Movies
Dissecting ‘Donnie Darko’: Everything Explained
Don’t feel bad if you didn’t understand Donnie Darko at all. First, the theatrical release offers less insight into the movie than the Director’s Cut. So, you may not know that there’s an entire mythos behind the film, making it take a while to see the whole picture. Here is the comprehensive Donnie Darko breakdown you’ve always wanted.
“Wake Up”
Don’t feel bad if you didn’t understand Donnie Darko at all. First, the theatrical release offers less insight into the movie than the Director’s Cut. So, you may not know that there’s an entire mythos behind the film, making it take a while to see the whole picture. Here is the comprehensive Donnie Darko breakdown you’ve always wanted. Expect spoilers.
“Do you believe in time travel?”
The most poignant thing to know about Donnie Darko is that it is a movie about time travel, multiverses, irony, death, God, and fate.
As we go deeper into this journey, it is vital to remember that everything is pre-designed in the Donnie Darko universe. Remembering this will help to avoid falling down any rabbit holes of potential paradoxes.
Furthermore, during Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut, pages from a book that Donnie is reading appear on the screen briefly at various times. These pages are integral to grasping the story and will be referenced throughout.
Donnie Darko Explained
Simple Donnie Darko Breakdown
Before fully diving into this Donnie Darko breakdown, let’s have a quick refresher.
Donnie Darko, a troubled teen, is awakened one night by a strange voice telling him to “wake up.” He follows the voice until he meets its owner, a six-foot-tall rabbit named Frank.
Frank tells Donnie that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.
Donnie returns home the following day to find a jet engine had fallen on his bedroom while he was gone.
The film follows Donnie, who sees continuous apparitions of this rabbit as strange coincidences begin happening back-to-back. Meanwhile, Frank – whom we find out is a guy with an injured eye wearing a rabbit suit – encourages Donnie to do things like flood the school and burn a house down.
All this culminates in Donnie Darko’s girlfriend, Gretchen, being accidentally run over by a car. Donnie immediately shoots and kills the driver.
The film ends with the events of the movie rewinding in time and Donnie Darko laughing hysterically in his bedroom as the jet engine from the beginning of the movie falls on him, killing him. Then, it shows everyone else waking up as if they’d just had a dream. Roll credits.
I’ll give you a moment to unpack that. I can see why this movie confused many people who saw it. Now, let’s dive into what was going on in Donnie Darko.
Into the Multiverse
From the moment the jet engine falls on his room at the beginning of the movie until we see the jet engine again at the end, the events we see play out are happening in what’s known as a Tangent Universe.
In the movie, Donnie Darko’s science teacher gives Donnie a book that would explain everything: “The Philosophy of Time Travel” by Roberta Sparrow.
Roberta Sparrow’s book explains Tangent Universes by saying:
“Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dimension becomes corrupted are incredibly rare.
If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining life for no longer than several weeks. Eventually, it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe, capable of destroying all existence.”
An alternate timeline has occurred; they are inside it and only have a small window before it “collapses upon itself.” This eventuality is where Frank the Rabbit’s famous 28 days, etc., countdown comes from. Are you with me so far?
Good, because it’s time to talk about that jet engine.
The Significance of the Jet Engine in Donnie Darko
According to “The Philosophy of Time Travel,” an artifact is the evidence that a Tangent Universe has occurred.
In this case, the Artifact is the mysterious jet engine that fell on Donnie Darko’s room. I could go into more detail about how these objects are typically made of metal, generate a lot of human interest around them, are an act of God, etc., but let’s keep it simple.
The key to ending a Tangent Universe is to return the Artifact from the Tangent Universe to the Primary one.
You may wonder how anyone could do that, so I introduce you to Donnie Darko’s role.
Why Donnie Darko was Important
During their first real conversation, his girlfriend Gretchen Ross remarks, “Donnie Darko? What the hell kind of name is that? It’s like some sort of superhero or something.”
This line gives us a small dose of irony because Donnie Darko has been set up to be a literal superhero. In this movie, Donnie Darko is known as The Living Receiver.
“The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe. No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.” -Roberta Sparrow.
Please stay with me here. Donnie Darko is a part of this by design, all with the intention of him being the one to deliver the Artifact to the Primary Universe.
According to Roberta Sparrow’s book, the Living Receiver may have fourth-dimensional powers, including telekinesis, strength, and mind control. When Donnie Darko breaks the water main at the school, there’s a shot with an axe through the head of their mascot, Mongrel. The school staff remarked that the Mongrel is made of bronze and wondered how the perpetrator got the axe up there. The axe’s placement is arguably the first evidence that he had some otherworldly ability. But he isn’t the only one.
Who is Frank the Rabbit?
