Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

Every once in a while I become frustrated when plans go awry. Today was one of those, as I thought I finished a large portion of my children’s book writing assignment, only to discover that the piece I chose to create my adaptation from sat outside the criteria (who knew, we could not use Edgar Allan Poe’s, A Dream Within a Dream, and adapt it into a children’s book). In an attempt to relieve some of those frustrations, I decided to take a trip into the mind of David Lynch, with his 1992 entry Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

Plot/ A young FBI agent disappears while investigating a murder miles from Twin Peaks that may be related to the future murder of Laura Palmer; the last week of the life of Laura Palmer is chronicled.

It has been a while since I ventured into Twin Peaks, and for some reason, it started to call to me tonight. Instead of grabbing the box set, I decided to dive into Fire Walk With Me again, and again I was left amazed. I am a huge fan of David Lynch, and Fire Walk With Me is a perfect example why. Every time I watch it (or any other Lynch film in my collection), I see something new and it makes everything a little clearer. In fact, that ideal to me, sits at the heart of this, one of his most underrated films. Open your eyes and let your intuitions take over, and everything will clear. Fire Walk With Me has an outstanding cast, an interesting and dark storyline, along with the trademark dark atmosphere, outstanding soundtrack, and tight cinematography. Yes, like many other films by Lynch, you have to pay attention to the details, or you will likely miss something and unfortunately, that leaves out a large portion of movie watchers today. If you can pay attention to the details, you should love it. In the end, this may be one of the most dark and stylish films in the Lynch catalog, and is a movie that must be seen. If you have not seen it, check it out (especially with a return to Twin Peaks on the horizon).

Happy Birthday - David Lynch

When I finally sat down to relax today after spending another day in the hospital with Scarlet Circus Ring Mistress and wife Brenda, I discovered that today was Director David Lynch’s birthday. As a huge fan, I would be remiss if I did not mention him in some way. As a writer, I have found that Lynch’s work has been a tremendous influence on my style and in the way I see scenes develop in my head.

Honestly, I have been hooked on his movies since I saw The Elephant Man, and told my mother (an art major) that it was the most beautiful movie I had seen (since The Fog - OK, my vision of beauty in cinema has been skewed for a while now). The next thing I remember was seeing a picture of the ear from Blue Velvet in my Fangoria Magazine. From there, I couldn’t get enough of his movies and television efforts.

It is strange but I often feel like many horror fans have overlooked his work. Yes, the surrealistic elements and confusing story lines can be difficult to follow to a casual observer, but, on a deep level, some of the characters and terror elements are genius. The scene with Robert Blake in Lost Highway is amazing (as is that entire film), the character development and story lines in Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive is incredible and his latest film Inland Empire may be the best of them all.

However, it is his movie Nadja (he executive producer and acting extra) that many horror (especially vampire fans) should check-out. The story is simple, twin brother and sister vampires struggle against each other - and the ancient curse that binds them - in this stylish, erotic thriller set against the concrete canyons of modern-day Manhattan. Fiendishly seductive Nadja (Elina Lowensohn), and brother Edgar (Jared Harris), spend their days entombed in darkness, and their nights hiding in the heart of the New York afterhours scene. But Edgar is haunted by the painful duality of life lived in the shadows - and troubled by his twin's relentlessly evil nature. Nadja weaves her sensual spell around the niece and nephew of famed vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Fonda), Edgar joins forces with his would-be-assassin, plotting to bring down his sister in an all-out orgy of sex, blood, danger and death that the L.A. Weekly calls "Truly hot! Sex and moviemaking of the unsafest sort." (description from Lynchnet).

While I didn’t see the all-out orgy, I was blown away by the eeriness and beauty created with such an undead tale. Written and directed by Michael Almereyda, the luminous photography filmed with a combination of black & White and includes sections filmed with a toy Pixelvision cameras, adds an air of imagery that is rarely seen in horror movies. While many would discount the movie as more artsy than horror, the elements and story are extremely disturbing (like much of the underlining themes in Lynch’s work). More importantly for horror fans and Lynch fans that may have overlooked this film, it can be purchased on Amazon for as little as $3.00.