S. Darko

Last updated
S. Darko
S Darko poster.jpg
Release poster
Directed by Chris Fisher
Screenplay byNathan Atkins
Based onCharacters
by Richard Kelly
Produced by Adam Fields
Ash R. Shah
Starring Daveigh Chase
Briana Evigan
Jackson Rathbone
Ed Westwick
James Lafferty
Cinematography Marvin V. Rush
Edited by Kent Beyda
Music by Ed Harcourt
Production
company
Silver Nitrate Productions
Distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date
May 12, 2009 (2009-05-12)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million
Box office$1,035,846
$44,103 (2011 re-release) [1]

S. Darko, also known as S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale or S Dot Darko is a 2009 American science fiction thriller film directed by Chris Fisher and starring Daveigh Chase, Briana Evigan, and Ed Westwick. It is the sequel to the 2001 cult film Donnie Darko .

Contents

In Donnie Darko, the main character of the same name is a young man troubled by hallucinations of doomsday who ends up being killed by a mysterious falling jet engine. S. Darko is set seven years after Donnie's death. His sister Samantha Darko is beset by sleepwalking, hallucinations and apparent time travel as she tries to unravel a small town's mysteries.

Plot

Seven years after the bizarre death of Donnie Darko, a young man who was crushed to death by a jet engine that fell from the sky, his now 18-year-old sister Samantha Darko runs away from her family in Middlesex, Virginia and joins her best female friend Corey on a road trip to California. When their car breaks down in Conejo Springs, a tiny Utah town, they are helped by the town's "bad boy", Randy. The pair meet eccentric locals and learn that a local boy, Billy Moorcroft, has gone missing.

Samantha is still struggling with her brother's death and is sleepwalking. While wandering, she meets a homeless veteran with PTSD whom the locals nicknamed "Iraq Jack" (James Lafferty). As the pair sit atop a windmill, she tells him that the world will end soon, but he knows this already. The next morning she wakes up outside, and sees that a meteorite has crashed into the windmill.

A geeky guy, Jeremy (Jackson Rathbone), is interested in buying the meteorite, and chats with Samantha. Randy tells of how he misses his younger brother who has disappeared and is feared dead. During a strange episode, a vision of an undead Samantha with a piece of metal lodged in her skull takes Justin to the local church and commands him to burn it. The next day, police find Justin's dog tags in the ashes.

Samantha meets Jeremy, who is showing signs of radiation exposure from the meteorite. Justin is forging a bunny-skull mask out of scrap metal to help "his princess." Samantha wakes up next to a highway, where she encounters Randy and Corey. Samantha tells Corey she wants to get out of town but the two argue bitterly. Samantha walks away, moments before another car appears, forcing Randy to swerve his car, killing her in the crash.

Anguished about her best friend's death, Corey goes through Samantha's effects, including a book about time travel and a story Samantha wrote as a child about a unicorn who meets a boy named Justin. After a strange boy commands Corey to come with him to save Samantha, she follows him to a cave into a portal that takes her back in time.

Everything moves backwards to when Samantha is walking down the road. Corey and Randy drive up to Samantha again and Corey is nicer to her. This time, Corey is struck in a car crash. Samantha is devastated by Corey's death. After another sleepwalking incident, she sees a dress in a shop window which she recognizes from her sleepwalking visions. Jeremy exits the shop and tells her his family owns it. Randy arrives on his bike and asks if there is anything he can do to help Samantha. Samantha dismisses him and leaves before Jeremy headbutts Randy, knocking him out.

Samantha wakes up from sleepwalking and finds she is on a hilltop with Iraq Jack. He tells her his name is Justin Sparrow and the book about time travel was written by his grandmother. He made his bunny skull mask from a drawing by Samantha's deceased brother. Wandering into a nearby mine, Samantha finds the bodies of two dead boys, Randy's little brother and the missing local boy who appeared to Corey, Billy Moorcroft.