Every time we see Frank the Rabbit, aside from two moments at the film’s end, he is dead. It is, essentially, his ghost that we’re seeing appear.
The first time we see Frank in his living form is as he appears during the final night of the Tangent Universe, wearing his homemade rabbit costume for a Halloween party.
Frank unwittingly runs over Donnie Darko’s love interest, Gretchen, which leads to Donnie shooting and killing him. This event gave him the eye wound we’d seen him with as Frank the Rabbit in the movie theater when he asked Donnie, “Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?”.
If you’re wondering how Frank the Rabbit’s ghost form can be skulking about whilst in the same universe as his living, breathing form, I refer you to the beginning, where I asked if you believe in time travel.
Because Donnie Darko deals heavily with the fourth dimension, Frank the Rabbit is not just a ghost -he is known as the Manipulated Dead.
The Manipulated Dead in Donnie Darko
When someone dies in a Tangent Universe who otherwise would not have died in the Primary one, they are the “Manipulated Dead,” whose sole purpose is to enact the movements necessary for the Living Receiver to close out the Tangent Universe.
They have many powers, even more so than the Living Receiver. They will set an “Ensurance Trap” to ensure the circumstances align for the Living Receiver to return the Artifact. In this case, Frank the Rabbit is the Manipulated Dead.
From “The Philosophy of Time Travel”:
The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If someone dies within the Tangent Dimension, they can contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.
The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water.
The Manipulated Dead will manipulate the Living Receiver using the Fourth Dimensional Construct (see Appendix A and B).
The Manipulated Dead will often set an Ensurance Trap for the Living Receiver to ensure that the Artifact is returned safely to the Primary Universe.
If the Ensurance Trap succeeds, the Living Receiver is left with no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Power to send the Artifact back into the Primary Universe before the Black hole collapses upon itself.”
Having Donnie flood the school puts him in the position to meet Gretchen Ross, and burning down Jim Cunningham’s house sets the stage for the Halloween party. These moments were crucial in getting Donnie to the right place at the right time to return the artifact.
As an eerie aside, we saw Gretchen Ross die in the Tangent Universe, yet we never see her have the powers or appearance of Frank the Rabbit. While some assert that she is one of the Manipulated Dead, and others theorize she may not have been dead, I have a different idea.
Gretchen was with Donnie the night that she died because she found her mother was missing, and it seemed her stepfather had returned. It’s possible that had Gretchen not been with Donnie, her stepdad could have found her, and she could have suffered a tragic fate regardless. Hence, it would not technically make her a Manipulated Dead, as she was destined to die in the Primary Universe on the same day.
That’s just a theory, though.
It’s time to talk about the Manipulated Living.
The Manipulated Living
In one section of the book, Roberta Sparrow explains that those living in the Tangent Universe near the Living Receiver are called the Manipulated Living. These people are copies of the Primary Universe’s versions, but they know something is amiss. The Manipulated Living will subconsciously lead the Living Receiver’s path to restore the universe. Or, as Roberta Sparrow put it in the book:
“The Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbors of the Living Receiver.
They are prone to irrational, bizarre, and often violent behavior.
This is the unfortunate result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe.
The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion.”
You may have noticed that Donnie Darko seemed surrounded by people acting out of pocket, such as his friends, Miss Farmer, his bully, and his bully’s pal (baby Seth Rogen). I am still waiting for justice for Cherita.
We’re conditioned to think of this as typical behavior for these people, but the growing tension results from them being the Manipulated Living. Being close to the vortex puts people on some of their worst behavior.
So, Who is Roberta Sparrow?
When his science teacher, Dr. Monnitoff, gives Donnie Darko the Philosophy of Time Travel book, Donnie finds that Roberta Sparrow, or “Grandma Death,” was once a teacher at that school. Before that, she’d been a nun, but Monnitoff shares that one day, she’d abruptly quit and took over the job as a science teacher at the school, eventually penning the book.
The foreword reads:
“The intent of this short book is to be used as a simple and direct guide in a time of great danger.
I pray that this is merely a work of fiction.
If it is not, then I pray for you, the reader of this book.
If I am still alive when the events foretold in these pages occur, then I hope that you will find me before it is too late.
Roberta Ann Sparrow
October, 1944”
We also knew she walked to and from her mailbox each day, anticipating a letter, seemingly convinced it could come at any time.
While there are numerous theories as to how Roberta Sparrow knew all that she did, including theories that she may have been a Living Receiver in a previous Tangent Universe, I think if you take into account the rest of the film, her abandoned-nun history, references to God at various points through her book, and the miscellaneous “Act of God” references throughout the film, I believe she had a vision from God or otherwise spiritual revelation that warned her what was to come. There’s no official confirmation on Roberta Sparrow besides what I shared in the first paragraph.
