A life in the Eighties slips through the cracks of time

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2015)

Donnie Darko is an extremely effective movie, I've loved it since it first came out. It's hard to pinpoint the theme... is it a horror movie showing how a boy briefly escaped death? Is it a rebellious, "fight the system" movie as Donnie stands up in school against a lame teen talk TV show host? Is it a movie playing with modern parents' worries about imaginary friends? Maybe it has no real theme, just a story, a story that manages to make very little sense at times but still be interesting, tragic, funny and exciting all at once.
The Darkos are a typical suburban family living in Virginia in 1988, but Donnie Darko is the black sheep of the family and treated like a burden. Because he has schizophrenia and violent episodes, he's on medication, which he's recently stopped taking (these days teens aren't allowed to do that, Prozac is a big one forced on 'em :( ). Between his goody two-shoes sister, clueless parents and pathetic classmates and teachers, Donnie has no friends whatsoever and spends much of his time reading... until one night he meets Frank, an anthropomorphic bunny rabbit and imaginary friend who saves him from a horrible death and alters Donnie's brief following days forever.
There isn't much to say that other reviewers haven't already brought up, other than this movie is awe-inspiring and thought provoking and incredibly disturbing. The soundtrack was excellent, the acting cast was great and the movie really managed to capture the nostalgia of the Eighties. I don't think Donnie Darko is horror so much as science fiction drama but it's been called horror from time to time. It's a really addictive and exciting movie that everyone should see at least once in their lives.