The townspeople assume that Justin is responsible for the deaths and police take him into custody. That night, Jeremy gives the dress to Samantha as a gift and he asks her to watch the July 4th fireworks show with him. On a hilltop, they see glowing tesseracts falling from the sky. He becomes manic and violent with Samantha, pushing her so hard that she falls and lies motionless; she fell onto the bunny-skull mask and a piece of it went through her head.

Randy tries to find Samantha as fiery tesseracts fall from the sky. Justin puts on his mask, and goes back in time to the moment he was sitting on the windmill that was destroyed by the meteorite at the beginning of the film. Justin believes that his death will prevent the series of events that will lead to the end of the world. He stays on the windmill and is killed by the meteorite.

Samantha and Corey visit the site and find the locals taking away Justin's body. Not wanting to profit from someone's death, the owner of the land decides not to sell the meteorite. Samantha, never having experienced the events after the meteorite crash, decides to go back home while Corey stays in the small town with Randy.

Cast

Production

Donnie Darko's writer and director, Richard Kelly, has stated that he had no involvement with S. Darko. He stated "To set the record straight, here's a few facts I'd like to share with you all—I haven't read this script. I have absolutely no involvement with this production, nor will I ever be involved." [2] Chris Fisher, director of S. Darko, noted that he was an admirer of Kelly's film, and that he hoped "to create a similar world of blurred fantasy and reality." [3]

The film was an independent production of Silver Nitrate Productions, and not by Newmarket Films (which produced the original film)—Newmarket had gone dormant by this time. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, who had the distribution rights to the first Darko, won the right to release S. Darko domestically on home video.[ citation needed ]

Filming for S. Darko began on May 18, 2008. [3] The crew used the high resolution digital Red One cameras. Musician Ed Harcourt signed to provide the score for the film after he "read the script and loved it". [4] For inspiration he listened to electronic music like Clint Mansell's score for Requiem for a Dream , and he hoped his score would be both "surreal and psychedelic just like the movie". [5] S. Darko was filmed in Coalville, Utah and Magna, Utah.[ citation needed ]

Marketing

To promote the film, a viral marketing campaign was launched consisting of three YouTube videos. [6]

The first video is footage from a surveillance camera, showing a dumpster falling from the sky and crushing a child.

The second video is from a conspiracy theorist expressing his beliefs that metallic objects which—with no apparent rational explanation—fall from the sky and lethally crush people are "Artifacts". "Artifacts", he explains, are from parallel universes that have accidentally made contact with our main universe. He believes that when the two universes meet again further down in time, both of them will be catastrophically destroyed, unless something is done to prevent this. Examples of such "Artifacts" are the jet engine that killed Donnie Darko, a manhole that decapitated a young girl, the aforementioned dumpster, and a meteor shower over Utah that resulted in the death of a local man. The meteor shower is one of the main events that happen in the movie.

The third video is from a young girl responding to the creator of the previous video. She accuses him of being a fraud and a hack who doesn't understand what he's talking about, because he stole his theories from Roberta Sparrow's book, The Philosophy of Time Travel, which was featured in the original movie. She then shows him another link between several of these disastrous events: the falling dumpster left a hole in the ground with a shape apparently similar to a drawing of Frank's mask retrieved from Donnie Darko's psych file; and the same shape also appears in a hunk of twisted, wrought-iron metal pulled from the wreckage of the windmill that was destroyed by the meteor shower in Conejo Springs.

Critical reception

The film was largely panned by critics, often citing its muddled storyline, one-sided characters, and superficial dialogue. The A.V. Club gave the film an F, noting that the sequel took "a few simple, surface elements from Donnie Darko and fail[ed] spectacularly in trying to create a franchise". [7]

The Washington Post gave a somewhat better review, calling it average but stating that "The Darko faithful are better off skipping the movie entirely and devoting their attention to the making-of featurette and the commentary track" and that they "have little faith that the moviegoers who once fell in love with Kelly's unique take on teen alienation will see S. Darko as anything more than a very minor pop cultural footnote." [8]