Why did Roberta Sparrow Say, “Every Living Thing on Earth Dies Alone”?
While much of the film is up to the viewer’s interpretation, it seems to do with helping Donnie to accept his fate. Remember that the Manipulated Living do things that will help propel the Living Receiver in the right direction. After Roberta Sparrow shared this with Donnie, it caused him to begin to question his spiritual beliefs.
Her impact on him was evident when he shared what Roberta Sparrow had told him with his psychiatrist. When the doctor asked an innocuous follow-up question, Donnie Darko launched a speech on his thoughts on God. That’s how Donnie seemed to take the quote, though there’s no indication it had a spiritual subtext. This idea stuck as Donnie Darko talked to his science teacher later, asking if we could change our destinies so long as we move within “God’s channel.”
The belief in something more was instrumental in dictating what would happen later.
Where did Cellar Door Come From?
One thing about the movie that took me years to finally understand is why the “Cellar Door” scene happened. The rest of the movie seemed so well put together; it seemed silly that Donnie Darko would think to go to Roberta Sparrow’s cellar door at the climax just because Miss Pomeroy had it written on the chalkboard earlier that day.
However, I’ve come to understand with time and perspective that Donnie Darko spends most of the film seeing bizarre synchronicities. He repeatedly remarks, “It can’t just be a coincidence.” As we’ve been divulging into the information in Roberta Sparrow’s Philosophy of Time Travel book, so has Donnie. By the final day, he’s accepted that these are happening for a reason. He’s learning to read the signs placed before him.
The Songs That Played in Donnie Darko
It’s no secret that I love the music used in horror movies, and Donnie Darko is incredibly exceptional as its music often accurately expresses precisely what is going on.
“Mad World” by Gary Jules is one example, especially given the “the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had” line playing after Donnie Darko had just essentially awoken from a dream to die.
Another example is using INXS’s “Tear Us Apart” with lines like “two worlds collided.”
But the key to understanding it all lies in the song “Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen.
The frontman of the band Ian McCulloch noticed the connections between his song and the movie and shared in this interview with Louder Sound:
“I’d mentioned somewhere that The Killing Moon was about pre-destiny, and [Kelly] wrote the whole f***ing film about it. […] Great as it is, he should at least have given us a credit for the idea.”
That sentiment is the exact reason why this song helps us understand the movie. “Killing Moon” is about death, fate, and falling in love, with ominous lines on how everything will eventually end.
“Under Blue Moon, I saw you. So soon, you’ll take me.
Up in your arms. Too late to beg you;
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time, unwillingly mine.
Fate up against your will…”
This song perfectly sums up the film (even down to the Bunny Man), as it represents things ending and Donnie Darko coming to grips with his fate. There has been a design where whichever route he chose would lead to his end.
Why was Donnie Darko Laughing at the End?
While this is a theory, I believe it all involved irony. Donnie was saved from the jet engine falling on his room, only for him to return to die at the hands of a jet engine falling on his room. Outside of that, there is much irony in Donnie Darko’s feelings on Jim Cunningham’s Love and Fear charade. Only once Donnie Darko overcame his fears did he sacrifice himself in the throes of love to save the Primary Universe. He’s “not afraid anymore!”
Most importantly, the guy had just seen a 6-foot-tall rabbit from the future for the last month, used telekinesis to time travel and save the world, and is now moments away from certain death. Anyone who finds themselves in that position is allowed a little maniacal laughter. Go ahead; you deserve it.
Why did Donnie Darko Have to Die?
Remember that the name of the game is to return the Artifact to the Primary Universe. In this case, the mysterious missing jet engine that appeared at the beginning was the engine Donnie Darko telepathically ripped off the plane in the final shot of the Tangent Universe. He was returning the Artifact and himself with it.
This part might give you a headache; feel free to skip it.
As Donnie Darko was delivering the Artifact back to the same point in time in the Primary Universe that it appeared, his consciousness picked up where he would have been if the Tangent Universe hadn’t happened. Remember that what saved Donnie from dying via jet engine in the first place was Frank the Rabbit telling him to “wake up.” Since there’s no Tangent Universe, there’s no future ghost bunny to wake Donnie and get him to safety.
Since pre-destiny is a considerable factor in this movie, try not to get too wrapped up in paradoxes.
Why does Gretchen Wave at Donnie’s Mom?
At the end of the movie, we see all the characters wake up, seeming to remember the events of the Tangent Universe. Despite never meeting Donnie, Gretchen Ross waves to his mother at the end as she is grieving her son. Gretchen feels a clear connection to her because she was also one of the Manipulated Living. Roberta Sparrow has a section for that:
“When the Manipulated awaken from their Journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams.
