While pitching the script Kelly and McKittrick insisted that Kelly direct the film, which hindered its chances at being picked up. Kelly insisted that Frank's face had to disturb people and create an intense response with the audience. Poster had not shot a feature film in two years, and Kelly had to persuade him to accept the job for a reduced fee. However, he could not figure out how to make the story work in such a setting and retained the original setting.

Donnie Darko (2001) - Posters — The Movie Database (TMDB) Donnie Darko (2001) - Posters — The Movie Database (TMDB)

When Donnie realizes that Frank's prophesied end of the world is only hours away, he takes Gretchen and two other friends to see Sparrow. Nolan and Thomas had advised Kelly to insert title cards throughout the film to break down the events leading up to October 30, 1988, which he did.

Despite its initial poor box office showing, the film attracted a devoted fan base and gained a cult following.

Donnie Darko - 2001 - Original Movie Poster - Art of the Movies

The Manipulated Dead (those who die within the Tangent Universe, like Frank and Gretchen) are more aware than the Living, having the power to travel through time, and will set an Ensurance Trap, a scenario which leaves the Receiver no choice but to save the Primary Universe. Kelly said the film was not "attractive to people in that emotional, very deeply traumatizing chapter in our history". Once outside, he meets a figure in a monstrous rabbit costume named Frank who tells Donnie that the world will end in precisely 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. The design was given to costume designer April Ferry who built a fur suit from scratch and hired a sculptor to create Frank's altered grin. Because the film's advertising featured a crashing plane and the September 11 attacks had occurred a month and a half before, it was scarcely advertised.

The novel was to be taught in Karen's English class after the school had censored Graham Greene from her curriculum, but it was a subplot that was abandoned in the theatrical version but included in the director's cut. The film was publicised at the Sundance Film Festival as being the first to feature significant digital effects. The opening scene with Donnie waking up was the first to be filmed; it was shot at sunrise on the Angeles Crest Highway. Cameron suggested to Kelly that he continue working on the project, which made Kelly realise that "there was really something big, something epic that could be done. Kelly also incorporated the moment he almost ran over a homeless person while driving, arguments with his school teachers over the curriculum, and his personal experiences with sleepwalking into the narrative.

Donnie Darko Poster - Etsy UK Donnie Darko Poster - Etsy UK

Kelly said his "jaw was on the floor" at the unexpected offer, which greatly boosted the chances of having the film made with the agency's stamp on the script. The pair liked the script and wanted to get involved, which led Kelly and McKittrick to a meeting with the pair in March 2000 on the set of Charlie's Angels (2000), where Barrymore was filming.The driver turns out to be Elizabeth's boyfriend, Frank Anderson, wearing the same rabbit costume from Donnie's visions. The word "fuck-ass", used in the Darko family dinner scene, was something that two of Kelly's film school friends used during their occasional exchange of insults.

Donnie Darko Posters - Etsy Donnie Darko Posters - Etsy

The site's critics consensus reads, "Richard Kelly's debut feature Donnie Darko is a daring, original vision, packed with jarring ideas and intelligence and featuring a remarkable performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the troubled title character. Set in October 1988, the film follows Donnie Darko, an emotionally troubled teenager who inadvertently escapes a bizarre accident by sleepwalking. The New York Times honed in on the 1980s coming-of-age story aspect by observing the influence of John Hughes, noting the "ineffectual" adults and the fact that Donnie's "suffering is a way to make him more sensitive".Under the Milky Way" by The Church is played after Donnie and Gretchen emerge from his bedroom during the party. Kitty begins teaching “attitude lessons” taken from local motivational speaker Jim Cunningham, but Donnie rebels against these, leading to friction between Kitty and Rose. Jean Oppenheimer of New Times (LA) praised the film, saying, "Like gathering storm clouds, Donnie Darko creates an atmosphere of eerie calm and mounting menace—[and] stands as one of the most exceptional movies of 2001. In April 2021, Arrow Films released a two-disc Ultra HD Blu-ray box set containing both cuts in 4K resolution restorations from the original negatives, supervised by Kelly and Poster.