S. Darko (2009)

What to Expect

S. Darko is the sequel to Donnie Darko, the cult classic about a mentally ill teen who goes on a crime spree in a small town. The movie ends when a jet engine falls out of the sky, crushing him to death. Fast-forward 7 years and you have his sister Samantha, now all grown up, on a road trip with her friend Corey. Samantha's family fell apart after Donnie died so she's off to start a new life in California. But they hit a snag when they get stranded in a small dusty town in Utah.

S. Darko is a heavily character driven movie that revolves around a guy the locals call Iraq Jack, a homeless Desert Storm veteran. He has a supernatural-ish imaginary friend who is warned of the exact date and time of the end of the world, just as Donnie was. One night there's a meteor shower that disrupts the entire town and sends everyone into strange and tragic time dimensions. 

This movie is a very depressed, slow BPM one. It's very dreamy, very psychedelic. It's a slow comfortable watch, but one that manages to hold your attention. Part of this was the setting, it was a quaint little town drenched in abandoned Americana. The streets were always empty, main street was half boarded up and people there had plenty of time and space to do anything they wanted without fear of consequence. S. Darko has its own unique style that's very different from Donnie Darko, it almost doesn't feel like its sequel. But, there are endless similarities to keep Donnie Darko on your mind.