Sweet Madness – 2015
OK, so a story about Harley Quinn may not be “horror” in the purest sense; however, seen as he’s meant to be seen, how many of you Fellow Fans out there could say that her paramour, the Joker himself, couldn’t be categorized as horrific? Given that, it’s not too much of a leap to say that a tale that explores the utter, chaotic insanity between these two could be something out of a nightmare, no?
Either way, writer/director Peter Dukes of Dream Seekers Productions is a name we here at the ‘Corpse are fans of (check out some of his stuff we’ve talked about before here), and when he announced he was stepping outside of his norm to make what he calls a “fan film” about the bubbly blonde psychotic sidekick of the Clown Prince of Crime, titled Sweet Madness, we were interested.
We open with a man, woman, and child, bound and gagged with duct tape in a upper class home. Decked out in her full regalia, Harley Quinn prances about the room, either lost in her own world or terrorizing the family with psychotic ramblings. The phone rings, and we learn that the family she’s holding hostage is the mayor of Gotham City and his wife and daughter; she’s taken them prisoner awaiting…something.
Don’t mind the tape; she’s got the voices in her head to keep her company…
She’s told her demands will be met, and she gleefully awaits what the Gotham Police promise to bring to the door. The tactical officers arrive with her demands: 1) a slushee, and 2) a hooded prisoner that turns out to be none other than the Joker himself. Allowing the mayor and his clan to leave, Harley joyously reunites with the love of her life…but he’s less concerned with reunions than with escape, and Harley seems to have no plan for that beyond this point…she just wanted to see him, after all. Will his psychotic rage finally become lethal for the woman that has given him her heart, or is there more at work here?
Once more, I give Dukes a lot of credit for the verisimilitude of his writing; even if I weren’t a longtime fan of comics and already knew all the background of the characters, this short was done in such a way that the story would have grabbed me anyway. The situation that unfolds is plain to see, and could have been done just as effectively with new, unknown characters, but using Harley Quinn and the Joker was icing on the cake; the relationship between these two was palpable even without foreknowledge. Neither performance of the principals was exactly what I was expecting, but that’s certainly not a bad thing here; Madeleine Wade’s portrayal of Harley was suitably psychotic, hearkening back to the character from the Batman animated series, but still more subdued…more mature somehow, and within the context of the film, the reasons for this become obvious. She shows both vulnerability and power, all wrapped in the familiarity of a character that she shows us an unfamiliar side of. I was a little put off by Micah Fitzgerald’s Joker at first (not to say the performance was bad — he positively exuded evil and bad intent, I’m just more used to the over-the-top, wildly giggling version of the Ace of Knaves), but again, within this clever plot, it’s understood, and I warmed up to it as the story progressed.
Micah Fitzgerald and Madeleine Wade
I can’t really say anything else without robbing you folks out there of checking it out for yourselves (see below!). Clocking in at a bit over ten minutes, the film does what a short should do: it drops you into a story in motion, lets you be a part of it, then drops you right back out. The before and after is chalked up to your own imaginings and wide open for discussion with like-minded friends and endless debate on the comic book forums…and like any art, if it generates that kind of thought, it’s done its job.
Peter Dukes and Dream Seekers Productions have again turned in some quality work on this short film; high production value, a lot of talent both in front of and behind the camera, and a healthy respect for the source material…a tip o’ the hat to them once again, and as before, I look forward to what they come up with next!
Three cents for a nickel?
–Mouse
Andrew Thompson