Many of them will not remember.
Those who do remember the Journey are often overcome with profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within their Dreams, the only physical evidence buried within the Artifact itself, all that remains from the lost world.
Ancient myth tells us of the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.
We are told of the Medieval Knight mysteriously impaled by sword he had not yet built.
We are told that these things occur for a reason.”
Keeping it Simple
When all else fails when trying to understand Donnie Darko, remember the scene where Miss Pomeroy is going over Watership Down with her class. When Donnie asks why we should care what happens to a bunch of rabbits, Miss Pomeroy explains that “the rabbits are us.” We see bits of ourselves in these characters. Gretchen adds that we care about them because the author cares about them. Donnie Darko was a troubled youth who stumbled into a situation greater than himself. It was just his story, and now it’s over. The moments and characters stick with us, whether or not we fully understand it.
Also, please remember to thank your Miss Pomeroys.
Donnie Darko is a film with many layers that make it easy to watch repeatedly. I hope you can watch it again with all this in mind and pick up on something new.
The director and writer Richard Kelly has professed his love for “worldbuilding, ” which shows in his works. Richard Kelly reportedly has new stuff on the way, but while you’re waiting, his horror movie The Box is worth checking out when you’re done dissecting Donnie Darko.
Did you learn something new? Did any of my theories infuriate you with their potential wrongness? Let us know in the comments!
Remember to follow @HorrorPressLLC on Instagram so you never miss out on fun horror content!
Movies
45 Years of Fear: The Most Killer Moments from Friday the 13th
May 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the release of the 1980 slasher Friday the 13th. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d break down the most important 45 minutes of footage from across the entire franchise that was spawned on that day nearly half a century ago. Some of these clips are historic, helping to shape the franchise. Some are shining examples of the franchise at its best and worst. And some are just a hell of a lot of fun. Because if you’re not having fun during a Friday the 13th movie marathon, something has gone terribly wrong.
May 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the release of the 1980 slasher Friday the 13th. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d break down the most important 45 minutes of footage from across the entire franchise that was spawned on that day nearly half a century ago. Some of these clips are historic, helping to shape the franchise. Some are shining examples of the franchise at its best and worst. And some are just a hell of a lot of fun. Because if you’re not having fun during a Friday the 13th movie marathon, something has gone terribly wrong.
Note: If the video I share is longer than the clip I’m pointing to, specific timecodes will be included in a parenthetical at the beginning of the paragraph.
Ch-Ch-Ch Ha-Ha-Ha Begins (6 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:12 to 1:18) Less than two minutes into the movie, you get to hear composer Harry Manfredini’s magnum opus for the first time. The atonal “ch-ch-ch ha-ha-ha” would come to define the soundscape of the franchise, more than any other individual piece of music.
Also, purists will tell you that it’s “ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma,” because Manfredini put reverb on those syllables from “kill her, mommy” in order to create the sound. But when you’re mimicking it or writing it out, you gotta go with how it sounds, people, not where it started!
Annie’s Death (19 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:18 to 1:37) Although two random counselors were killed in the opening sequence of the movie, their deaths are relatively bloodless. Annie is the first main character to be killed during the movie proper, and Tom Savini’s gross slit-throat prosthetic gets center stage here, pulling the rug out from under the first-time viewer who might have assumed we were getting a classy slasher like Halloween in addition to hinting at the carnage that is to come.
Crazy Ralph Rides His Bike (8 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(0:31 to 0:39)
I mean, look at that posture. Impeccable!
Jack’s Death (44 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
While Annie’s death raises the curtain of Friday the 13th, Jack’s is the showstopper. From its unique weapon choice and (frankly, impossible) geography, to the geyser of blood that ensues, it is a sequence that drew up the template for the creative, jaw-dropping kills to come in future installments.
Mrs. Voorhees’ Monologue (1 minute & 59 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(0:20 to 2:19) In addition to being impeccably delivered by a deliciously over-the-top Betsy Palmer, Mrs. Voorhees’ killer reveal moment introduces the character of Jason, who is – spoiler alert – going to turn out to be pretty important.
Mrs. Voorhees’ Death (38 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:02 to 1:40) This decapitation is another important element of Jason’s backstory, but it’s also just a hella cool Tom Savini moment.
Jason’s Debut (22 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:25 to 1:47) Jason arriving on the scene as a zombie child threw a wrench in continuity from square one, but it is important for multiple reasons. First, it provided the movie with an iconic last-minute jump scare that sent audiences out into the streets, singing the movie’s praises and building word of mouth. Second, it’s the first proper appearance of Jason, and that kind of history simply can’t be ignored.
