Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a 1992 psychological horror film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It serves as a prequel to the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), created by Mark Frost and Lynch, who were also executive producers. The film revolves around the investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks (Pamela Gidley) and the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), a popular high school student in the fictional Washington town of Twin Peaks.
The title comes from a poem recited by MIKE and Leland Palmer in the television series:
Through the darkness of future's past,
The magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds...
"Fire... walk with me."
Most of the television cast reprised their roles for the film, though the majority of their scenes ended up being cut and were later restored in Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces. A few notable cast members including Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, and Richard Beymer did not reprise their roles due to scheduling conflicts. Boyle's character Donna Hayward was instead recast with Moira Kelly. Kyle MacLachlan, who starred as Special Agent Dale Cooper in the series, was reluctant to return out of fear of getting typecast, which resulted in a smaller presence in the film than originally planned.
Fire Walk with Me initially received negative reviews in the United States but has been met with a more positive reception in subsequent years, with some critics viewing it as one of Lynch's major works. Although it has long been reported that Fire Walk with Me was greeted at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival with booing and jeers from the audience, co-writer Robert Engels denies that this event ever happened. The film was a box office bomb in the United States, although it fared much better in Japan.