Scariest Batman Movie

[Bird Boy]

Spawned off of the "Your personal first encounter with Batman" thread....:

of the 8 Batman movies (from what I can think of) which one was the "Scariest" ? Vote above..my vote goes to Return of the Joker..only movie that I actually had a nightmare about (and that was of the edited version!)

-BB

[Mr. Eye]

Batman and Robin. As if you didn't know this would happen.......:)

Mr. Eye

[Joker85]

My vote goes for none of them. It is extremely sad to me that anyone other than a 2 year old would find any of the Batman movies scary(unless you want to count B&R-I thought I was having a nighmare when I first saw that!:D )

[Mr. Mayhem]

I don't care what anyone says, Batman can be scary! Now maybe it's not flat out heart renching terrifying like Exorcist in 1973 (where people actually died outta fear). However there are certain elements in Batman that are dark and eerie.

Watch Batman Returns. First off, the music throughout the movie is chillingly creepy. Second, doesn't the idea of Penguin taking the children of Gotham and wanting to drown them seem somewhat scary. It's a rather nightmarish film in so many ways. So much evil is in it, yet Batman (good) will triumph in the end. I think it was easily the best of the live action movies.

Mask of the Phantasm was scary in many ways too. That scene where Buzz Bronski gets smashed by the angel statue in the graveyard is sick. I mean can you just imagine dying like that. Plus other scary scenes include Sal Valestra's dead smile, Joker attacking Reeves, the flashback where Andrea see Jack Napier at her door, and the chilling music.

Return of the Joker was scary. I was shocked when Terry ran into the Batcave to see what looked like a dead grinning Bruce Wayne. Then when he starts laughing...well let's just say creepy again. Words can not describe the cold chills I got in the flashback scene. Especially when Batman and Batgirl stoll down the halls of the abandon Arkham, the first appearance of Tim as J.J., the "Our Family Memories" scene, and of course the moment Joker is shot.

I like the scary elements of Batman. It's something that makes you root for Batman in his crusade againt evil even more. A couple of scary Batman reads for ya. Check out The Killing Joke, and Batman: Night Cries.

[joker]

now, none of the batman movies are scary, but i rember having to close my eyes in some scenes of batman returns when i was a wee little lad

[SilentBob173]

I'll skip obvious references to Batman and Robin, and just tell my story. I've been waiting for an opprotunity to share this.

When I saw Batman (1989) in the theaters, I was like five or at the time. My five year old eyes were absolutley amazed at what I saw. Then I was introduced to the character of The Joker.

When the scene came around where he fried Tony Virtelli with the joy buzzer. I was so scared, I was literally under the theater seat.

To this day, I am obsessed with the Joker. I constantly theorize, write, and talk up about him, and, frankly, I don't think I'd be near as obsessed with character as I am today had he not scared the ever loving piss out me as a kid.

Therefore, Batman (1989) will always be my top choice (even though it doesn't scare me anymore) as the scariest Batman movie ever.

Thanks, Mr. Nicholson.

"You are a vicious bastard, Virtelli. I'm glad you're dead. Ppppfah HAHAHA HA HA HA!!! 'I'm glad you're dead'!!! HAHAHAHAH HA hAhaha HA!"

Cheers.
Jason S

[Poison Carley]

Batman and Robin was the scariest movie of all time! :p Just look at that terrible Poison Ivy they had. :mad:

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Mr. Mayhem
I don't care what anyone says, Batman can be scary! Now maybe it's not flat out heart renching terrifying like Exorcist in 1973 (where people actually died outta fear). However there are certain elements in Batman that are dark and eerie.

I don't know that scary is the right word to use, though. Yes, there are a lot of frightening and eerie elements, but mostly for the criminals in Gotham, not us. Fear has always been central in Batman's war on crime, but he frightens the evil he faces, not us the viewers. Batman, storywise, has never been about scaring us like a horror movie might. However, it certainly has "dark" elements, which is the word I prefer to use. I think using dark to describe the Batman movies would be far more accurate than calling them scary. In that sense, I would call Batman and Batman returns the darkest, because of the mood that enveloped both movies entirely. Content-wise, it would have to be ROTJ, given the demented, cruel Joker we see.