Jason’s Adult Debut (21 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
(0:00 to 0:21) Jason making his first appearance as a grown man (played in this moment by costume designer Ellen Lutter) might be a bit ignominious. He steps in a puddle, and that’s pretty much it. But that step in a puddle marks the glorious debut of a character who was about to become synonymous with the slasher genre.
Alice’s Death (31 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
(6:15 to 6:46) Not only does Alice’s death promise that nobody is safe in this new installment, it marks the first and only time that a final girl from a Friday the 13th installment would appear in its sequel.
Paul Gives It To Us Straight About Jason (2 minutes & 12 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
In addition to being an eerie scene-setting moment, Paul’s campfire story about Jason Voorhees provides audiences with the only real attempt at an explanation that they’re going to get about why the dead zombie kid from the last movie is now a very much alive, homicidal adult.
Mark’s Death (55 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
How do you one-up a kill like the one that put an arrow through Kevin Bacon’s neck? Here’s one way.
Ginny’s Dress-Up Act (1 minute & 3 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
(0:00 to 1:03) In addition to showcasing the cleverness of one of the franchise’s best final girls (and cementing the fact that the franchise will consistently embrace the final girl trope), the moment where Ginny dresses up as Jason’s mother had a huge ripple effect on the slasher genre at large and would be ripped off time and again, including in the finale of the Canadian slasher Humongous, which debuted just 13 months later.
The Disco Theme (1 minute & 52 seconds, Friday the 13th Part III)
Is this the second most important piece of music that Harry Manfredini contributed to the franchise? I think there are other contenders, but I’m not gonna come right out and say no.
Jason Gets His Hockey Mask (19 seconds, Friday the 13th Part III)
(3:00 to 3:19) Here it is, the moment that changed Friday the 13th forever. It didn’t seem like it at the time, really. It was just a cool look that he stole from that loser, Shelly. But the hockey mask became synonymous with Jason so instantaneously that it was featured on the poster for this movie’s immediate sequel. Mind you, the poster doesn’t even feature Jason. Just the mask.
Rick’s Death (40 seconds, Friday the 13th Part III)
Just like the disco theme, this moment highlights the fact that Friday the 13th wasn’t afraid to go a little wacky, even in the early installments that didn’t feature overt supernatural elements.
Crispin Glover Dances (31 seconds, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
I mean, this would be one of the most important moments of any franchise. If this happened in The Godfather Part III, more people would rank it higher. Just saying.
Jason Meets His (First) End (2 minutes & 32 seconds, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
(1:33 to 4:05) Ah what a sweet and innocent time it was in 1984. Jason was dead. It was the final chapter. The nightmare was finally over, right? Right?! In addition to beginning the trend of the franchise ending with Jason’s death and then starting back up again more or less immediately, this sequence is Tom Savin’s victory lap before departing the franchise. What better moment could have represented this than Jason’s face sliding down a machete, am I right?
Damn Enchiladas (1 minute & 45 seconds, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)
(0:00 to 1:45) The Friday the 13th movies have always been reflective of the culture and trends of the time in which they were made, and this is perhaps the most beautifully bizarre interlude from the most coked-up era of cinema history.
It Was Roy? (42 seconds, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)
(4:35 to 5:17) And now for the “huh?” heard ‘round the world. When Jason falls onto a bed of spikes (a pretty cool death, honestly), his mask splits open like a melon to reveal… who is that again? Oh yeah, Roy, the weird paramedic from like two earlier scenes in the movie. That’s right, we have a copycat killer on our hands! The resoundingly negative response to this is a major reason why the upcoming movies took on a supernatural twist with a zombie Jason (the popularity of Elm Street also helped).
Jason’s Return (3 minutes & 36 seconds, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
(4:53 to 8:29) Jason’s back, y’all. And who should bring him back but Tommy Jarvis, the guy who is perhaps the most important recurring character in the franchise whose last name doesn’t begin with a V.
Cort Has Sex (26 seconds, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
(1:25 to 1:51) Even for Jason’s most overtly comic outing, this sequence perfectly highlights how out of touch these filmmakers could sometimes be from even the most basic of human experiences.
Tina Fights Jason (2 minutes & 13 seconds, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
We already have a supernatural Jason, so why not throw in a telekinetic final girl? In an installment that was butchered by the MPAA and thus does not have much gore to speak of, the silly but compelling battle at the end of the movie likely went a long way toward ensuring that the franchise would live to slay another day.
Jason Goes On Arsenio Hall (5 minutes & 43 seconds)
Jason’s appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show was the beginning of the end for the big lug. This flop-sweaty talk show moment is as embarrassing for Jason as it is for Arsenio, and it highlights both what a massive phenomenon the franchise was and how little Paramount could figure out what to do with it in the tail end of the 1980s. It makes sense that they sold it off to New Line right after Jason Takes Manhattan (which Jason is promoting here) took in the most diminished of returns at the box office.
