One of the most contested 12a ratings in BBFC history, The Dark Knight is obviously a more adult-orientated superhero movie than most others in the genre. But even knowing that going into it, it can still be surprising just how menacing this comic book movie actually is. Obviously, much of that horror has to do with Heath Ledger's Joker, however, while clearly off his rocker and excessively violent from the opening scene, you aren't really scared of the Joker until he sends out a videotape recording of him threatening to kill a captured police officer in exchange for Batman's true identity. As The Joker bellows to his captive hostage, erratically shaking the camera around and talking manically into the lens, there's a real sense of authenticity and grimy reality to the ransom tape. For a couple of minutes you really get to see the unfiltered insanity of the character by watching his self-directed video, and it makes for easily the most unnerving scene in any superhero film to date. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DjugnceKNk
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
