A critical and theatrical flop, Donnie Darko made back only $1.2 million of the $4.5 million budget at the box office yet managed to build a dedicated cult following. The number of viewers who actually saw this film in theatres may have been small, but the fandom was strong. It left viewers swapping theories for weeks afterwards, because let’s be real, nobody really understands the plot which makes it not only intriguing but also very relatable to members of the cultural fringe of society. "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit” became an inside joke shared between cinephiles across the world. In this DAZED article, actor James Duval reveals his iconic character was an easy one to create, saying it was probably the easiest acting job he’s ever had. The hardest part was capturing the dialogue, which had to be recorded in the studio as the iconic bunny suit trapped sound inside the mask. The article explains the method saying, “he would first record a line in a whisper, then re-record the same line in a gentle voice. Both recordings were then split into five different voice tracks that were layered to achieve this raspy vocal sandwich.” On set Duval had to yell his lines while inside the suit which made it exceedingly difficult for actor Jake Gyllenhaal to hear – making the chemistry between man and bunny suit even more impressive. Frank’s bunny suit lives on through memes, fan art and Halloween costumes still to this day two decades later. Let’s not forget to mention the iconic soundtrack featuring Australian alternative rock band The Church with their infectious tune ‘Under the Milky Way’.
The supernatural force that appoints Donnie to end the alternate universe adopts Frank because Donnie killed him previously. As a manipulated dead, Frank knows what is happening and his job is to guide Donnie on his path to correcting the timeline of the primary universe by returning the jet engine to its original universe; Donnie is unaware of all this. The costume is necessary because it's an essential part of Frank's character as a dead person (it's what he was wearing when he died) and also because it's so alien (not just some guy), Donnie will understand that he's dealing with things beyond normal. As far as the costume being a creepy bunny, there is no significance in that. Frank was an artist and it was something he was rendering out when we see him in the ending scenes. It just adds a freaky ambiance is all. Update: This article has some interesting suggestions on how you could interpret the Rabbit costume
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