‘Donnie Darko’ Is Heading Back to Theaters With a New 4K Restoration

Donnie Darko, perhaps the cult-iest of cult movies, made barely a ripple when it premiered in theaters in 2001, but since then has become a cult classic phenomenon, an essential film for disenfranchised teens and time travel aficionados alike. And, like, many cult classics these days, it’s getting a theatrical re-release, this time in glorious 4K resolution.

The BFI has been busy in the restoration department lately, also putting out a theatrical re-release of The Shining last month that included all 24 of missing minutes European audiences never got to see the first time it premiered. That release was of a new digital transfer version of The Shining that’s a lot sharper than the original. This 4K version of Donnie Darko will be even more of a sight to see, as restoring a film in 4K not only gets rid of all the scratches on the original celluloid print but preserves the vibrancy of the original image forever. Unfortunately for U.S. fans who don’t have plane tickets to London this winter, this version of the movie won’t be in American cinemas anytime soon, but hopefully it’ll make its way across the pond eventually.

For those of you who need a refresher, or if you’ve somehow missed seeing the movie, here’s BFI’s Donnie Darko synopsis:

October, 1988. In the middle of the night, a man in a monstrous rabbit suit appears to Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), a troubled teenager living with his family in suburban Virginia, to tell him that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. And so, a cult movie is born. As Donnie’s grip on reality weakens, we’re drawn into the darkness that lurks underneath the surface of suburbia.

Donnie Darko will hit U.K. theaters December 17.