Batman: The Long Halloween-Part One

• Directed by Chris Palmer
• June 20, 2021
• Based on Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Voice Cast

• Bruce Wayne/Batman-Jensen Ackles
• Young Bruce Wayne-Zach Callison
• Harvey Dent/Two-Face-Josh Duhamel
• Commissioner Gordon-Billy Burke
• Selina Kyle/Catwoman-Naya Rivera
• Alfred Pennyworth-Alastair Duncan
• Joker, Antoni-Troy Baker
• Julian Day/Calendar Man, Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin-David Dastmalchian
• Barbara Gordon, Carla Viti-Amy Landecker
• Gilda Dent-Julie Nathanson
• Officer Pearce-Gary LeRoi Gray
• Solomon Grundy, Large Triad, Vincent Falcone-Fred Tatasciore
• Sal Maroni, Arkham Guard-Jim Pirri
• Carmine Falcone, Luigi Maroni-Titus Welliver
• Nurse Tamara-Frances Callier
• Mickey Chen-Greg Chun
• Alberto Falcone-Jack Quaid

Batman attempts to unravel the identity of the serial killer Holiday who strikes only on holidays throughout the year.

People want a dark and gritty Batman story and those often/usually lack many of the odder elements of Batman lore or even detective aspects despite Batman supposedly being the world’s greatest. Batman: The Long Halloween-Part One combines a detective story with the odd nature of the Batman Universe to create an engaging yarn unlike few that have ever been brought to life for the character.

There is an ominous feel from the get-go in this movie and it does that largely without ambient sound or even background music. What little music there is gets used sparingly and appropriately. It becomes more like a noir than a superhero story.

In short order they craft a dangerous Batman world. And the story isn’t some kind of origin story as is often the case. Batman is already an established character working in the shadows of Gotham where the police cannot or will not go and encountering characters the police are ill equipped to handle.

The characterization of the movie is great with the weakest being Bruce Wayne/Batman. I think that weakness is due largely to Batman being so well known in the general public that most creatives do not put much effort into defining Batman and instead rely on what has already been seen or is just generally known. That is one (forgivable) weakness in a story where we have individual characters rather than caricatures making this film an animated serious drama.

Catwoman though does stick out a bit like a sore thumb as a character. She’s less alluring and seductive and more sarcastic and humorous. She’s got jokes, and compared to everything else that occurs here that really is noticeable. Less sex kitten and a bit more Hello Kitty!

Little when it comes to characters is handed directly to the audience. They show rather than tell. For example I’m left with the impression that Harvey Dent’s wife Gilda has some emotional issues. They certainly hint at it in Long Halloween. And that’s what helped make this film a good movie. They pulled the audience in and necessitated that they observed and thought.

Batman: The Long Halloween-Part One is actually a detective story. They even hang a bit of a lantern on that reality. Bruce laments that he actually has to do detective work when he thought he’d simply be rounding up criminals to take them off the street. Nice touch there.

Whether intentional or not, the killer called ‘Holiday’ certainly falls into the themed villains often found in the Batman Universe. But unlike those that dance on the edge of or dive right into silly, Holiday is rather serious since they are a faceless serial killer and just a weird gimmick character.

Nobody really knows who Holiday is. There’s a bit of a sense as to who they could be but that’s not confirmed by the closing credits. Unless you have read what this is based on then you will not know. If there is an identifiable heavy in all of this it’s Carmine Falcone, but he’s more like a heavy presence and not an actual villain.

And as a cliffhanger film, it answers very little by the closing moments. In fact, it leaves you with as many questions as it started with. That is usually a major irritation for me, but Long Halloween manages to feel like it has a token ending. There is a sense of completion even if you know there’s more to come.

Batman: The Long Halloween-Part One is a fantastic and engaging story. It far exceeds some of the others I’ve watched recently such as Justice League: Warworld or Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen. It’s not simplistic. It doesn’t talk down to the audience but rather forces the viewer to pay attention. And it makes the story feel significant. Not fate of the world significant but significant to the fate of the characters.

Batman: The Long Halloween-Part One is a great addition to not only the animated Batman films as well as the general DC film universe. If you haven’t checked this out give it a watch. It is so very good. I highly recommend it!