If you’ve seen Donnie Darko (which I’m sure you have or why would you be reading about the sequel) you should know it is one of the most original time travel stories ever told.  It starred a little known actor at the time by the name of Jake Gyllenhaal.  Together with some of the biggest names out there like Patrick Swayze and Drew Barrymore, we are engulfed in a world unlike anything we’ve ever seen; a place where giant human sized rabbits know the future and tell us when the world will end.

Seven years after the initial release of Donnie Darko we now have the recently released S. Darko, a story based around Donnie’s younger sister.  I loved the first film so much, and when it came out had heard that while it was being filmed the idea of a sequel was pitched. Although I can’t find anyone involved from the first movie tied the second in the series, it doesn’t neccessarily mean that the rumor I heard so long ago isn’t true.

Samantha has been troubled ever since the death of her brother Donnie.  She feels alone, ignored and soon decided to leave for good with her best friend Corey. They plan a trip to L.A. to hopefully become a dancers,  a dream she always had when she was young. Their car breaks down along the way forcing them to spend a week in a small town while a local boy they meet tries to fix their car. As soon as the first night falls upon them, Samantha begins to experience weird sleep habits that cause her to wake up some where within the town. Not only is Samantha affected by these new experiences but the town as well, and a new date is chosen, July 4th.

Daveigh Chase reprises her role as Samantha Darko from the first movie, allowing us to keep some authenticity to the story. Having the main character literally running away from her family to seek a better life, we get introduced to all new characters.  Briana Evigan (House of the Damned, Step Up 2: The Streets), plays her BFF Corey who is a much stronger person than Samantha, willing to take risks and be the first to act.  James Lafferty (“One Tree Hill”) plays a freaked out desert storm soldier who’s feared by the town’s people, they think he should be locked away for a very long time.  We also have the ever talented Elizabeth Berkley (if you have no idea who she is, I bet you’re not from the 80’s, here’s a little hint she was on Saved by the Bell) who plays an overly religious Jesus freak similar to the character played by Beth Grant,  Kitty Farmer.  For those girls out there who are all into Twilight we have Jackson Rathbone playing Jeremy, a nerd who is  taken by Samantha’s looks and personality.  And the last important character is Randy played by Ed Westwick ( a younger looking Joaquin Phoenix, without the ZZ Top beard,  no weird slit above his lip and most importantly isn’t looking to start up a rapping career), the boy the girls first meet who soon takes them to his small town where they are forced to stay while their car is being fixed.

Letting you know right off the bat, if your expecting another Donnie Darko from this movie you’re in for a surprise. S. Darko isn’t as dark and creepy as Donnie was, but instead it substitutes it with awkward situations and a feeling of emptiness, making you want to turn away but at the same time you want to keep watching; because of this I feel that the Donnie Darko fans may not get this movie, but all I can say is hold on.

Some of you might feel that each character is a little too wooden and I can say is “yes” I found that as well. But it didn’t bother me, instead I found the cookie cutter characters quite realistic. Most people who live in a small town aren’t looking for eccentric people to live near, they prefer people to be the same day in day out unwelcome to change.  The wooden characters in this film are done on purpose, to give you that isolated town feeling, the feeling of no escape.

Just like Donnie, the second you turn away you miss something of extreme importance thats crucial for everything to make sense in the end.  The story is so intelligent and well thought out that it forces you to think a certain way by leading you into places where all you can do is ask “whats going on?” and all the movie will answer is “keep watching”. If one had seen the original you would only expect that if anything was going to be like the first movie it was going to be the ending.  With the story going so far out like a boat being swept away by the waves it seems like it’ll take a miracle for it to all come together. This has been one of the few movies that left me spell bound from start to finish, all I could do was sit and watch. And when they rolled out the ending all I could do was nod, and think bravo, bravo.