Batman Fanfilm Festival

Presented here is a small selection of fanfilms featuring everyone’s favorite Caped Crusader. Read, watch, and most of all enjoy!

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Batman: Dying Is Easy

• Directed by Aaron and Sean Schoenke
• March 11, 2021

While investigating the disappearances of several Gotham City police officers, Batman gets an invitation from The Joker who is in Arkham Asylum.

Batman: Dying Is Easy is roughly 20 minutes but it is a great 20 minutes. The focus is a confrontation between The Joker (Aaron Schoenke) and Batman (Kevin Porter). Not a physical confrontation but one that is of a battle of wits. It is about their relationship and their connection.

This is better acted than you would think of a fanfilm and very well written. Schoenke as The Joker is the right amount of crazy but he tries for a Mark Hamill Joker voice. At least that is what it feels like though given the impression Hamill made as the character emulating him is understandable.

This is a psychological story. It is a battle of wits between the two foes though it does not tread any new territory. The ground they cover in their discussion has been covered in the comics and the assorted animated versions of Batman, but it is acted very well. And that helps make it special.

I found it interesting that Batman interacts with the character of Harvey Bullock (Michael Madsen) and not Commissioner Gordon this go round. That is not a little odd, but it was a nice change of pace. The reflex action is Commissioner Gordon.

Batman: Dying Is Easy is a good psychological take on the characters. It lacks significant action but captures a dark and gritty version of the character. Watch it!

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Batman: City of Scars

• Directed by Aaron Schoenke
• June 17, 2010

The Joker is on the loose and Batman must track him down in order to save a little boy that his nemesis has kidnapped.

Batman: City of Scars is a quality Batman story. It is dark and brooding and character driven. The cinematography is some of the better I have seen in a fanfilm. This is obviously not the same cost as something that you would see in movie theaters. I am guessing it is done closer to the budget of a CW series and it makes me wonder why those shows cannot look this good.

Rather than have Batman (Kevin Porter) just show up and have to take care of whatever the problem is they go a little into the motivations and psychology of Bruce Wayne. In fact the ending of the film is capped by an internal monologue buy Batman/Bruce Wayne not only analyzes him but also the dynamic between The Joker (Paul Molnar).

The big mystery of this whole film is what was the point of Joker’s crime? What was the punchline? Batman is left wondering that as in a shocking twist the kidnapped boy is the one who kills Joker. Batman is left with a mystery he is not necessarily able to solve. The one person that can answer those questions is dead and it gnaws at him.

Batman: City of Scars is a quality Batman film. It has a good story with a well-done script in a well-executed film. Watch it!

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The Demon In The Dark: Batman vs. The Secret Six

• Directed by Letia Clouston
• February 18, 2016

A group of criminals who are hired to deliver a mysterious package to a drop off point soon find themselves pursued by the mysterious Batman.

The Demon In The Dark: Batman vs. The Secret Six is a Batman film with very little actual Batman in it. Seriously. In the universe of this fan film Batman (Matt Kohler) is a mysterious figure that’s more urban legend than fact. And they stick to that. He is seen in distance shots or his presence is alluded to but up until the finale you never see him full on.

We get a nice cross-section of DC characters here. Thomas Blake / Catman (Matt Clouston), Deadshot (Brian Luna), Giganta (Dominique Swain), Banshee (Chantelle Albers), Scandal (Jamie Bernadette), Bane (Shon Lange), Green Lantern (Lionel D. Carson), Black Adam (David Villada), Jim Gordon (Doug Penty), and Amanda Waller (Brandi Huzzie) all make appearances here. That is a ton of characters to show up in a short fanfilm and yet this does not feel packed with too many characters.

The Demon In The Dark: Batman vs. The Secret Six has good production values and better than expected costuming. These outfits do not look like Halloween costumes from the discount bin. I am looking at you Birds of Prey. My only gripe was the actor that played Deadshot. He was just a little too stocky. And short. It was tough to take him seriously as the world’s greatest marksman and a hardened killer.

This film has plenty of excitement and builds to the finale which has a very nice twist. Batman, who is barely seen throughout, takes out his enemies one at a time in an almost supernatural manner like only Batman can. It reminds me of one of those great oneshots from my youth that tossed together a large group of characters that do not normally get together and kept me hooked from beginning to end.

That is something missing from comic book films-the feel that it is a comic. One thing about comics is that there is a vibe to the medium in general and a distinct tone to specific series. This film has that, and it helps to make this something special.

The Demon In The Dark: Batman vs. The Secret Six is a very good fan film. With a good story and all the right ingredients, it is an engrossing short. I say watch it!