominated
Award(s)
Category – Nominee(s)
Result
Cannes Film Festival
Palme d'Or – David Lynch
Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards
Best Original Score – Angelo Badalamenti
Won
Best Female Lead – Sheryl Lee
Nominated
Saturn Awards
Best Music – Angelo Badalamenti
Won
Best Actress – Sheryl Lee
Nominated
Best Horror Film – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Ray Wise
Nominated
Best Writing – David Lynch and Robert Engels
Nominated

References

  1. While not being directly involved or labeled as a stealth sequel that exclude the second season's cliffhanger ending the
  2. This is later revealed to be the scene where Leland Palmer kills Teresa Banks.
  3. Teresa's body is discovered under similar conditions as Laura Palmer's body in the pilot of the TV series: floating down
  4. Laura's diary is further discussed in episode 11 of the TV series.
  5. In episode 29 of the TV series, Cooper is trapped in the Red Room and is replaced on Earth by a doppelgänger possessed b
  6. In episode 13 of the TV series, Bob's rival MIKE explains that he cut off his human host's arm to rid himself of Bob's i
  7. After Teresa's death, Ronette Pulaski tells Laura that Teresa was trying to blackmail someone and wanted to learn more a
  8. A deleted scene reveals that the package of white powder the policeman was carrying was actually baby laxative.
  9. In episode 14 of the TV series, Bob drugs Sarah again to set up the murder of Maddy Ferguson, and Sarah has a similar vi
  10. In Episode 16 of the TV series, Leland only appears to regain consciousness of his own actions after he is mortally inju
  11. Ray Wise said that Lynch's initial plans for Leland's death scene on the TV series involved Leland seeing a light at the
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