Julius’ Death (1 minute & 56 seconds, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
It may not have made the money that Paramount was hoping for, but Jason Takes Manhattan still knew how to have fun when it wanted to.
Jason (Finally) Takes Manhattan (32 seconds, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
(0:36 to 1:08) In one of the scant few moments of the movie that both 1) takes place in Manhattan and 2) was shot in Manhattan, the movie ever-so-briefly lives up to the glory promised by the title and poster. Alas, this wasn’t long enough to win anybody over.
Jason Meets His (Second) End (3 minutes, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
Jason’s second death in the franchise is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. It is thus a fitting end for his original run at Paramount, who fumbled this project in every possible way.
Game Over (5 seconds, Friday the 13th NES Game)
(0:10 to 0:15) I’m sorry to report that you and your friends are dead, but what an honor for your demise to have come at the hands of Jason Voorhees.
Jason Meets His (Third) End (1 minute & 20 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
(1:40 to 3:00) Jason’s third demise came a lot quicker than anybody thought, in the opening sequence of the next movie. Frankly, the surprise SWAT sting is pretty fun, too.
Jason’s Autopsy (1 minute & 41 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
(0:45 to 2:26) Here is the moment where New Line announced exactly what they were going to be up to as the new stewards of the Friday the 13th franchise. Even though I secretly enjoy this movie, it perhaps makes sense why things went off the rails more or less immediately.
Creighton Duke Makes His American Casefile Debut (20 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
Say what you will about the new direction for the franchise, but the world is better off with Creighton Duke in it.
Jason (Finally) Goes to Hell (1 minute & 19 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
(1:15 to 2:34) Never say these movies don’t live up to the promises made by their titles. Eventually.
Adrienne’s Death (27 seconds, Jason X)
(0:25 to 0:52) This kill in Jason’s bizarre spacefaring adventure proves that New Line still had some tricks up their sleeves when it came to having filmmakers craft exciting kills.
The Camp Simulation (30 seconds, Jason X)
Here’s another fun kill (with the nudity cut out for YouTube censorship reasons, because violence is fine but god forbid you see a rogue nipple), but the VR Crystal Lake sequence also brings the franchise full circle in the last of its proper installments.
Jason Raves (2 minutes & 9 seconds, Freddy vs. Jason)
This sequence is proof that you can’t keep Jason Voorhees down. You can send him to hell, send him to space, kill him a half-dozen times, it doesn’t matter. This crossover with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise proved that this murdering machine just ain’t gonna break.
Nolan & Chelsea’s Deaths (1 minute & 54 seconds, Friday the 13th 2009)
(1:10 to 3:04) In what unfortunately remains the most recent installment, this pair of deaths is probably the best at evoking what the reboot does best. It has a solid shock gag followed by a thrilling cat-and-mouse moment, ending with a sublimely tasteless kill that combines nudity and gore in a single shot. It’s the entire Friday the 13th franchise in a nutshell.
Trent Has Sex (10 seconds, Friday the 13th 2009)
This is the amount of time it takes for Trent to speak the most iconic lines of dialogue in the history of western drama, namely “Your tits are stupendous,” “You got perfect nipple placement, baby,” “These would win in a fucking titty contest,” and “Your tits are fucking just… so juicy, dude.” Shakespeare could never.
Movies
How Lucha Libre Birthed Mexico’s Wildest Horror Films
Though schlocky B-horror is often associated with American films of men in cheap rubber monster suits and small casts running around in the desert, past our southern border Mexican pop culture has a strong, storied history of B-horror surrounding luchadores, masked wrestlers. Movies where the kings of the ring beat down on anything demonic or alien that crosses their path. But those films themselves have a wild origin, stemming from a post-war hunt for identity and censorship on the basis of sex. Truly, the luchador films that became the bulk of mexploitation cinema as we know it today didn’t come from a strong desire to uplift lucha but from attempts to suppress it. To understand lucha libre and how it became popular enough to be banned from television, we have to get back to the first half of the 20th century, with the end of the Mexican Revolution.
Today’s story is one of domino effects. Of how cultural moments and political decisions can send out ripples that no one can see coming, to the most unlikely of places sometimes. It’s about the unpredictable and ephemeral nature of life, on and off film. And about how cool it is to see a guy in a silver mask elbow-drop a werewolf. This is the story of how Lucha Libre birthed some of Mexico’s wildest horror films.
Though schlocky B-horror is often associated with American films of men in cheap rubber monster suits and small casts running around in the desert, past our southern border Mexican pop culture has a strong, storied history of B-horror surrounding luchadores, masked wrestlers. Movies where the kings of the ring beat down on anything demonic or alien that crosses their path. But those films themselves have a wild origin, stemming from a post-war hunt for identity and censorship on the basis of sex.
