Ladies & gentlemen, this is TheNorm's Top 5 Batman Fan Films!
Links to each film will be provided at the end of this blog.
#5
Batman: Death Wish
This film is surprisingly entertaining, not because it's any good, but for how unintentionally funny it is. It tries too hard to mix the sillier light-hearted side of Batman (which I do believe we could use more of sometimes) with the more traditional dark and gritty tone often associated with the character and his universe. I'm not saying that it can't be done; I just don't think it was done quite as well in this film as they might have believed, not helped by the mixture of costumes pulled from various known sources. Batman dresses like he did in the Tim Burton films, Robin dresses like he did in the Joel Schumacher movies, and Catwoman dresses like she did in the Jim Lee comics. Oh, fun fact, Catwoman is played by Whitney Moore, the girl from Birdemic.
While this film gets points for having fun & silly dialogue, along with some uber-cheesy performances, it sadly becomes too obvious that they couldn't get a proper fight choreographer for fun action scenes. So the movie tries to be more of a classic mystery story, but the mystery is not all that engaging and too easy to solve well before the caped crusader does. Not to mention the overabundance of scenes with nothing but people in silly costumes talking to each other. If you need a good laugh and you've exhausted all of your Batman memes, give this one a look.
#4
Batman: City of Scars
This fan film comes courtesy of a fun little production company called Bat In The Sun Productions. An independent film studio based in Los Angeles specializing in comic-book short films. Their most notable series is a YouTube show titled Superpower Beatdown: where superhero fans choose two superhero characters and debate which one would most likely win a fight. Each episode concluding with a live-action fight scene between the aforementioned characters. It may not be as scientific as other "vs." shows on the internet, but it is still pretty entertaining nonetheless.
One of their earlier outings, Batman: City of Scars, is a fan film with tons of decent production value and parts of a decent narrative, but it doesn't quite have as much staying power. It's not bad, nor is it unintentionally funny as the first film I mentioned, but more often than not, this film feels like it's trying too hard to be edgy. It's not enough that it's a Batman story; it has to try and one-up Frank Miller as well. Granted, many of the most famous Batman stories and themes were penned by Miller, but we really need to stop pretending he was the only guy who wrote Batman stories.
It also loses points for too much reliance on voiceover reading dialogue that's a bit too pretentious for its own good.
But, at the very least, I can call it fairly decent, as it is admirable what was accomplished with limited resources. Their next and latest film would be a significant improvement.
#3
Batman: Dying is Easy
A film that's a little bigger and a bit better coming from the same production company and most of the same creative team, released just four months ago, with nearly six million views on YouTube. Here, we get a more engaging story, better dialogue, greater production value, fun performances, and probably one of the best Batsuits put to film. The story makes clever references to some of Batman's famous past comic stories (that were not penned by Frank Miller) and uses them to staggering effect in this story. Although it is just as dark, gritty, and edgy as their previous venture, it doesn't feel like it's trying too hard. Their earlier work didn't have a better balance, showing a noticeable growth in the filmmakers, which I admire and appreciate. Also, it has Michael Madsen (Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs) as Detective Bullock, and he's awesome!
#2
Truth of the Mask
This semi-original Batman tale comes from Broad Strokes Productions, another little nerd-oriented independent film production group. Recently, their efforts have been put towards an ongoing Harry Potter mini-series titled The Great Wizarding War. Before kicking off that grand venture, they put together two Batman short films: Riddle of the Mask, and the sequel, Truth of the Mask. Of the two, I find the sequel to be a bit better and significantly more interesting.
For proper context, the story of the first film, Riddle of the Mask, follows one of Batman's more menacing members of his rogues' gallery, The Riddler, interrogating one of Batman's unofficial partners, Huntress, for Batman's true identity. After some extreme "persuasion," Huntress confesses to Riddler exactly what he want's to know: millionaire Bruce Wayne is Batman! However, upon hearing this revelation, Riddler initially doesn't believe her and lets her go. Leaving her and Bruce to wonder what might happen next.
Then, in the sequel, Truth of the Mask, we finally get an answer. Bruce is hosting a charity event at his house, to which he invites Huntress and Riddler. What happens when they arrive? You'll have to watch the film to find out.
Of these two fan films, I like the sequel the best. It is mainly because of how creative it is to be a Batman film without costumes, special effects, or fight scenes. It's a film about wits, cunning, and winning a battle more unconventionally. Also, the hero saves the day by winning over an enemy with reason and empathy rather than taking him down with brute force. Not to say that people in Batman's world don't deserve that kind of punishment, just that it's fun to see a take on it that explores the psychology of it more.
The performances are convincing, the writing is pretty solid, and the presentation is overall admirable. Probably the only aspect of the film that throws me for a loop is that these three characters are conversing about their secrets within earshot of random strangers at a party. On the other hand, an argument could be made that it adds to the story's tension. It's ultimately a minor nitpick and doesn't detract from the film's overall quality.
If you're interested, check it out. Then, you should go straight to one of the most awesome things you will ever find in the world of fan films.
#1
Batman: Dead End
Two words: Batman vs. Predator! It is my favorite Batman fan film to date: it's dark, stylish, well assembled, and has my favorite looking Batman costume ever! That, in my opinion, is all you really need to know about this film.
In regards to the Batsuit in this film, many modern iterations of The Dark Knight have made his suit more like armor. Most of the time, it's understandable: he's a human being vulnerable to human weaknesses and needs to ensure his advantage against those he does battle with regularly. Plus, having armor does add to the "knight" part of The Dark Knight. Even so, I have always preferred a Batsuit that was more handmade with cloth-like material because I find it to be more aesthetically pleasing and a bit more engaging. It also reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s, one of my favorite shows as a kid.
The suit featured in this fan film looks ripped straight out of an Alex Ross painting: a comic artist who has created some of the most memorable and gorgeous works of comic-book art ever!
Costume aesthetics aside, Batman: Dead End has incredible production value, sharp writing, gorgeous lighting, awesome fight choreography, and plays with crossover ideas I wish Hollywood would try more often. It's a no-holds-bar passion-driven piece of work that deserves your attention.
Afterward, I would also recommend checking out writer/director Sandy Collora's equally fascinating feature film, Hunter Prey. If you enjoy independent cinema, science fiction, and fun homemade special effects! This is the movie for you. In fact, maybe I'll talk about it in greater detail later on.
I hope you enjoyed this little observation of Batman fan films. As promised, you can find links to all of them down below if you'd like to see them for yourself. I hope you enjoy them.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
Happy Watching!
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