In an interview with PopMatters magazine journalist J.C. Maçek III, Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly said regarding S. Darko, "I hate it when people ask me about that sequel because...I had nothing to do with it. And I hate it when people try and blame me or hold me responsible for it because I had no [involvement]. I don’t control the underlying rights to [the Donnie Darko franchise]. I had to relinquish them when I was 24 years old. I hate when people ask me about that because I’ve never seen it and I never will, so… don’t ask me about the sequel...Those people are making lots of money. They’re certainly making lots of money." [9]

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 13% based on reviews from 8 critics. [10]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on May 12, 2009, in the United States, [11] and on July 6, 2009, in Europe. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Donnie Darko</i> 2001 American film by Richard Kelly

Donnie Darko is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Stu Stone, Daveigh Chase, and James Duval. Set in October 1988, the film follows Donnie Darko, an emotionally troubled teenager who inadvertently escapes a bizarre accident by sleepwalking. He has visions of Frank, a mysterious figure in a rabbit costume who informs him that the world will end in just over 28 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daveigh Chase</span> American actress (born 1990)

Daveigh Elizabeth Chase is an American actress. She began her career appearing in minor television roles before being cast as Samantha Darko in Richard Kelly's cult film Donnie Darko. She would subsequently provide the voices of Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, and Lilo Pelekai in the Disney animated feature film Lilo & Stitch and its subsequent franchise, before appearing as Samara Morgan, the child antagonist in the 2002 horror film The Ring.

<i>American Psycho 2</i> 2002 American black comedy slasher film by Morgan J. Freeman

American Psycho 2 is a 2002 American slasher film directed by Morgan J. Freeman from a screenplay by Alex Sanger and Karen Craig. Starring Mila Kunis and William Shatner, it is a stand-alone sequel to the film American Psycho. Kunis portrays a criminology student who seeks to advance her career by murdering her classmates.

Michael Myers (<i>Halloween</i>) Fictional character in the Halloween franchise

Michael Myers is a character from the slasher film series Halloween. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) as a young boy who murders his elder sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he returns home to Haddonfield, Illinois, to murder more teenagers. In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film and substituted by Tony Moran in the final scene where Michael's face is revealed. The character was created by John Carpenter and has been featured in twelve films, as well as novels, video games, and comic books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kelly (filmmaker)</span> American film director and writer

James Richard Kelly is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He wrote and directed the films Donnie Darko, Southland Tales and The Box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lafferty</span> American actor (born 1986)

James Martin Lafferty is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/CW teen drama television series One Tree Hill (2003–2012).

<i>The Mask</i> (1994 film) Film by Chuck Russell

The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Chuck Russell and produced by Bob Engelman from a screenplay by Mike Werb and a story by Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden. It is the first installment in the Mask franchise, based on the comics published by Dark Horse Comics. It stars Jim Carrey in the title role along with Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, an ordinary man who finds a magical wooden green mask that transforms him into the Mask, a green-faced troublemaker with the ability to animate and alter himself and his surroundings at will. Filming began on August 30, 1993, and concluded in October 1993.

<i>Valentine</i> (film) 2001 slasher film by Jamie Blanks

Valentine is a 2001 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks and starring Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, and Katherine Heigl. Loosely based on the novel of the same title by Tom Savage, the film follows a group of women in San Francisco who are stalked by a killer wearing a Cupid mask in the days leading up to Valentine's Day.

<i>Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter</i> 1984 film by Joseph Zito

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., and starring Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Crispin Glover, and Peter Barton. It is the sequel to Friday the 13th Part III (1982) and the fourth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. Picking up immediately after the events of the previous film, the plot follows a presumed-dead Jason Voorhees who escapes from the morgue and returns to Crystal Lake to continue his killing spree. The film marks the debut of the character Tommy Jarvis (Feldman), who would make further appearances in two sequels and related media, establishing him as Jason's archenemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Strode</span> Character in the Halloween franchise

Laurie Strode is a character from the Halloween series. She first appeared in Halloween (1978) as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers, in which she was portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. Created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, Laurie appeared in nine of thirteen films in the series. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, and comic books.

Halloween is an American slasher media franchise that consists of thirteen films, as well as novels, comic books, a video game and other merchandise. The films primarily focus on Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he escapes to stalk and kill the people of the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael's killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. Throughout the series various protagonists try to stop Myers including, most notably, babysitter Laurie Strode and psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis. The original Halloween, released in 1978, was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill—the film's director and producer respectively. The film, itself inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Bob Clark's Black Christmas, is known to have inspired a long line of slasher films.

