01. [numbers]
The movie takes place in 1988. Frank tells Donnie the world will end in 28 days,
06 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. If you add these numbers, the sum is 88.
02. [numbers]
Rose Darko says that she and Samantha are taking the “red-eye” back to Middlesex.
According to the airport announcement, they are flying on flight 2806, boarding at
gate 42, and departing at 12:00 AM.
03. [numbers]
When Samantha asks when she can have kids, Donnie says: “Not until 8th grade.”
04. [numbers]
Donnie mentions to his therapist that his dog Callie died when he was eight.
05. [numbers]
According to the television reporter, the fire at Jim Cunningham’s house was
extinguished “sometime after 8:00 last night.”
06. [numbers]
The film was shot in 28 days, which is also the timespan [10/02/88 - 10/30/88] of the
movie. The length of an average human pregnancy is 10 lunar months, or 280 days.
07. [numbers]
The film was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001. It was
released in theaters on October 26, 2001, exactly 280 days later.
08. [numbers]
Donnie Darko was released on October 26, 2001. The Director’s Cut of the film was
released on July 23, 2004, exactly 1001 days later.
09. [reference]
The first scene in the movie is an homage to Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation
of Christ.
10. [reference]
The theater lists The Last Temptation of Christ as part of its double feature. This
movie was released theatrically in 1988 amid controversy. In 2004, when the director’s
cut of Donnie Darko was released, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ awakened a
similar controversy. Both Donnie Darko and The Passion of the Christ were distributed
by Newmarket Films [usa].
11. [reference]
Donnie mentions the DeLorean vehicle, which was used for time travel in the movie Back
To The Future.
12. [reference]
In the movie Back To The Future, the DeLorean had to reach a speed of 88mph to travel
in time.
13. [reference]
The shot of the bike ride to Grandma Death’s house is an homage to Steven Spielberg’s
E.T., in which, Drew Barrymore also starred.
14. [reference]
Elizabeth Darko’s Halloween costume is a tribute to Vivian Darkbloom, a character in
Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita.
15. [reference]
The Fibonacci spiral also appeared throughout the science-fiction movie Dark City.
16. [reference]
Donnie refers to Jim Cunningham as a “chud,” a reference to the film C.H.U.D.
The acronym stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller.
17. [reference]
At the Parent/Teacher meeting, Kitty Farmer believes that author Graham Greene appeared
on the television show Bonanza. She is confusing him with actor Lorne Greene.
18. [reference]
The text on the classroom chalkboard is from the last paragraph of “The Destructors”
by Graham Greene. It reads: “One moment the house had stood there with such dignity
between the bomb-sites like a man in a top hat, and then, bang, crash, there wasn’t
anything left - not anything.”
19. [reference]
Samantha Darko writes a story entitled “The Last Unicorn” about a unicorn named Ariel.
This is possibly a reference to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut.
20. [reference]
Rose Darko is reading the Stephen King book It. In the book, children in a small town
are terrorized by a clown. Later in the film, we see an encounter between Donnie and
a clown.
21. [reference]
The film Donnie Darko and Stephen King’s It both feature a knife-wielding bully.
22. [reference]
Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time was published in 1988.
23. [reference]
There is a poster for Amnesty International in Karen Pomeroy’s classroom. Students are
seen distributing information for AI in the “Head Over Heals” sequence. Amnesty
International is an organization that promotes freedom of expression, freedom from
discrimination, and the protection of human rights.
24. [reference]
The primary bully is named Seth Devlin. His surname is a reference to the devil.
25. [reference]
The artwork in Donnie’s room is M.C. Escher’s “Eye.”
26. [reference]
The image of the flooded school is inspired by Scott Mutter’s “The Escalator.”
27. [symbolism]
Donnie tells Dr. Thurman about his dead dog Callie. He is later seen holding a stuffed
toy dog in her office.
28. [symbolism]
Samantha Darko is holding a stuffed toy unicorn at the airport. In another scene, as
she is jumping on a trampoline, she is wearing a shirt with a unicorn on it.
29. [symbolism]
Jim Cunningham has a stuffed deer in his house. Kitty Farmer has a deer painting in her
bedroom.
30. [symbolism]
Donnie has a Led Zeppelin “Swan Song” poster on his ceiling, which depicts an angel.
Cherita Chen’s swan dance at the talent show is entitled “Autumn Angel.”
