20 Great Horror Roles Ruined By Terrible Acting
12. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - Donna Hayward
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is as stunning a cinematic nightmare as you'd expect from David Lynch, yet, nevertheless, it's easy to see why it's divided Twin Peaks fans. This prequel/sequel spotlights Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) but fails to do particularly well with most of the other characters from the show, who get little to do.
Aside from series lead Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), who (at MacLachlan's request) was barely in it, the character let down the most is Donna. Despite her importance as Laura Palmer's best friend, she's barely in Fire Walk with Me, and when she is on-screen, she falls totally flat.
Why? Well, this is a case of 'Death by Recasting'. Moira Kelly took over the role from Lara Flynn Boyle, allegedly due to scheduling conflicts, and this was distracting as hell. Not only does this Donna look and act nothing like the original version, but Kelly was frighteningly wooden in all of her scenes. This was especially jarring as most of her scenes are shared with Sheryl Lee, who gives a staggering, awards-worthy performance that ranks as one of the best in any David Lynch movie.
Twin Peaks was always dogged by inconsistent acting from much of the young cast, and Lara Flynn Boyle was a tad hit-or-miss, but these clunky performances ironically added to the show in certain ways by enhancing its dream-like atmosphere. Not so here, though, as Moira Kelly's work as Donna is so boring that it takes away from the movie instead of adding to it.