a dog dies
spoiler
Mentioned as a past event during a therapy session. Not shown.
someone is sexually assaulted
spoiler
one main villain, when thwarted, is caught by the police possessing child p*rnography, but no assault is mentioned or implied
an animal dies
spoiler
donnie mentions his pet dog passing away
a pet dies
spoiler
Mentioned, but not shown on screen.
animals were harmed in the making
Yes
there's a dead animal
spoiler
dogs death is mentioned, not shown at all
there are spiders
spoiler
lots of spider webs in roberta sparrows house
rabbits are harmed
spoiler
The main character's class discusses dead rabbits because the class read/watched Watership Down. Donnie is not empathetic to the deaths but it's frowned upon by others
someone leaves without saying goodbye
Yes
a child is abandoned by a parent or guardian
spoiler
A girl goes to Donnie's house and explains it's because she woke up to her mother gone but there's a good chance her mom was murdered so it might not be abandonment
there's child abuse
spoiler
none of the main characters are, but a teacher is arrested for child p*********y possession, none of which is shown
there's domestic violence
spoiler
No domestic violence is depicted. However, Donnie's girlfriend tells him of how her stepfather stabbed her mother, causing them to move house and change their names.
there's abusive parents
spoiler
Mentioned only.
someone gets gaslighted
spoiler
Debatable. Donnie is understandably believed to be schizophrenic, though we later learn that his symptoms are related to some kind of space-time disturbance. Other characters acknowledge that he is unwell, but they only ever try to help him. Donnie believes himself to be mentally ill throughout most of the film and refers to himself as "crazy" and "a whackjob". Near the end of the movie, Donnie tells his mother that there's "nothing broken inside" of him, indicating that he has worked out what is going on and now understands that he is not schizophrenic, after all.
someone is stalked
spoiler
No traditional stalking, but Donnie is plagued by visions of Frank
alcohol abuse
spoiler
alcohol is used by underage characters unsafely, but no one is explicitly addicted
someone uses drugs
spoiler
In an early scene at Donnie's high school where the camera is following different people around the halls, a kid is briefly shown snorting a drug by an open locker. Donnie takes follows a prescription from his therapist off and on throughout the film.
there's pedophilia
spoiler
A side character gets charged with possessing child p*rn but we don't see anything about this except the headline.
rape is mentioned
spoiler
A side character is caught with copious amounts of child porn, although i don't believe the word rape is ever said
someone is restrained
spoiler
people are held back while being attacked outside of a house
someone is beaten up by a bully
Yes
there's eye mutilation
spoiler
At one point, Donnie demands that Frank remove his mask. Frank does so, revealing that his right eye has been destroyed. Later, Donnie fires a gun at Frank he is subsequently shown lying dead on the ground, the bullet having entered through his right eye.
there's excessive gore
spoiler
not excessive but there’s definitely gore scenes
there's body horror
spoiler
There is a gunshot wound like the other comment mentions but no distortions of the human figure
someone is burned alive
spoiler
a house is burned down, but no one is inside it at the time.
there's shaving/cutting
spoiler
There are two different scenes in which another boy seizes Donnie and puts a knife to his throat. In the first scene, the knife nicks the side of Donnie's neck. The wound is visible in later scenes and Donnie's girlfriend asks him about it. In the second scene, the knife doesn't appear to break the skin, but is shown being pressed into Donnie's throat while the boy threatens, "I have a bigger knife now".
someone struggles to breathe
spoiler
Gretchen is thrown to the floor during the home invasion scene and is seen coughing and struggling to breath before getting struck by a car
someone is stabbed
spoiler
There's no stabbing shown, but Gretchen mentions that her mother was stabbed by her step-father.
someone falls to their death
spoiler
Two characters are briefly shown being sucked out of an airplane. However, it’s later (debatably) revealed that this didn’t really happen.