Truly, the luchador films that became the bulk of mexploitation cinema as we know it today didn’t come from a strong desire to uplift lucha but from attempts to suppress it. To understand lucha libre and how it became popular enough to be banned from television, we have to get back to the first half of the 20th century, with the end of the Mexican Revolution.
Mexicanidad and the Rise of Masked Wrestlers
To those unfamiliar with the particulars of the Mexican Revolution, it stands as one of the most violent times of political upheaval in human history. After the deposition of decades-long oligarchical dictator Porfirio Diaz and his regime, multiple parties began to fight for control of the country as its residents sought economic relief, agrarian reform, and the cession of land back to indigenous populations.
The Revolution saw a revolving door of commandants, a cadre of different political groups fighting for a variety of different reasons, and the loss of (by the most conservative estimates) over a million lives in a civil war never before seen in Mexico. Needless to say, the Mexican national identity had been wounded severely by the conflict as doubt and fear filled the populace, and political figures like Lázaro Cárdenas, who found themselves in power following the Revolution, began to try and restore that identity.
From this turning point comes the concept of Mexicanidad, a push for Mexican pride and a reaffirming of the image of the Mexican people that was driven by the tastemakers of Mexican society in politics and media. And for Mexican men, and specifically Mexican working-class men, that evolved into an emphasis on masculinity, virility, athleticism, and what would eventually evolve into our modern conceptions of machismo.
The Television Ban That Birthed Lucha Libre Horror Films
And so came the revitalization of lucha libre, for many reasons. Wrestling as a sport had and still has a fairly low barrier to entry, making it the perfect cheap entertainment for the working class. It had previously captured the hearts of Mexican citizens as far back as the late 1800s when wrestling made its way to the country. It involved masculine displays of strength and agility, which was perfect for the Mexicanidad crowd to endorse. The sport also had a rotating cast of colorful characters, usually the same guys you saw last week but fighting with different masks on, which was the perfect draw for young audiences who soon began to see their favorite luchadors at the comic stands and in wider media.
The craze of professional wrestling spread like wildfire, and more importantly, it spread to a female audience. As female athletes became a point of cultural interest, luchadoras became a very popular element of lucha libre despite being in the minority of performers. There began a melding between the rigid roles of masculine and feminine energy, undesired by many of the political and cultural elites of mid-century Mexico.
The cultural thermometer rapidly cooled due to lucha, and in 1954, federal authorities imposed a 30-year-long ban on lucha libre on Mexican television to prevent the waters from being muddied by such “dangerous” concepts. Soon, lucha had gone from a sport beloved by all people to a brutish, lowbrow event. Which, couldn’t be further from the truth, but cultural hegemony is a hell of a drug!
CDMX’s airwaves had become a no-fly zone for masked wrestlers, and a lost media massacre ensued that caused little to no recordings of those classic matches from the 40s and 50s being kept in circulation. Whole careers had evaporated from record overnight.
But…that didn’t stop luchadors from going to the movies.
Gothic Horror Revival in Mexican Cinema
The film wasn’t just a smash hit at the box office, it was a superkick to the mouth of Mexican cinema that ended up causing a true gothic horror revival. The film’s producer and star, Abel Salazar, found enough success with the film that the Mexican market was soon saturated with gothic horror of his own design, as Hammer Horror took over the British film market.
EL SANTO, BLUE DEMON, AND THE RISE OF LUCHA LIBRE IN HORROR
Despite the television ban, you couldn’t make Mexico forget its masked heroes so easily. The two most significant of which were El Santo y Demonio Azul (more commonly referred to as Blue Demon). Well, technically both of them began as rudos (heels, or bad guys) and later became tecnicos (faces, or heroes). The point is, Santo and Blue Demon’s rivalry was a legendary one, with their masks becoming a piece of indelible Mexican iconography and recollections of their matches being burned into people’s brains.
El Santo was convinced by fellow wrestler, Fernando Osés, to join him on the set of a film he was shooting, as the recent TV ban opened up opportunities in film for wrestlers. Santo was initially signed to star in one of the first lucha films called El Enmascarado De Plata (The Man in the Silver Mask), but backed out last minute because of fears the film would fail and damage his reputation.
Santo’s actual debut pulled him into the world of monster movies that had begun to thrive in Mexico, with his first film being Santo Contra El Cerebro Del Mal (Santo vs. The Brain of Evil) in 1961. From there he went on to do Santo Contra Los Zombies (Santo vs. The Zombies), and by the time he had shot Santo vs. The Men from Hell and Santo in The Hotel of the Dead, he had been locked in as a b-horror icon.
