S. Darko: Besmirching Donnie’s Good Name

Some of you have seen Donnie Darko.  Some of you haven’t.  If you were to say that you haven’t, I would have to say, “you are a cinematic idiot and I’d feel sorry for you.” – Jack Black in High Fidelity

Donnie Darko was a masterpiece of indie film before everyone was making them.  If you are an indie film fan, you most likely have seen this movie more than once.  Sadly, if you’re not, you might not even enjoy this film.

Either way, they’re making a sequel to Donnie Darko.  As far as I can tell, the announcement came out some time around May 9 (that’s when all the news articles started popping up).  But one thing is certain…this movie is gonna be a dramatic disappointment.  Following are some details about the film.  You can draw your own conclusions.  And although I highly recommend avoiding this film, Darko fans are sure to see this, despite the laundry list of reasons not to.

The film is title S. Darko.  In case you haven’t seen the original, I suggest renting it (or borrowing it from me) before reading the following spoiler: For those who forgot, Donnie is dead.  The sequel takes place approximately 7 years after the first film and follows Donnie’s youngest sister, Samantha.  The one shining light in this movie is that they actually have Daveigh Chase returning from the first film as Sam.

However, my biggest beef is that the original director Richard Kelly is not even remotely involved in the sequel.  Instead, Chris Fisher is directing.  He states that, “I am a great admirer of Richard Kelly’s film and hope to create a similar world of blurred fantasy and reality.”  Why doesn’t this make me feel any better?  Oh!  Because being a “great admirer” of anybody does not necessarily mean you can produce something of the same capacity.  In fact, you are far more likely to butcher it than produce a worthy sequel.

Probably the most ominous representation of this movie comes from Simon Crowe of the UK sales company Velvet Octopus (the company releasing the flim): “Donnie’s not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits.”

Wow.

Filming started May 18.