Featured The 90s

Batman Returns (1992) — Episode 30 — Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond

“I am not a human being. I am an animal!” Oswald ‘The Penguin’ Cobblepot (Danny DeVito) declares his identity pretty overtly.  Batman Returns  is not a subtle movie. Many would question why a superhero movie is being covered on a horror podcast. What is this, Horror News Radio? Well,  1)  Batman Returns  has been suggested by fans, 2) We’ve got a  Justice League  movie coming out and 3) there’s some pretty horrific stuff featured in there. How much? Listen to find out!

Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond
Episode 30 — Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns  had a lot to live up to. Being the sequel to 1989’s  Batman  – a game changer in terms of blockbuster filmmaking – there’s a lot of mounting pressure. Director Tim Burton returned along with The Caped Crusader, but promised something a bit different. He kept the gothic noir setting and his Batman/Bruce Wayne actor Michael Keaton but put in a lot more stuff distinctive of him. Outcast villains like The Penguin or Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). A brand new shadowy corporate tycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken). Black and white stripes. Yup, lots and lots of that. In other words, he turned  Batman Returns into more of a Tim Burton film. Something that got him the boot from the franchise due to the macabre nature of the film.

Yet, does that seem to bad in hindsight, given some of the post-Batman Returns  films featuring The Dark Knight? That’s up for Thomas Mariani to decide, alongside his panel. Thomas, Chad Hunt, Jordan Worth Cobb and Adam Thomas all discuss what makes  Batman Returns  such a curious oddity. The campy qualities that recall the 1960s show. Some disturbing imagery that made McDonald’s cancel a Happy Meal tie in. Much like Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne’s relationship, there’s a whole lot of duality going on. But to quote Christopher Walken, “YAWN.” Why read about it when you can listen in as you slide into your own Batcave.

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The intro and outro is  “Suck City” by Black Math. Look for more of their music via  Free Music Archive.

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Next Episode

The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

 

Doc Rotten
Doc Rotten is the founder of Gruesome Magazine. He is also a film critic for Gruesome Magazine and the podcast host & producer for Horror News Radio, Monster Movie Podcast, Decades of Horror: 1970s, The American Horror Story Fan Podcast and Hannibal Fan Podcast. He is also co-host of the Dracula podcast on TV TALK and is a contributing reviewer for HorrorNews.Net and Widescreen Warrior. Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
http://www.docrotten.com