DONNIE DARKO (2001): ‘A Bunny, a Pedophile, and a Rainbow Slinky Walk into a Time Warp...’

Cinema of Cruelty (Movies for Masochists)

On this week’s annotated deep dive, The Cultists present Richard Kelly’s celebrated cult film ‘Donnie Darko’ (2001) and Richard Kelly’s ‘Donnie Darko—The Director’s Cut’ (2005), which, as it turns out, are two utterly different movies. In one film we have a surrealist indie flick about mental illness and the abstract nature of reality, the other is a superhero sci-fi film. London and Benji unravel how just twenty extra minutes of footage can fundamentally change a film so completely, along with which version ultimately works better and why. (Spoiler: It’s not the director's cut…). (Bonus features: guest drop in, Dr. V, offers a professional consultation on Donnie and schizophrenia).

Episode Safeword: “clarity”