Aside from the fact that I have no backbone when it comes to monster movies, I have to say the ones that stand out are the monsters with personality. The best movie monster of all time (in my mind) is The Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight.
The Joker is very relatable, especially to children. All kids love clowns: their huge smiles, the crazy shoes, and that big red nose. But one look at The Joker and they won't be laughing anymore. Why is he so horrifying? For starters, his "huge smile" is actually the skin on his cheeks sliced up the side. When asked, he explains that when people ask him about the scars, he shows them by slicing up their cheeks. If that doesn't scream CRAZY then nothing does. His "games" are not cute little teasers with water sprayers and candy, but rather mass explosions, murders, and burning money.
To me, a great monster is no more than a human being that acts with motives only truly known to them. We never find out truly why The Joker commits the crimes that he does. He claims that it's for the "fun of all the commotion" he creates, but there must be a deeper reason that explains why his sick games are "fun." That's another reason The Joker is so terrifying. What we clearly know as violence and murder genuinely amuse him. How can crimes so hanus be considered funny by anyone?? He doesn't even flinch when he blows up a hospital. The only explanation or justification I can give myself is that this man is truly crazy- mentally ill to say the least. And if that is the case, then he is somewhat more believable. The fact that there could be someone out there that is mentally insane enough to terrorize millions of people "just for fun" gives The Joker the grand prize for being Best Movie Monster of all time.
Great post, Jessie. I didn't even think of the Joker when I wrote this assignment. I like the specific reference you made to blowing up the hospital and how he doesn't even flinch -- great detail.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite details from the movie is when a detective mentions that Joker has no identifying traits that come up in the criminal record -- no fingerprint matches, no labels in his clothing, etc. This guy truly seems to be an enigma.
I love it! There's just something so horrifying about the fact that the Joker is highly intelligent, possibly smarter than any one of us, and uses that to do such villainous things. It gives him more depth than just a spooky character. Also, he's human. We all have that capability inside of us (to a certain extent, of course). Almost like the concept of Hannibal Lecter. And that's even scarier.
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