Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale Blu-ray Movie Review

The sequel to a widely popular cult classic doesn't live up to the quality of it's predecessor.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner May 20, 2009

When Donnie Darko was originally released on DVD, the film sparked a firestorm of interest that nobody (including the production studio) had seen coming. Released to theaters in 2001 and blending a fantastic tale of time travel, loss and rejection; the original film received widespread critical acclaim and had the instant makings of a cult classic. Personally, I’ve seen Donnie Darko on more than 5 occasions since it’s release (theatrical and director’s cut) and consider it to be one of my 25 all-time favorite films. I know there are plenty of folks out there that despise the film (my wife being one of them), but every time I watch Richard Kelly’s creation, I’ve come away feeling one step closer to understanding the core of the story. I’ve always felt a film’s lasting appeal through multiple viewings is one of the greatest achievements in filmmaking, and Donnie Darko still stands as a perfect example.

Unfortunately, I’m not here to talk about Donnie Darko and you’re clearly reading this review with an interest in the 2009 sequel, S. Darko. It’s a dangerous game to make a sequel to an iconic film with a cult following; since you run the risk of alienating the fan base with a sub par film--and turning away the uninitiated that may stumble onto this release with zero knowledge of the original film. As a big fan of the first film, I approached this release with equal parts hesitation and excitement at the thought of continuing the intricately woven tale that began with Donnie Darko. Sadly, the results were not what I was hoping for.

Pondering the complexities of life...

The story picks up 7 years after the events of the prior film, with Donnie’s sister Samantha (Daveigh Chase reprising her role) on a road trip to Los Angeles with her best friend Corey (Briana Evigan). The two girls find themselves stranded in the town of Conejo Springs when their car breaks down along the highway. Shacking up in a dive-motel, Corey befriends a local tough guy named Randy (Ed Westwick) who promises to fix their car when he has a free moment (which proves to be difficult given his propensity for beer and partying). Plagued by nightmares since the death of her brother, Samantha finds herself waking in odd places throughout the town, and a strange man known as Iraq Jack (James Lafferty) believes she’s a princess that’s been appearing to him at night with predictions of the world’s destruction. In addition, there seems to be a kidnapper in the town, since at least two young children have disappeared in the months leading up to Samantha’s arrival. The townspeople suspect Iraq Jack (James Lafferty) of the crimes, but Samantha begins to develop her own suspicions about some less than savory characters that cross her path. In case you were wondering, there’s also an element of time travel, but I’ll refrain from going into further detail since I can’t honestly explain the filmmaker’s intentions in a cohesive manner.

After watching S. Darko, it becomes painfully clear why the film was released straight to home video. The lack of a coherent plotline is the driving force behind my dislike for the film and I was a bit let-down by the amateurish nature of the entire production. Donnie Darko was a low-budget film, but Richard Kelly’s story managed to pull you in from the very beginning and hold your undivided attention without the use of flashy special effects. I’ve always delighted in films that keep the viewer in the dark, or force you to draw your own conclusions about the plot (the films of David Lynch are a perfect example), but S. Darko doesn’t even have a foundation on which to build. It seemed as though the filmmakers watched Donnie Darko--couldn’t understand the film, and decided to make a sequel using a mishmash of elements from the first film. On the bright side, the atmosphere pays tribute to the original film with the same creepy synthesized voice-over, and the happy-go-lucky tone that’s interwoven with a pervasive sense of dread; but a cheap knock off is still a cheap knock off.

The worst aspect of the film is the incorporation of time travel, which kills the entire experience on multiple occasions. I’m bothered by films that use the age-old “thank god, it was all just a bad dream” trick, and S. Darko manages to pull that stunt twice (except time-travel is the cop-out in this case). My other disappointment is the incorporation of tidbits that are only added to please fans of the first film, but offer no value in furthering the story. I’m not giving anything away by mentioning that Iraq Jack turns out to be Justin Sparrow (son of the author that wrote the time travel book mentioned on several occasions in Donnie Darko), since it’s completely meaningless to the overall story of this film.

Moving on to the acting in the film, get ready to be disappointed again. I wasn’t looking for a high caliber of acting in this straight-to-video sequel, but I certainly thought it would be better. Daveigh Chase has proven to be a promising young actor in her role on the HBO series “Big Love” (I’d highly recommend the show if you’ve never seen it), but her acting in S. Darko is a little uncomfortable to watch. Perhaps she had a tough time accepting her leading role status, or she just couldn’t identify with the character, but her mannerisms and line-delivery made me feel that she wasn’t ready to tackle the role of Samantha. The rest of the cast doesn’t fair much better, but I think that was largely due to the one-dimensional way each character was portrayed in the story and not entirely the fault of the actors.