31. [symbolism]
As Donnie and his friends are riding their bikes to Grandma Death’s house, Donnie’s bike
is the only one without a headlight.
32. [foreshadowing]
A red sportscar passes Donnie as he is riding his bike home. The driver of the vehicle
is not revealed until the end of the movie.
33. [foreshadowing]
In the “Cunning Visions” infomercial, Jim Cunningham pats a child on his behind.
34. [foreshadowing]
When Donnie tells Gretchen he accidentally burned down a house, they are walking
directly in front of Jim Cunningham’s house. Two children then run past them.
35. [foreshadowing]
The Life Line Exercise Card that Donnie reads is about a girl finding a lost wallet.
Later, Donnie finds Jim Cunningham’s wallet on the sidewalk outside his mansion.
36. [foreshadowing]
Jim Cunningham depicts drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex as “instruments of fear.”
In the movie, Donnie smokes a cigarette, drinks alcohol, and engages in premarital sex.
The climax of the movie occurs after he surrenders to all three temptations.
37. [foreshadowing]
Karen Pomeroy mentions the phrase “cellar door,” which is possibly an anagram for
“celar dolor.” This is Spanish for “to watch out for pain/sorrow.”
38. [foreshadowing]
After Donnie looks into Gretchen’s liquid spear, the next shot is a close-up of her
surrounded by Halloween skull decorations.
39. [foreshadowing]
At the screening of The Evil Dead, there are only three people in the theater: Donnie,
Gretchen, and Frank. These three characters all experience death in the film. In
fact, these are the only deaths in the movie.
40. [motif]
Donnie and Gretchen watch The Evil Dead at The Aero Theatre.
41. [motif]
In Dr. Thurman’s office there is a painting of an airplane.
42. [motif]
The song that plays as Donnie is riding his bike home is “The Killing Moon” by
Echo And The Bunnymen.
43. [motif]
The jet engine has a spiral painted on it. These are painted to tell if the engine is
spinning. The Fibonnaci spiral is based on the mating patterns of rabbits.
44. [motif]
As Gretchen waits for the school bus, a Volkswagen Rabbit vehicle quickly passes in
front of her.
45. [motif]
When is Elizabeth Darko is sleeping on the recliner, there is a stuffed rabbit next to
her.
46. [motif]
As Donnie reaches for the car keys, there is a Polaroid picture of him and his sister
in Halloween costumes on the desk. Donnie is dressed as a rabbit.
47. [politics]
The climax of Donnie Darko occurs one week before the 1988 US presidential election.
George Herbert Walker Bush was elected on November 8, 1988 [11/08/88].
48. [politics]
The first line in the movie is “I’m voting for Dukakis.”
49. [politics]
When Donnie is suspended, there is a reflection of a Ronald Reagan portrait on the
bookcase as the camera pans from Principal Cole to Kitty Farmer.
50. [politics]
At the Halloween party, someone wearing a Ronald Reagan mask and a white cape is
jumping on the trampoline. This is a recreation of a famous Hunter S. Thompson
photograph.
51. [politics]
Ronald Fisher is wearing a Hulk Hogan costume at the Halloween party with the word
“Ronaldmania” written on his shirt.
52. [politics]
When Jim Cunningham asks Donnie for his name, Donnie says his name is Gerald—possibly
a reference to former President Gerald Ford.
53. [politics]
When Jim Cunningham is arrested, his employee Linda Connie claims that he is the victim
of “a vast conspiracy,” echoing the words of Hillary Clinton when her husband former
President Bill Clinton was immersed in a sex scandal.
54. [politics]
In 1988, when this movie takes place, George H.W. Bush was elected. In 2000, when this
movie was filmed, his son George W. Bush was elected. In 2004, when Donnie Darko: The
Director’s Cut was released, George W. Bush was re-elected.
55. [politics]
In 1988, the primary candidates for US President were George H.W. Bush (a Texas oil
businessman) and Michael Dukakis (a Massachusetts governor). In 2004 (when the
director’s cut of Donnie Darko was released in theaters), the candidates were George
W. Bush (another Texas oil businessman and son of the above-mentioned Bush) and John
F. Kerry (a Massachusetts senator, who also served as Lt. Governor to Michael Dukakis).
56. [politics]
The secondary bully is named Ricky Danforth. His surname is possibly a reference to
James Danforth Quayle, the former US Vice-President elected in November 1988.