Someone becomes unconscious
spoiler
after being hit by a car
someone is crushed to death
spoiler
Someone is run over at the end of the film
a minor is sexualized
spoiler
A teenage girl is sexually harassed, and child pornography is mentioned.
a kid dies
spoiler
Multiple high school age kids are killed near the end of the movie, though ultimately only one of them remains dead. Donnie's girlfriend is run over by a car. This occurs on-camera and shot from the ground level, so it is somewhat graphic. Donnie subsequently shoots and kills the driver, who dies offscreen, but whose body is shown. Shortly thereafter, Donnie returns to his bedroom, where he is crushed by the airplane engine. We see him lying in bed and then the engine passing through his room, but his death is not explicitly shown. Afterward, we see the police wheeling out a body under a sheet. Due to time travel elements, Donnie's girlfriend and the boy who ran her over are shown to be alive and well in the final sequence of the film.
a major character dies
Yes
someone sacrifices themselves
Yes
A child's dear toy is destroyed
spoiler
Donnie threatens to put his sisters toy in a garbage disposal if she tells their mother that he has been smoking cigarettes
a parent dies
spoiler
No parents die throughout the course of the film. Donnie's mother and sister are shown on a damaged aircraft near the end of the movie, but what becomes of the plane is never known and the situation appears to be wiped out by time travel elements.
there are jump scares
spoiler
There are at least three jumpscares, accompanied by stingers/sudden noises. In a scene where Donnie is touching an invisible barrier between himself and Frank, Frank brings his hand up and strikes the barrier very suddenly, causing a loud sound and large "pulse" of the barrier. When Donnie and his girlfriend enter Grandma Death's cellar near the end of the film, two boys jump out suddenly and grab them, accompanied by a stinger.
there are clowns
spoiler
One of the boys at the Halloween party is dressed in a clown costume. He only appears in one scene and pulls his mask up off his face after a few seconds.
there's ghosts
spoiler
This is debatable. The film does not depict ghosts in the traditional sense. Donnie experiences hallucinations related to time travel and perhaps paranoid schizophrenia. He perceives a boy in a creepy rabbit suit named Frank who is not visible to others and who gives him instructions. We later learn that Frank is a very real boy who happens to be wearing the creepy rabbit costume for Halloween. Donnie shoots and kills the "real" Frank and the gunshot wound matches that seen on Frank the "hallucination" from earlier scenes. At no point prior to this is it implied that Frank is a ghost (he more resembles a prophetic delusion) and Frank is ultimately unharmed at the conclusion of the film.
there are mannequins
spoiler
lots of halloween costumes
there's natural bodies of water
spoiler
there is a big storm shown on screen
someone is possessed
spoiler
[spoiler] the (sort of confusing) grand narrative of the movie sort of indicates several characters are possessed, though not in the way the term usually suggests
someone vomits
spoiler
The gym teacher tells a girl that if she needs to vomit onstage she should just swallow it
someone wets/soils themselves
spoiler
A mention of wetting the bed, nothing shown
there's spitting
spoiler
In one scene Donnie starts to drool for a second before catching himself
there's incarceration
spoiler
the character caught with CSAM is arrested for it.
there's smoke or haze
Yes
there's a mental institution scene
spoiler
But there are therapy sessions with a psychatrist
someone dies by suicide
spoiler
Suicide is not depicted in the traditional sense. However, in order to resolve the space-time disturbance, Donnie returns to his bedroom, knowing that he will be killed and that his self-sacrifice is the only way to set everything straight again.
Someone attempts suicide
spoiler
Yes and no- the ending of the movie is technically an aware of incoming death, but it isn't suicide technically?
someone has an eating disorder
Yes
a mentally ill person is violent
spoiler
Donnie destroys property and at the end of the film he shoots Frank. His shooting of Frank isn’t to do with his mental illness though, although his destruction of the school is
someone suffers from PTSD
Yes
reality is unstable or unhinged
spoiler
Incredibly unstable. There's scenes that warp reality and show things "outside" of it.
there's a claustrophobic scene
spoiler
No, but there are shots of a house party crowded with people that may be uncomfortable to some.
there's dissociation, depersonalization, or derealization
Yes
someone has an anxiety attack
spoiler
There is a manic realization of incoming death, it is an odd mix of fear, anxiety and giving up.
someone has a mental illness
spoiler
This is a really complicated question with this movie. The main character could have schizophrenia, or might not. There is lots of mentions of mental illness, including scenes with pills and discussing a character not taking his medication. You may have to decide for yourself whether you think he's mentally ill or not, that's the biggest part of the movie in my opinion.
shaky cam is used
spoiler
Not shakey, but there is a shot near the end of the house party where Donnie seems to get dizzy and catches his balance when the camera starts to spin upside down.
