The lesson here is, that the U.S. movie industry really ought to focus on making its own original thrillers. And so it does, mightily, in Donnie Darko, which I only learned about last week and have already seen three times. Part of its allure, I admit, is that it perfectly recreates the experience of going to a private school in late-80s Virginia. But no other teen movie, I bet, has successfully mixed so many genres into one coherent whole: teen comedy, horror, sci-fi. You got your Tears for Fears, your scary six-foot rabbits, your hallucinations, your time travel subplot. Best of all, it does Catcher in the Rye one better, presenting the title character's teenage alienation as something real and debilitating, but not making him a little snot like Holden Caulfield. He actually comes to realize that there is something bigger than high school and hormones.

I loved that. You don't know how much my 30-year-old self wants to go back and tell my 16-year-old self that it's okay to be confused and suspicious of all the crap that adults shove on teenagers, but that it does get better.

So let's get to the ratings. How many times will you want to watch the DVDs before you finally get it?

Ringu: 1
The Ring: 2
Abre los Ojos: 3
Vanilla Sky: 1, if you don't give up halfway through.
Donnie Darko: At least 4, plus look for the Easter eggs and visit the website for more clues as to what the hell is going on.