57. [music]
The song “The Killing Moon” by Echo And The Bunnymen includes the lyrics: “Fate/ Up
against your will/ Through the thick and thin/ He will wait until/ You give yourself
to him.”
58. [music]
The song “Head Over Heels” by Tears For Fears includes the lyrics: “With one foot in
the past/ Now just how long will it last?”
59. [music]
The song “Head Over Heels” by Tears For Fears includes the lyrics: “It’s hard to be
a man/ When there’s a gun in your hand.”
60. [music]
The song “Mad World” (originally written by Tears for Fears) includes the lyrics:
“The dreams in which I’m dying/ Are the best I’ve ever had.”
61. [music]
The song “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division begins to play when Gretchen knocks
on Donnie’s front door.
62. [terrorism]
Although this movie was filmed in 2000 and screened at the Sundance Film Festival in
January 2001, many images in the film are haunting reminders of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks on the United States of America.
63. [terrorism]
The original posters for the movie had an Arabic-style font, which was removed after
terrorists from the Middle East attacked the USA. The title cards within the movie,
which also use this font, were however not changed.
64. [terrorism]
Rose Darko tells Kitty Farmer that her husband Eddie is in New York. On September 11,
2001, two commercial airplanes were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the North and
South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
65. [terrorism]
A Porsche 911 vehicle is parked in the Darko driveway.
66. [terrorism]
The jet engine that falls in Donnie’s bedroom tears through the American flag he has
on his ceiling.
67. [terrorism]
The Principal’s last name is Cole. On October 12, 2000 (a few weeks before the general
election), the Navy ship USS Cole was attacked by terrorists.
68. [detail]
The Middlesex Halloween Carnival is sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving
(M.A.D.D.).
69. [detail]
The movie starts with Donnie riding his bike home; the movie ends with Gretchen riding
her bike. She stops as she passes in front of Donnie’s house.
70. [detail]
According to the cast credits, which are listed in order of appearance, the man in the
red jogging suit is the FAA agent in disguise.
71. [detail]
A sticker inside Seth Devlin’s locker reads: “What would Satan do?”
72. [detail]
In Dr. Thurman’s office, Donnie is clearly wearing button-fly jeans. These were
popularized by Levi’s Jeans in the 1980’s.
73. [detail]
Among the 1980’s references, the following toys are seen or mentioned: Slinky, Rubik’s
Cube, Hungry Hungry Hippos.
74. [detail]
Frank, the rabbit, often appears near a water source (sprinklers, water main, faucet).
75. [detail]
When in class, Cherita Chen is always seated directly behind Donnie.
76. [detail]
The young boy who wants to learn how to fight at the school assembly is the same boy in
Jim Cunningham’s infomercial (Larry Riesman).
77. [detail]
As Donnie watches the arrest of Jim Cunningham on television, there is a picture of his
younger sister directly behind him.
78. [detail]
The name Frank is given to three people in this film: Frank the rabbit (also
Elizabeth’s boyfriend), Frankie Feedler, and Frank the anger prisoner (mentioned at the
school assembly).
79. [detail]
As the storm approaches, Donnie drives to the same place where he awoke in the first
scene.
80. [detail]
In the final montage sequence, Karen Pomeroy is the only character that is sound asleep.
81. [detail]
The last line of the movie is “All units should be back on base frequency.”
82. [religion]
Although Jim Cunningham’s initials are J.C., Donnie calls him the Antichrist and later
exposes the truth about him.
83. [religion]
As Donnie is being attacked by Seth Devlin, he mumbles “deus ex machina.” This is Latin
for “god from the machine.”
84. [religion]
In The Bible, Wisdom 8:8 reads: “If a man desires much knowledge, she knows the past,
and foretells the future; she knows the subtleties of speeches, and the solutions of
riddles; she foresees signs and wonders, and the outcome of times and ages.”
85. [mythology]
The Pontiac Trans Am vehicle in the film has a phoenix painted on the hood. The phoenix
is an Egyptian mythological bird that consumes itself by fire and resurrects from the
dead.
86. [direction]
When Donnie and Frank communicate, they always look directly at the camera.
87. [coincidence]
On November 4, 2004, a large chunk of ice fell from an airplane in Kent, Washington.
The ice block crashed into an 8-year-old girl’s bedroom and landed on her bed. She was
not home at the time of impact.
88. [time travel]
The E(8) x E(8) string theory, well-known to many mathematicians, is often referred to
in the study of time travel.
written by: Daniel Hernandez
