Donnie Darko

Director - Richard Kelly (The Box, Southland Tales)

Starring - Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home, Zodiac), Jena Malone (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Neon Demon), and Mary McDonnell (Scream 4, Battlestar Galactica)

Release Date - 2001

Genre - Horror/Sci-Fi

Tagline - "What would you do if you knew the future"

Format UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The year after I graduated high school I was with some friends and we took a trip to a mall that was a couple hours away from us.  The mall had an FYE in there and I spent most of out trip digging through the movies.  I left out of there with a pretty solid stack of movies.  Most were horror but I did snag a few random 80s comedies and action flicks.  Among the movies I grabbed was the 2001 horror sci-fi flick Donnie Darko.  I had not heard about this one before but it looked wild.  I remember watching it with my friends but I don't remember shit about the movie.  A few days ago MVD and Arrow Video sent over the new Donnie Darko uhd release for me to review.  This was a great time to revisit the film since I couldn't remember a damn thing about it.  I want to thank MVD and Arrow for sending this one over!

     The film follows Donnie Darko (Gyllenhaal) doesn't fit in.  He struggles to find acceptance within his school and family and is forced to seek therapy several times a week.  He has a knack for creating imaginary friends but his newest, Frank, is a time travelling bunny that brings him to the middle of the apocalypse unless he can stop it.

     I know a lot of genre fans love Donnie Darko.  I've met many at cons that sport hoodies, patches, and even tattoos of the iconic rabbit.  With that being said, I was not impressed with the film after my second viewing.  I can't remember what I thought of the film the first time around but this second viewing was way too long and such a dry experience.  I can see the appeal of the film to some but it was not one that I enjoyed.  The acting in this one is pretty good.  We get amazing performances from a young Jena Malone, Seth Rogan, Drew Barrymore, and Patrick Swayze, and so many more.  This cast is really noteworthy.  They all deliver amazing performances and not a single weak link among them.  With that being said, I didn't care for Jake Gyllenhaal.  His performance just came across as dull when compared with the rest of the cast.  His real life sister Maggie even out stages him in their shared scenes.  The story for this one tries way too hard to achieve something that could have been done in half the time.  I do like how the time travel story goes around and forms a complete circle while tiring up loose ends.  I also like the aspect of the old woman going mad from having all this information.  The movie should have focused more on this and Donnie's "imaginary" friend instead of all the time spent on painting him unstable.  The movie is way too long and a lot of the movie could be removed because so many scenes are repetitive and unnecessary.  Finally, there is a little make-up effects but if you are looking to Donnie Darko for blood and gore then you will be really disappointed.  There is some visual effects but they did not age well and are very laughable now.  Overall, Donnie Darko was not one I could really get into.  I can see why some like it but it's not for me.  However, this UHD release looks absolutely fantastic.  I'm jealous that I'm not a fan of this one and can enjoy it like others can.