"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" is a film made just after the TV series "Twin Peaks" and covers material leading up to the beginning of the first episode of the series.

The show begins with a different FBI agent (Chris Isaac) investigating the death of Teresa Banks...a year before Laura Palmer was killed by the same perpetrator. This, and a brief appearance by Kyle McLaughlen, make up the beginning portion which lasts about 20 minutes. The rest consists of seeing Laura Palmer during the final week of her life.

So why did I say in the summary that it was rather unnecessary? Well, this is because there weren't any surprises....after seeing the series you know who Bob is and because of this I didn't see a lot of reason for the film. Plus, although Lara Flynn Boyle refused to appear in the movie, she was a very important character and it's obvious that Moira Kelly is NOT Boyle. Finally, the film is much grittier than the series. You couldn't show the nudity and extreme violence of the film in the TV series....but, for me, I did NOT need to see Laura's breasts or all the blood. Sorry....just didn't get a lot out of this one...even though I did enjoy the series.

Not Lynch at his best(that would be Blue Velvet, though personal favourite is The Elephant Man),it is a very good film and should please fans of the TV series, even if darker in tone and lacking the show's humour. Lynch's films may be strange, unconventional and not always easy to understand for some, but all of them are visually striking, dynamically scored and with great performances, atmosphere and direction as well as working amazingly as mood pieces and being among the most unique films in existence- the only film of his that I didn't care for was Dune, was mixed on Inland Empire too but that still had a lot of the above components.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me may not be as good as the TV series but did not deserve the negative reception it got at the time. The few flaws it has has nothing to do with being darker and lacking the show's humour, they are not even flaws. David Bowie did stick out like a sore thumb and to me was embarrassingly bad(though a lot of it was to do with how his character was written) but the film's biggest flaw was that you could tell that it was originally written as a much longer film, with so much truncated there were parts where things felt under-explained and incomplete, a longer length would have helped(personal opinion of course and not one other people will share).

Coming onto however what was good about Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the film does everything else right. As said before, Lynch's films are always visually great, and to say that Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me looks great visually is not enough. The film in fact has wonderfully moody cinematography and lovingly designed sets, while the surreal imagery looks so mesmerising that regardless of whether the story confuses you you cannot possibly look away. Lynch's direction as ever is impeccable, his style unmistakable and the haunting soundtrack draws you in effortlessly. The story won't be everyone's cup of tea, I did find myself completely engrossed and found it along with Sophie Scholl: The Final Days one of the most powerful films personally seen in a while. Sure, it did feel under-explained and incomplete in parts but it never bored me and like every other Lynch film as a mood piece it's amazing. Parts were incredibly intense and shocking(the most intense parts making for one of the most disturbing films there is) but others were genuinely emotional as well. Regarding individual scenes in a film where one hypnotic scene follows another, the strobe-lit disco degradation stuck out in particular.

Apart from Bowie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is very well-acted, Sheryl Lee is superb and at times heart-breaking as an easy-to-root-for character while Ray Wise is just terrifying as one of the scariest father figures on film. Harry Dean Stanton, Kiefer Sutherland and Kyle MacLauchlan are on fun form too. In conclusion, a very under-appreciated film and undeservedly so. 8/10 Bethany Cox

FBI regional chief Gordon Cole (David Lynch) sends agents Chet Desmond (Chris Isaak) and Sam Stanley (Kiefer Sutherland) to investigate the murder of Teresa Banks in Deer Meadow. Agent Desmond disappears and Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is sent but he comes to a dead end. One year later, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) and her friend Donna Hayward (Moira Kelly) are attending Twin Peaks high school. Laura is a troubled drug-addicted girl haunted by a mysterious Bob.

This is mostly for fans of the TV show. It probably wouldn't make sense for people who haven't seen the show. It may not all make sense for those who have either. David Lynch continues to let his freak flag fly as his TV show devolves into meandering randomness in the second season. It has many of the same characters except Moira Kelly is playing Donna Hayward. In the first case, Chris Isaak and Kiefer Sutherland don't add up to anything compelling. Kyle MacLachlan gets a small cameo. I don't know if it's Sheryl Lee's performance but Laura Palmer is a bit of a disappointment. The TV show builds her up to be this iconic figure and I doubt anything could have satisfied. It's almost impossible to fulfill. This is not for everybody and may not be compelling even for fans of the TV show. It's weird. It's a bit slow especially with the expectation of its eventual ending. There is no mystery or thrills but it's weirdly entrancing.