20 Haunting Facts About 'Donnie Darko'

Folks, we might have been too harsh towards Donnie Darko. Donnie’s sacrifice makes more sense than we initially thought, the movie itself is not retroactively bad because of director Richard Kelly’s awful later efforts, and Donnie’s psychiatrist did not screw up – she was just a Manipulated Living. We’ve actually begun showing a bit more love to the 2001 movie, and for good reason. Donnie Darko is a damn solid film, and we’d put it right there amongst the classics of quirky teenage angst of the 2000s. Seriously, someday someone will invite us to a first date movie marathon with Ghost World, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and Donnie Darko (in that order), and we’ll marry that person.

Also, yes, those hyperlinks are switched. This is how we roll, fellas: we just assume readers open them in other tabs, because they’re essential reading. Okay, so, Donnie Darko, yes. Great movie, great soundtrack, not to be confused with Donnie Brasco, had an awesome unofficial sequel in Source Code, yadda yadda yadda. Let’s get to what really matters: a fascinating batch of behind-the-scenes facts and stories and even Easter eggs to satisfy your Donnie Darko-related cravings. But this is also the moment where we’d say something good about the movie’s actual sequel, just as we have criticized the absolutely perfect original. But no, S. Darko just sucked. That being said, there is one specific thing with that movie that at least softened the curse-filled, 15-minute rant that followed the one time we saw it: that Cocteau Twins ending. And we don’t even care about the ending itself, it’s just, you know, Cocteau Twins rocks. Agreed? Awesome. You win Pictofacts.