there's flashing lights or images
spoiler
Flashbulbs and flares are used throughout the film. There may also be some subliminal frames.
there are sudden loud noises
Yes
there is obscene language/gestures
Yes
someone is watched without knowing
spoiler
The main character is, in a very strange way.
the fourth wall is broken
Yes
there's fat jokes
spoiler
Donnie's friends seem to regularly taunt one of their classmates while waiting for the bus. Among other insults, they call her fat and tell her that they hope she gets molested. In another scene, Donnie's girlfriend staves off their first kiss, awkwardly pointing out that "there's a fat guy watching".
there's ableist language or behavior
spoiler
The main character is bullied for being mentally ill if I remember correctly.
someone speaks hate speech
spoiler
Donnie's friends seem to regularly taunt one of their classmates while waiting for the bus. They call her fat, tell her that they hope she gets molested, and loudly tell her to go back to China.
a minority is misrepresented
spoiler
a chinese woman is bullied a lot and mocked, and overall very rudely represented
the black guy dies first
spoiler
I honestly don't remember seeing a single black guy in this movie.
there's a large age gap
spoiler
A man is arrested for possession of child p*rnogrophy, but it's not clear if he found it or made it himself.
there's demons or Hell
Yes
religion is discussed
spoiler
It's a small plot point, but nothing major.
there is sexual content
spoiler
There are various sexual references in the dialogue throughout, including a somewhat graphic argument between Donnie and his friends regarding Smurfette's role in The Smurfs and a scene in which Donnie's therapist hypnotizes him and he begins talking about sex while unzipping and beginning to reach down his pants. There are a few scenes in which Donnie makes out with his girlfriend and they have an implied sex scene.
someone is sexually objectified
Yes
someone has dementia/Alzheimer's
spoiler
[SPOILER] technically yes AND no, because there is an old woman whom repeatedly checks her mail box throughout the movie, but, it is shown in the end she is waiting for a letter from Donnie darko, which she knows bc she knows about his time travel. it is very complex but personally, i don't think it is shown in a traditional way nor it is an actual depiction of this mental illnesses
someone has a chronic illness
Yes
existentialism is debated
Yes
the ending is sad
spoiler
depends how you look at it
Santa (et al) is spoiled
spoiler
Children should not see this film.
a car crashes
spoiler
Donnie is shown playing a video game in an arcade in which he is controlling a car. The car spins out, strikes an object, and flips multiple times, dumping out the (seemingly unharmed) passengers. This sequence from the game is also shown again later as part of a montage. There are multiple instances of characters very nearly hitting Grandma Death with their cars due to a combination of reckless driving and her tendency to stand in/slowly cross the road on a frequent basis. However, she is never actually struck. Near the end of the film, Donnie's girlfriend is thrown onto the ground and is lying there, winded, when a potentially drunk driver runs her over.
a person is hit by a car
spoiler
Near the end of the film, Donnie's girlfriend is thrown onto the ground and is lying there, winded, when a potentially drunk driver runs her over. This occurs on-screen and is shot at ground level, so it is rather graphic. There are multiple instances of characters very nearly hitting Grandma Death with their cars due to a combination of reckless driving and her tendency to stand in/slowly cross the road on a frequent basis. However, she is never actually struck.
a plane crashes
spoiler
No plane crashes during the film, but an airplane does undergo some damage as part of the space-time disturbance. At the beginning of the film, an airplane engine falls through the Darko house, but there is no trace of an airplane and the FAA cannot determine where the engine came from. The engine falls through the house a second time at the end of the film. This time, we see the engine detach from the plane and we see the passengers experience sudden turbulence and appear alarmed. However, the space-time disturbance resolves when the engine crashes through the house and the existence of the airplane, itself, is undone. It is unclear whether the plane would have landed safely had it continued to exist. At no point do we see it crash or come close to crashing.
a car honks or tires screech
spoiler
Donnie and his dad are talking in the car about the recent plane crash and he goes dad.. DAD and his dad slams the brakes so they don't hit a woman and there's a loud screech
there's blood/gore
spoiler
a man’s eye is shot out
there's gun violence
spoiler
A character is shot offscreen and killed. His damaged body is shown.
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