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bit rate of 28Mbps), the visual quality of S. Darko is a bit underwhelming. As the film opens, I was immediately impressed with the intricate facial textures on Samantha's face and the beautifully rich colors as she slowly walks along a stream. Unfortunately, occasional softness soon crept into several of the daytime shots (at around the 21:30 mark in the film, you can see a noticeable drop in detail when the camera skips between shots of Corey, Randy and Sam). It seemed to get worse as the film went on, with some scenes looking highly detailed, and others appearing slightly muddled. Moving on, color saturation tends to exhibit excessive brightness in daytime shots and the monochromatic nature of the nighttime shots doesn't reveal much differentiation in tone. Having said that, I think both aspects are related to the directors' intentions and do not reflect a deficiency in the transfer. Along those same lines, there's a noticeable level of grain in several of the nighttime shots toward the end of the film. It's not bad or overly distracting, but it does create some background noise that may be off-putting to some viewers. Lastly, black levels offer subpar depth and lack the inky quality of the best Blu-ray transfers. As a result, the nighttime sequences don't possess enough contrast to reveal much shadow detail, which leads to a flat appearance at times.

I know this review of the transfer probably comes across sounding a little harsh next to the score I've given for the video quality, so I'd like to note that there are still a number of beautiful shots in the film (mostly during the daytime); but those interested in purchasing this title should know that the presentation is somewhat inconsistent in high-definition.

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The primary audio offering on the disc is a 5.1 DTS-HD MA track in the native language of English. Unlike the inconsistent video quality, the audio experience on this Blu-ray should give fans plenty to be excited about. Anyone who's seen Donnie Darko will remember the creepy voice of the rabbit figure and delight in the inclusion of that voice on this film as well. I was caught off guard the first couple times I heard it on S. Darko, and could see some viewers scrambling to turn down the volume when the synthesized voice envelopes your room. Equally impressive, is a scene where there's a meteor shower within the town. Explosions can be heard from every direction, and spatial separation is spot-on. Music selection was one of the strengths of the original film and although I wish the filmmakers had done a better job with their choices for the sequel, at least the volume level is decently balanced with the dialogue and environmental effects.

Despite the strengths in the audio track, S. Darko is still hampered by it's low-budget roots and an occasional lack of intelligent sound design (which we'd expect if this was a big budget film). As it stands, the audio track is more than serviceable for a film of this nature, but won't be something you'll put in to demonstrate reference audio equipment.

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary Track (feature length): featuring director Chris Fisher, writer Nathan Atkins and cinematographer Marvin V. Rush, the commentary is reasonably informative, but tends to focus more on the construction of scenes and technical elements. Everyone acknowledges the difficulties in continuing the Darko story, and I'm presuming they focus on technical aspects in the commentary to draw focus away from a discussion of the shortcomings in the plot.

The Making of S. Darko (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 15:01 min.): This feature includes interviews with the filmmakers and actors involved in the film's production. There's considerable justification and explanation for the themes in S. Darko, which I found amusing but not entirely accurate after seeing the final product. In an odd move, the director admits to not knowing much about the Donnie Darko mythos, which should be of huge importance when making a sequel to a beloved film.

Utah Too Much (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 6:45 min.): Several actors from the film came up with a song during their time in Utah (while working on the film). A brief background is provided initially, followed by an actual performance of the song. To each their own, but I wasn't a fan...

Deleted Scenes (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 6:03 min.): Consisting of five deleted scenes and one alternate opening, this collection doesn't add anything of substance to improve my feelings about the film.

S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

S. Darko isn't a miserable way to spend a couple of hours, but it's certainly frustrating. If you consider yourself a fan of Donnie Darko, you'll likely feel cheated by the lack of a cohesive plot and come away from the experience with resentment toward the creators of this sequel. In many ways it's like being sold tickets to an AC/DC cover band, and then finding out the band doesn't even know the words to the songs. I had hoped S. Darko would be handled by a group of creative individuals that understood the charm and intricacy of the original film, but it's clear that's not the case. Those of you who've never seen Donnie Darko should go rent that film instead, or take a leap of faith and blind purchase it.