The movie reaction David Lynch called “a horrible thing”
David Lynch has always been a strange and singular figure. His projects exist in their own unique cinematic world that merges the uncanny with the sometimes silly. Making him a sensation across both TV and film, Lynch is one of the most respected creators of our time.
In fact, Lynch’s work has been so impactful that it’s gained its own descriptor. “Lynchian” is a word used to describe specialities with his own brand of weirdness. Mixing intrigue, mystery and moments of outright fear or comedic relief, “Lynchian” works are rarely resolved but are often left open-ended in their strangeness.
It’s a style that people either love or hate. When crafting such a distinctive creative identity, that is to be expected, as Lynch himself said, “You don’t know what will happen until you release something into the world. It’s out of your control.” But the reaction to one of his most beloved creations has always baffled him, either for better or worse.
“It was a big surprise that Twin Peaks travelled around the world and people really liked it,” he told The Telegraph. Twin Peaks was Lynch’s TV masterpiece. After the release of many of his best-known films, such as Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, the 1990s saw him turn his attention to this mystery series. Following Agent Dale Cooper as he attempts to figure out the case of Laura Palmer’s suspicious death, it derails into supernatural and strange goings-on.
Despite initially only running for a year and being cancelled after the second season, the show gained a cultish fan base with an enduring appeal that continues today. “I love the world of Twin Peaks and I would think about it fondly and sometimes would wonder what people were doing and wonder about how things were left,” Lynch said. When the season was cancelled in 1991, fans were left on a major cliffhanger that always felt undone for both the director and the viewers.
So, the following year, he offered them more in the form of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a full feature film that serves as a prequel to the season. You would expect that after the series was so beloved, a lengthier take on it would receive the same positive feedback. However, that wasn’t Lynch’s experience.
The year was 1992. In 1990, Lynch’s movie Wild At Heart received the Palme d’Or, the highest accolade at the Cannes Film Festival. Everything pointed towards his newest film, gaining at least some degree of the same love. But instead, when Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me premiered, it was met with boos and hisses from the crowd.
“It was a horrible thing,” Lynch said of the response with a dry-humoured smile. The response to the film was rocky at best. “Laura Palmer, after all the talk, is not a very interesting or compelling character and long before the climax has become a tiresome teenager,” Variety said at the time of the film’s infamous protagonist. While The New York Times wrote savagely, “It’s not the worst movie ever made; it just feels like it”.
Over time, however, favour has changed towards the film. Now, it is viewed as essential watching for David Lynch fans and Twin Peaks fans alike. Today, the movie stands as one of his most beloved and respected. But at the time, the reaction was harsh as Lynch watched his hard work be booed. His own opinion of the movie held steadfast as he said in 2005, “I feel bad that Fire Walk with Me did no business and that a lot of people hated the film. But I really like the film. But it had a lot of baggage with it. It’s as free and as experimental as it could be within the dictates it had to follow.”
As much as the response was savage, though, the director still holds the Cannes Film Festival close to his heart as an exciting place to be. “It’s a lively crowd of cinema lovers and you never know what to expect,” he said. “It’s a real celebration of cinema and its very important and very beautiful.” That’s probably why, in 2017, he returned to the festival to premiere Twin Peaks: The Return, the comeback third series of the cult TV show.
