The 1980s was rife with idealistic teen movies—Ferris Bueller, Marty Mcfly, and the like ran the scene. John Hughes painted a picture of mis-fit high schoolers, struck by challenges of romance, friendships, and parental trust. But in 2001, 26 year old writer/director Richard Kelly twisted that archetype nearly beyond recognition with his first film, a psychological thriller calledDonnie Darko, set in 1988.

The film follows the life of a teenage boy, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is plagued by afflictions like sleepwalking, hallucinations, and a general “detachment from reality”. His most profound hallucination is a 6-foot-tall, bug-eyed rabbit by the name of Frank, who ends up being the key to saving Donnie’s life, as well as the world. He’s supported by his girlfriend, (Jena Malone), as well as his parents (Mary McDonnell and Holmes Osborne), and his hypnosis-happy therapist (Katharine Ross). The movie opens with a jet engine falling through the roof of the Darko house, with Donnie’s life being saved by a message from Frank which gets him to sleepwalk out of the house.

From there, the picture only seems to get wilder. From the get-go it was branded by critics as a future cult classic, and it’s certainly lived up to that prophesy. The film has a somewhat fanatic following that hail as it as the psychological thriller to end them all as well as a sort of dark comedy, but I’m not convinced. I didn’t hate it, and I certainly connected in spots—Donnie is almost scarily relatable at times—but it felt, to put it bluntly, like it was trying too hard. It had the sort of contrived, know-it-all air that I hate, that makes me avoid movies based on Shakespeare scripts and art-house films. It was funny, certainly, but not enough so as to make me enjoy it whole heartedly.

The film was scored by Michael Andrews, who does a brilliant job of capturing both the haunting atmosphere of Donnie’s life and the nostalgia of the 1980s. The camera work is fluid and rife with special effects, and the set does not easily give away the fact that filming was set in Los Angeles.

Much like when it first came out, Donnie Darko is enjoyed almost exclusively by a small collection of cult followers. It never has been and, most likely, never will be a classic teen movie. I don’t see it being forgotten however—it’s the type of movie that will endure for years and years, nurtured by its incredibly devoted fanbase.