One of the strangest movies of the early aughts is celebrating its 25th anniversary with nationwide screenings on October 2-4, courtesy of Fathom Entertainment. This 2001 movie, directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films, almost never saw a theatrical release due to the awful timing right after 9/11 when no one cared to market any film. Fun fact: Christopher Nolan and his team believed in it enough to usher it into cinemas on the heels of the breakout film, Memento. Today, it is embedded in the zeitgeist for cinephiles and science fiction fans alike!
Noted as a stoner movie, there is no marijuana smoked. However, its subject and sci-fi elements won over the cannabis crowd more than two decades ago. With that in mind, there is one thing to consider on this anniversary: Which strains should you pair with the movie?
This guide will prepare you for the ride, helping you lift off before you take your seat. While blazing at theater screenings is not acceptable behavior, Donnie Darko is available with a subscription on Hulu, so you can toke as desired from your couch or bed. Now, without further ado, let’s run through this classic piece by piece, strain by strain…
Start with the Donnie Darko strain from Slanted Farms that descends from Donny Burger. A hybrid cross made up of Snoop Dawg and Fornicator, known for relaxation, happiness, and uplifting mood. Donnie is a weird kid, played incredibly by Jake Gyllenhaal as a deeply afflicted, over-medicated young man. At the dinner table, his sister, Elizabeth (played by Jake’s actual sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal), teases, “You want to tell mom and dad why you stopped taking your medications?” This is our first hint that Donnie is unraveling, spiraling into something darker. All is not well! That night, he swallows a pill and sleepwalks. Back in his bedroom, a jet engine crashes into the house, hurting no one. He has been spared. But, why? Minds will wander; the weed will help us navigate.
Donnie, the family and the authorities are bewildered regarding the engine that fell from the sky and landed on this particular suburban home. It’s 1988, set during the Presidential election campaign between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, who Elizabeth favors. Donnie’s attention span is limited in the class taught by Drew Barrymore playing Miss Pomeroy with cynical disdain. That is until he meets new-girl Gretchen, played by Jenna Malone. “You’re weird,” she says as he walks her home. “That’s a compliment.” At The Other, we like to keep it weird.
That weirdness comes out when Donnie conjures a man-sized rabbit he dubs Frank, who keeps appearing at inappropriate times. Another hallucination of sorts is the jelly-like protrusions that emerge from peoples’ bodies as they walk. Donnie, who’s obsessed with time travel, also dives into a portal. This would be the ideal moment to rip some ACDC to really emphasize the floating orb AKA the time spear, since this sativa-dominant provides euphoria, relaxation, and focus. After all, there are few things more cerebral than time travel. The high CBD content ensures a smooth landing one way or another.
A subplot involves a strict teacher, unlike Pomeroy, who encourages the students to follow the lessons of self-help proselytizer Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze). Donnie thinks he’s a con artist, insults Mrs. Farmer (Beth Grant) and is suspended. Meanwhile, Donnie reveals his “darko” secrets under hypnosis from therapist Dr. Lillian Thurman (Katherine Ross). “I’d like to do more hypnotherapy and to increase his medication,” she advises. His understanding mom, Rose (Mary McDonnell), agrees.
Guided by the time spear, Donnie discovers Cunningham is a pedophile and literally burns down his house with its “kiddie-porn dungeon.” He tells Dr. Thurman that Frank made him do it. This would be the ideal moment to rip something like the Sleepwalker 50/50 hybrid that combines Sunset Sherbet with Purple Fig to really minimize the cringe feelings at play. Relaxation is essential when dealing with such despicable behavior; but careful, this one can make you feel a bit sleepy when the lights are low.
One last madcap idea leads him, Gretchen and several others riding bikes into the night to a creepy house inhabited by old-lady Roberta Sparrow (Patience Cleveland), who’s known to them as “Grandma Death,” the author of a book about time travel. When Frank appears again, Donnie shoots him. Look for Seth Rogen, in his first movie role ever, in this scene as bully Ricky Danforth. Puff on some Harlequin, a sativa-dominant cross from Colombian Gold, Thai, and Swiss/Nepali landrace genetics. I personally like the strain here because of its balanced, playful effects with mild psychoactivity. You want to be present for the big finale as time goes backwards to the start of the movie and we’re led to believe it was all a dream. Perhaps a delusion in Donnie’s misguided head? Or it’s doing what it set out to do because, well, time travel makes no sense.
Decades have passed, but the movie still holds up thanks to the clever story and trippy visuals. But it’s the cast that really stands out. Jake Gyllenhaal went on to a stellar career that includes an Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain. Maggie’s career also took off, later receiving an Oscar nom for Crazy Heart. Barrymore became a major movie star in the ’90s and now hosts her own daytime talk show. Malone followed with Into the Wild, Inherent Vice and three Hunger Games movies. Veteran actors gave Donnie Darko more heft, starting with Ross, who played opposite Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, earning her an Oscar nom. Just a year before Donnie Darko, McDonnell co-starred with Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves as Stands With A Fist, for which she received her first of two Oscar noms (the other was for Passion Fish). And Swayze will always be best known as instructor Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing. The stars were out in this one!
Twenty‑five years later, Donnie Darko still hits with the same strange, hypnotic pull of a timeless film that keeps you scratching your head. Pairing it with the right strain enhances the film’s sense of mystique, wonder, and cosmic curiosity. So, sit back, spark one up and enjoy the 4k-enhanced 25th anniversary rerelease of this stoner movie from a bygone era, before cell phones and social media took over.
