It is 1995 and seven years have passed since Donnie Darko’s death. Donnie’s younger sister Samantha (Daveigh Chase) is on a road trip with her friend Carly (Briana Evigan) when their car breaks down leaving them stranded. Randy (Ed Westwick) stops by in his red convertible and offers them a lift to the nearest town. They arrive to find a community haunted by the disappearance of several children, with the main suspect being a traumatised Gulf War Veteran, nicknamed Iraq Jack (James Lafferty).
Richard Kelly Not Involved with S. Darko
Donnie Darko writer and director Richard Kelly had no involvement with this sequel. S. Darko is directed by Chris Fisher, whose previous work has been primarily for television, directing episodes of Moonlight and Cold Case. Nathan Atkins provides the screenplay.
Daveigh Chase Returns as Samantha Darko
Daveigh Chase is the only cast member to reprise her role from Donnie Darko and her presence does lend some authentication to this sequel. The only other recognisable faces on show are Elisabeth Berkeley (Showgirls) and John Hawkes (Deadwood), while Brit actor Ed Westwick (Twilight) makes a brooding male lead.
Tangent Universes and Otherworldly Happenings
S. Darko takes the idea of Tangent Universes used by Kelly in his movie and builds a similar storyline around it. This time though we have to work out whom the Living Receiver (the person who must die to stop the world ending) is as there are several possibilities available. Anybody who found the first film confusing will have similar problems with S. Darko.
There are several moments when it seems the filmmakers are going to go down the Highlander II-The Quickening route of explaining the ambiguity that made the original film a success. There is a sub-plot revealing Donnie’s death has similarities with a number of other deaths across the country in which people have been killed by objects falling from the sky. There are also references to alien activity and for one horrible moment it seems as if they may actually turn up. Thankfully Atkins and Fisher pull back before doing anything so foolish.
S. Darko Worth a Look Despite Failing to Match the Original Movie
Rabid fans of Donnie Darko are going to wish there was some way of changing the past and erasing this film from existence. Those who give it a try out of interest may find it baffling. The small-town setting is straight from the movie cliché handbook and some of the dialogue is painful. However it works as a coming-of-age story and Daveigh Chase is excellent. Chris Fisher copies Donnie Darko’s style well enough, although he lacks Richard Kelly’s ability to suggest otherness.
- S. Darko
- Starring Daveigh Chase
- Written by Nathan Atkins
- Directed by Chris Fisher
- Running time 103 minutes
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