S. Darko (2009)
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Seven years after the death of Donnie Darko, his sister Samantha begins to unravel a small town's mysteries while plagued by sleepwalking and hallucinations.
The story
Seven years after the death of Donnie Darko, his sister Samantha struggles with his death and has started sleepwalking. She joins her best friend Corey on a road trip to California. When their car breaks down in Conejo Springs, they get help from the town's "bad boy" Randy. The pair learn that a local boy, Billy Moorcroft, has gone missing. That night, during a bout of sleepwalking, Samantha meets a homeless veteran with PTSD nicknamed "Iraq Jack" living in a junkyard, and the pair sit and talk atop a windmill.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Seven years after Donnie Darko's death, his sister Samantha, who has begun sleepwalking, goes on a road trip to California with her friend Corey. After their car breaks down in Conejo Springs, they meet a local named Randy and learn about a missing boy, Billy Moorcroft. During a sleepwalking episode, Samantha meets a homeless veteran named Justin (nicknamed "Iraq Jack"). The next morning, they discover a meteorite crashed into a windmill. They meet Jeremy, a man investigating the meteorite. Samantha learns Randy's brother is also missing. During another sleepwalking vision, an undead Samantha commands Justin to burn a church. Samantha is later killed in a car crash on a highway. Anguished, Corey enters a portal that takes her back in time to before the crash, where she is also killed. Samantha wakes up with Justin and finds the bodies of the missing boys; the town blames Justin, who is arrested. Jeremy, affected by the meteorite, becomes violent and kills Samantha. An undead Samantha frees Justin from jail, and he travels back in time to the windmill, choosing to stay and be killed by the meteorite. Samantha and Corey visit the site, find the locals removing Justin's body, and Samantha returns home while Corey stays in town.
- Original title
- S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris Fisher
- Writers
- Nathan Atkins · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Daveigh Chase · Samantha Darko; Briana Evigan · Corey Corn; Ed Westwick · Randy Holt; James Lafferty · Justin Sparrow; Jackson Rathbone · Jeremy Frame; Elizabeth Berkley · Trudy Kavanagh; Matthew Davis · Pastor John Wayne; John Hawkes · Phil
- Genres
- science fiction; thriller; psychological thriller; coming-of-age drama; drama road movie; science fantasy
- Themes
- time travel; grief; hallucination; doomsday
- Tone and mood
- surreal; psychedelic; blurred fantasy and reality
- Premise and plot tags
- sequel; independent production; direct-to-video
- Source material / true-story basis
- Donnie Darko
- Franchise connections
- Donnie Darko
- Reception
- The film was largely panned by critics, often citing its muddled storyline, one-sided characters, and superficial dialogue. It was considered a failure along with its marketing campaign.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 13%
- Production trivia
- The film was made without involvement from the first film's writer and director, Richard Kelly.; The crew used the high resolution digital Red One cameras.; The marketing campaign included a viral campaign with three YouTube videos.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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