S. Darko (DVD) ★★½

Donnie Darko was the surprise cult hit of 2001. Now eight years later Lionsgate brings us a sequel in S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale. If you thought the original movie was weird then you haven't seen anything yet... S. Darko details events seven years after the original movie. Donnie's sister Samantha is on a road trip with her best friend Corey when their car breaks down stranding them in a podunk town in Utah. But not everything or everyone is as they seem. Plagued by weird and prophetic dreams that warn her of the imminent end of the universe, Sam must deal with a missing child, strange and disturbing townsfolk and a meteorite that falls from the sky.

Before I get any further, I must begin with a warning: to get the most out of watching this film you need to do three things, 1) Read Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly's book "Philosophy of Time Travel" 2) Re-watch the film with the audio commentary on and 3) Watch the Making Of... featurette. The entire plot of S. Darko revolves around the concepts found within Kelly's book and to truly understand what is going on in S. Darko the viewer needs to grasp the concept of tangent universes, living receivers and the manipulated dead:

"At midnight on October 2nd a Tangent Universe branches off the Primary Universe around the time when Donnie is called out of his bedroom by Frank, immediately before the appearance of the Artifact, the faulty jet engine. The inherently unstable Tangent Universe will collapse in just over 28 days and take the Primary Universe with it if not corrected. Closing the Tangent Universe is the duty of the Living Receiver, Donnie, who wields certain supernatural powers to help him in the task. Those who die within the Tangent Universe (and would not have died otherwise) are the Manipulated Dead (Frank, Gretchen). Frank, at least, is also given certain powers in that he is able to subtly understand what is happening and have the ability to contact and influence the Living Receiver via the Fourth Dimensional Construct (water). All others within the orbit of the Living Receiver are the Manipulated Living (e.g. Ms. Pomeroy, Dr. Monnitoff), subconsciously drawn to push him towards his destiny to close the Tangent Universe and, according to the Philosophy of Time Travel, die by the Artifact."

The main crux of S. Darko is the very same concept. However in this sequel Donnie's sister Samantha is both a living receiver and one of the manipulated dead, with war veteran "Iraq Jack" the key to the creation and the closure of the tangent universe. The theme running throughout the film is salvation, Samantha tries to save the missing child, war vet "Iraq Jack" and herself, but some people cannot be saved and by changing the course of history Samantha creates a tangent universe which is set to end in four days, bringing about the end of both universes. An end which must be corrected at all costs, even if it means some may die and children must remain lost. It's hard to review S. Darko without spoiling the entire plot but bear with it to the end. At first the film may seem like a convoluted mess, but if you're willing to put in the work, on further examination the film turns out to be an intricate studying of time travel, life, the universe and personal sacrifice...

EXTRAS *** Feature Commentary, Deleted Scenes, The Making of S.Darko, Music Video: "Utah Too Much"