Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is a 2001 psychological thriller containing elements of science fiction and horror, directed and written by Richard Kelly. It is about an intelligent, troubled teenager named Donald (“Donnie”) J. Darko who is encouraged by an anthropomorphic rabbit to commit seemingly random acts of vandalism. Themes addressed in the film include existentialism, nihilism, sacrifice, deus ex machina, time travel, love, The American Dream, and fear. The movie presents paradoxes that aren’t fully explained, as well as a cryptic storyline open to multiple interpretations.

The film was a flop upon its release in the US, but has found strong DVD sales and is now generally considered a cult classic, ranking 108th on the IMDb Top 250.