“How do I know that I’m Donnie Darko Fan No. 1? Because I am. So many similarities between Donnie and Darryl. … We’re both into riding bikes, we’re both on medication, and sometimes we don’t want to take that medication.” – Darryl Donaldson
Maybe Darryl is a little scary. But because of that, he’s also pretty damn funny, just like cult classic Donnie Darko. Making almost as many waves among the critical and fan community as the numerous story changes in the director’s cut released on DVD this week (Fox Home Entertainment, $26.98) is a hilarious extra on disc two. “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary” is the prankish handiwork of three former Austinites, producer Ray Mansfield, director Dee Robertson, and writer/performer Todd Berger.
The alleged prize-winner in a contest for the best video by a Darko lover, it follows the slightly unbalanced peregrinations of one Darryl Donaldson, singing his own lyrics to the film’s original score as he looks for a little love from Donnie Darko writer/director Richard Kelly and the missing “Chapter 5” from the film’s purely fictional Philosophy of Time Travel. “This guy is frightening. And if he’s the best of the lot that entered, I’d hate to see the losers,” noted one online critic, while another ventured a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, and even the Fangoria guy lost his shit. Cooler heads at the Toronto Star straddle whether Darryl is “having us on or demonstrating the dark side of adoration.” We contacted Dee and Todd to settle just which it is … and ended up with the eminently Darko-esque answer of “both.”
Todd Berger: So, first off, it’s good that people find it hilarious or creepy, because either way, we win.
Austin Chronicle: OK, but full disclosure. Darryl Donaldson’s not real, is he?
Dee Robertson: He could be real.
TB: Oh, I think Darryl’s definitely from the tangent universe, which thankfully means that in our universe he’s dead. Long dead.
AC: Personally, spending enough time on the infamous DonnieDarko.com site could turn anyone into Darryl. Was that how you got into character?
DR: The site was a great resource, but to really understand him, we had to make a visit to the arcade in the Northridge Mall, Darryl’s hometown.
TB: We found the fan sites much more helpful, because the out-there ideas that fans come up with for the “meaning” of the film are way more insane than anything the filmmakers could provide on their official Web site.
AC: Like what?
TB: You mean other than, “Donnie Darko is Jesus: He died for our sins”?
AC: So then it’s really a cult movie …
DR: Well, ultimately, I think we all share a love for the film, and that’s why we were able to make fun of it.
TB: I saw the whole thing as being a satire of films like Trekkies – so-called “fan films” where the filmmakers act like they’re showing appreciation for the fans, but in the end are just making fun of them.
DR: But the fandom for movies and music can be quite absurd, Darryl being a prime example. He still calls me.
TB: Though Darko fans in general are pretty laid-back, normal people who love the movie so much because it spoke to them but wasn’t insanely popular. It’s like they all share a common secret.
AC: But what you guys did isn’t so common a secret … you freaked some people out.
TB: Sure, and the whole point of Donnie Darko is figuring out what’s real and what’s not. Why shouldn’t the DVD extras be the same way? And knowing die-hard fans, they can spend two minutes online and discover the truth. It’s almost a little bonus for true fans to be in the know, and everyone else – like, ahem, newspaper reviewers – to be in the dark.
AC: So, then what about Chapter 5?!
DR: I’m still confused about that one.
TB: It’s an Easter egg on the DVD. I swear. Go buy it. 
This article appears in February 25 • 2005.