He was of course reunited with Blue Demon throughout his career, and the two often teamed up like superheroes to fight a wide variety of fiends. Ranging from alien spiders to vampire women to Mesoamerican mummies on a rampage, there was nothing they weren’t willing to powerbomb into oblivion. Blue Demon starred in 25 films over his lifetime– Santo starred in more than 50. The two were prolific actors and artists, and despite the often irreverent nature of the films they made and the questionable quality of many of them, the two were horror icons that most of the world is simply unaware of.
Many of their films were not distributed widely, let alone localized to English-speaking territories; only a total of 4 Santo films ever got English language versions. But even if those dubs never came, we can stand and salute the wild history of b-horror that these luchador legends have given us.
Top Lucha Libre Horror Films to Watch Today
Arañas Infernales (Hellish Spiders) is a really fun piece of schlocky, monochrome, nuclear bug horror from the late 60s; the little evil alien spider puppets in this film are so doofy looking, I want ten of them. It’s pure ham and cheese as far as content goes, but it’s impossible to say it isn’t fun.
Santo y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstruos (Santo & Blue Demon vs. The Monster Men) is some oh-so-glorious technicolor nonsense that brings us a six-man grudge match between the heroes, a mummy, a werewolf, a vampire, and a Frankenstein. I don’t even have to say anything else, you know it’s too hype of a concept to turn down.
Santo Contra Las Mujeres Vampiro (Santo vs. The Vampire Women) has some genuinely unparalleled ambiance and set design, with this black and white gothic horror mixing a modernized Mexican aesthetic with the pseudo-Victorian mansion where the finale takes place. Santo dives into a nest of female vampires in white dresses to rescue a damsel in distress, and hilarity ensues. It is probably the most technically competent of all of these when it comes to its directing.
The Mummies of Guanajuato was ultimately one of if not the biggest moneymakers, as it brought the three most famous luchadores together: Santo, Blue Demon y Mil Máscaras united to put the squeeze on some mummies killing Mexican citizens. Those monsters by the way, actually look great thanks to their makeup! All the ring exhibition stuff of them wrestling in the film is impressive as well. This one is my true favorite. If I could only watch one, it would be this.
And that’s all! Well, I’m off to go watch Santo vs The Zombies again, stay chill Horror Press rea–
What’s this?
ITS EDITOR JAMES-MICHAEL WITH THE STEEL CHAIR?
HES COMING IN BECAUSE OF MY HELLBOY ARTICLE BEING TOO LONG?!
LORD HAVE MERCY!
***
Major thanks to Marjolein Van Bavel, a professor of Modern Cultural History at Radboud University, whose writing formed most of the research on the historical part of this article. She discusses luchadoras in much more detail in her article “Morbo, lucha libre, and Television: The Ban of Women Wrestlers from Mexico City in the 1950s”, which I highly recommend you check out. Her writing was one of the major resources used for this article, and as such, deserves a shoutout.
And another shoutout to Brian Schuck of Films From Beyond, who pointed me towards Doyle Green and his book Mexploitation Cinema, which is a huge resource on lucha libre in horror. Both of them are incredible, please show them some love!
And as always, good luck, and happy watching horror fans!
The Evolution of Female Cannibals in Horror Films and TV
‘Dangerous Animals’ Review: Summertime Horror Is So Back
Demon Twinks: Horror’s Deadliest Skinny Boys
Interview with the Vampire: Queer Love & Vampires on TV
Universal’s Dark Universe: A Monster Lover’s Review
[REVIEW] ‘Spiral’ (2019) Spins Out Of Control
45 Years of Fear: The Most Killer Moments from Friday the 13th
[REVIEW] The Prophecy Calls For Faith In ‘End of Days’ (1999)
[REVIEW] ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ It’s Not Great…
[Review] ‘Bring Her Back’ A Gut-Wrenching Horror Masterpiece
‘The People Under the Stairs’ Review: A Brilliantly Bizarre Undercover Horror Classic
Glen and Glenda: Don Mancini’s Reverence for Queerness in ‘Seed of Chucky’ (2004)
Slappy Was the Blueprint: How the Dummy from Goosebumps Became A Horror Icon
‘Truth or Dare’: Who Did it Best?
HORROR 101: Five Nights at Freddy’s and The Story of William Afton Explained
[REVIEW] ‘Cherry Falls’ (1999) Brittany Murphy Shines in This Cult Classic Slasher
Mia from ‘Evil Dead’ – A New Kind of Final Girl
This Is What Makes Sue Ann from ‘Ma’ a Terrifying Yet Loveable Horror Villain
Is ‘Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker’ Too Problematic for 2022?