<i>Lost Boys: The Tribe</i> 2008 film by P. J. Pesce

Lost Boys: The Tribe is a 2008 American black comedy horror film directed by P. J. Pesce, which serves as a sequel to the 1987 film, The Lost Boys. The film stars Tad Hilgenbrink, Angus Sutherland, Autumn Reeser and Corey Feldman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briana Evigan</span> American actress

Briana Evigan is an American actress and dancer best known for her roles in the Step Up series and for her scream queen roles in numerous horror films. Born in Los Angeles, Evigan is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and his wife Pamela, a dancer, model and choreographer. She began dancing and acting at a young age, graduating from Los Angeles Valley College with a degree in speech and communication.

Christopher Lawrence Fisher is an American former director, writer, producer and attorney. He worked on the CBS television series Person of Interest as a director and executive producer.

<i>Garfields Fun Fest</i> 2008 American film

Garfield's Fun Fest is a 2008 computer-animated comedy film based on the comic strip Garfield. It was produced by Paws, Inc., in cooperation with The Animation Picture Company. It was written by Garfield's creator Jim Davis as a sequel to Garfield Gets Real. The film was released on DVD in the United States on August 5, 2008, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and was pre-sold internationally by sales representative Velvet Octopus. It was later followed by a third film, Garfield's Pet Force, in 2009.

<i>Felony</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Emmure

Felony is the third studio album by American metalcore group Emmure under the Victory Records label. It was released on August 18, 2009. The album debuted at #60 on the Billboard Top 200 selling roughly 8,000 copies in its first week. Felony is also the first album to feature new members Mike Mulholland on guitar and Mike Kaabe on drums, replacing founding members Ben and Joe Lionetti, respectively.

<i>Beautiful</i> (2009 film) 2009 Australian film

Beautiful is a 2009 Australian independent film, written and directed by Dean O'Flaherty, which was released by Adelaide-based Kojo Pictures on 5 March 2009. The film marked the feature filmmaking debut of both O'Flaherty and Kojo Pictures. The South Australian Film Corporation provided approximately 10 per cent of the $1.5m budget, while the rest came from private investors.

<i>House of Fears</i> 2007 American film

House of Fears is a 2007 American horror film, directed by Ryan Little. It stars Corri English, Sandra McCoy, Michael J. Pagan, Corey Sevier and Alice Greczyn. The film was released Direct-to-DVD on April 27, 2009 in the UK. The DVD release in the United States was distributed by Your Indie Films. The movie features a cameo from American actor Jared Padalecki.

Robert Deshawn Evans, better known by his stage names Sutter Kain and DJ Bless, is an American rapper and producer from Queens, New York. His productions range from traditional East Coast hip hop to ghetto metal, a style that samples metalcore. The name Sutter Kain is based on the character Sutter Cane from the 1995 horror film In the Mouth of Madness. He is the founder and owner of Never So Deep Records.

References

  1. "S. Darko (2009)". Box Office Mojo.
  2. "IGN Article". IGN. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Screen Daily: S. Darko". Screen Daily. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  4. "Ed Harcourt Set To Score Donnie Darko Sequel". TheTripWire.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  5. "Ed Harcourt Merges Glass, Drone For Darko Sequel". Wired.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  6. "The third chapter in the S. DARKO viral". FangoriaOnline.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  7. "S. Darko review". The A.V. Club . May 13, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  8. Chaney, Jen (May 12, 2009). "DVD Review – S. Darko, Sequel to Donnie Darko". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  9. Maçek III, J.C. (3 April 2017). "Mainstream Darko: Director Richard Kelly on Building His Own Sandbox". PopMatters .
  10. "S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  11. "S Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale (Ws Dub Sub Ac3) [Blu-ray]". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  12. Squidgy from Otley. "S. Darko – A Donnie Darko Tale (2009) DVD". Lovefilm.com. Retrieved January 5, 2011.