[Manhunter]

Horrid script,horrid acting,rubber nipples,pink gorillas...how is that NOT frightening?

[DisneyBoy]

My vote completely goes to Return of the Joker. That movie was just so freaky that I was actually considering writing a post about it. I realize that Batman is supposed to be dark and gothic, and we adults (or young adults) can usually handle the violence and psychological games the writers and characters play, but the main reason why I stopped ready the mainstream Batman as a kid, was that I found the covers, artwork and stories too gory. Lets be realistic: If the Joker was written and portrayed as frightning as he would be if he were alive, none of us would touch a Batman comic, let alone let kids read it. Characters like the Joker, Catwoman, Batman, Robin etc. are supposed to be fun! Honestly, I am a little uneasy with the fact that I enjoyed ROTJ, and even more so that I am waiting to purchase the unedited edition. What does that say about me? That I enjoy violence? That feels wrong to me for some reason.

[DisneyBoy]

My vote completely goes to Return of the Joker. That movie was just so freaky that I was actually considering writing a post about it. I realize that Batman is supposed to be dark and gothic, and we adults (or young adults) can usually handle the violence and psychological games the writers and characters play, but the main reason why I stopped ready the mainstream Batman as a kid, was that I found the covers, artwork and stories too gory. Lets be realistic: If the Joker was written and portrayed as frightning as he would be if he were alive, none of us would touch a Batman comic, let alone let kids read it. Characters like the Joker, Catwoman, Batman, Robin etc. are supposed to be fun! Honestly, I am a little uneasy with the fact that I enjoyed ROTJ, and even more so that I am waiting to purchase the unedited edition. What does that say about me? That I enjoy violence? That feels wrong to me for some reason.

Long story short, I found ROTJ so disturbing that I wonder if it crossed a line. Hey, I saw the unedited version and it made me uneasy. Call me immature if you like, but I can understand why WB edited it and am glad they did. I wouldn't show youngsters that film, and yet I understand that if the Joker were real, that is the sort of thing he'd do. But that's not the Joker I want to support or expose myself to. Scary, yes, funny, Ok, sadistic....?

[Tim Drake]

Batman and Robin. Scary cause it was so bad. Return of the Joker was freaky and compelling but not scary cause I didn't want to miss a minute of it. A scary movie to me means I can't watch it because its so scary.

[Nightwing]

Originally posted by Mr. Mayhem
Watch Batman Returns. First off, the music throughout the movie is chillingly creepy. Second, doesn't the idea of Penguin taking the children of Gotham and wanting to drown them seem somewhat scary. It's a rather nightmarish film in so many ways. So much evil is in it, yet Batman (good) will triumph in the end. I think it was easily the best of the live action movies.

*As with SilentBob's very true to form post, I will also dismiss the fact that Batman & Robin was an all out horror.*

I agree that Batman is supposed to be scary. But Batman Returns, though very cool and Batman-like parts in it, is my pic by far. Each character was much more evil than they should have been. Catwoman, Penguin, Batman. Yeah Batman is supposed to be scary and dark, but he's not supposed to kill. By that I don't mean that Batman was scary, but he's only supposed to be borderline scary, and so the fact that Batman Returns was darker than all the others is why it's my pick for the scariest.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Nightwing


Yeah Batman is supposed to be scary and dark, but he's not supposed to kill. By that I don't mean that Batman was scary, but he's only supposed to be borderline scary, and so the fact that Batman Returns was darker than all the others is why it's my pick for the scariest.

Though we actually saw that aspect of Batman in the 1989 film as well. Batman destroyed the chemical plant with the obvious intent of killing Joker. Even though he failed to get Joker, he did kill everyone that was present in the plant. And, of course, he did kill Joker at the end, even if indirectly.

[DerekPowers]

rotj all the way. i actually got chills the first time i saw it, more than i got when i watched the others, and i was alot younger when i saw the other movies. definately rotj, but it wasnt scary enough to get butchered the way it did. that kills me whenever i think about it. but yeah, batman and robin was scary because people actually wrote it and made it thinking it would be good. that scares me.