Film has long held a magic for audiences around the globe, capturing our imaginations in a way that few types of media can hope to replicate. Extending this magnetism to the web is something that many people have tried, with varying degrees of success. The website for "Donnie Darko" is a supreme example of engaging audiences across multiple media where the online component actually enhances the viewers experience of the original element.

The site was created for the Film "Donnie Darko" by first-time director Richard Kelly. The film plays over a 28 day period in a tangent (parallel universe) between 2 October and 30 October 1988.

The site was designed to mirror this time and was launched in numerous phases from early October. The final phase was launched on 26 October 2001, which was the release date of the film in the US.

The site does not give away anything about the film directly, but actually adds to the film, as the site portrays what happened in the primary universe, the world we all witnessed between 2/10/1988 and 30/10/1988 and afterwards. It follows the life of characters in the film and thereby adds to the story, rather than taking away or spoiling it (apart from one point - but we warn people before).

The site branches out into various other sites which all give you bits of information and passwords which you need to be able to access the various levels in the site.