Donnie Darko

Unspooled

Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson

Film Reviews, Tv & Film

4.6 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, Paul and Amy dive into the mind-bending world of Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. They unravel its twisted timelines and alternate realities, explore its reflections on mental health, and examine what the film reveals about the turbulence of adolescence. You can join the Unspooled conversation on Paul’s Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6 Follow Paul and Amy on Letterboxd for more of their movie hot takes! https://letterboxd.com/paulscheer/ https://letterboxd.com/theamynicholson/ Paul’s book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is out now! Find it at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/joyful-recollections-of-trauma-paul-scheer Check out more of Paul's writing on his Substack https://substack.com/@paulscheer Episodic Art by Kim Troxall: https://www.unspooledart.com/ Learn more about the show at Unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and on Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or where you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	DC high volume, Batman.
0:04.0	The Dark Night's definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time.
0:12.0	Fear, I have to make them afraid.
0:15.0	He's got a motorcycle, get after him or have you shot.
0:19.0	You mean blow up the building?
0:21.4	From this moment on,
0:23.2	none of you are safe.
0:25.5	New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:31.3	The year is 2001.
0:33.7	I think Frank wants me to go talk to her, you know,
0:35.6	because the last time I saw him, he asked me if I knew about time travel, and she wrote a book about it, so they can't be like a coincidence, right?
0:43.9	The movie, Donnie Dargo.
0:49.7	Ah, uh, I'm schools.
0:52.2	Uh, uh, uh, everyone, and welcome to
0:56.0	Un-Spoly
0:58.0	Shot in space.
1:00.0	Uh-un-un-Spool.
1:01.0	Uh-un-Spool.
1:02.0	Uh-huh.
1:03.0	Un-Spool.
1:04.0	Uh-huh.
1:05.0	Hello, everyone, and welcome to Un-Spool.
	...

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