(Still from Joker's Wild 2025, Directed by Aaron W Bennett)
I never thought I'd ever say this. After Heath Ledger, nobody could be The Joker. But. I'm sorry Heath. A new clown prince of crime has stolen my heart.
When I'd heard one of my favorite actors, David Howard Thornton (Best known as Art The Clown) was going to play Mister J, I was optimistically curious. I had watched a video of him do a reading from The Killing Joke, so I knew he could do the voice and capture the spirit of The Joker. I also know its a role he's wanted to play for years.
I was a little concerned when the first looks came out. I wasn't the biggest fan of this bizzare almost uncanny valley cartoonish but humanish mask. But seeing it in action, it's a lot less awkward than I'd thought it was.
This film is just 13minutes of sadistic Joker delightfulness. Blood, guts, and gore galore. More than we've ever seen in a Batman project. It felt like I was watching Hostel.
The constant puns and laughter give me strong Ceaser Romero Joker but with a very dark sense of humor. I was laughing throughout the whole thing. Hmmm maybe that says something about me. Anyway, speaking of laughing, I have to touch on this.
This character is an absolute chatterbox. We've gotten used to David playing silent roles like Art and The Mean One and Player 2. We know he's great at expressing emotion and making us laugh at his antics without speaking. But when he's able to talk? Whole different ballgame. I will admit I was a little worried he was going to get typecast as nothing but a silent killer, despite being able to do many different voices. Seeing this different side of him I hope will help him get more varied roles.
This role was absolutely perfect for him. He nailed it. I hope he gets to reprise this role, because I seriously need to see more.
Okay, I'll stop obsessing over the star of the film here and talk about the rest of the film. The set design, FX, the way it was shot, lighting, editing, everything was absolutely spot on.
I can't reccomend enough that if you're a Batman or horror or David fan, check it out!
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