Entertainment

Joker Movie Test Screenings Describe It As Terrifying, Scary, Gut Punching, Praise Joaquin Phoenix

Ever since Todd Phillips’ Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix got its first trailer, fans have been in awe of the possibilities a project as unhinged as this could bring. The Joker is incontrovertibly one of the most popular comic book villains of all time and his maniacal characterization leaves open room for a strange, crazy kind of film that has still yet to be attempted in its entirety. If recent reports are to be believed, Joker has had a test screening or two of its own and the results prove that Joker could turn out to be the best DC Comics movie this year.

Test screening reactions to Joker describe the movie as scary and horrifying. The anonymous Twitter user who is quickly gaining a reputation with these sort of rumors, explains it as a movie that is casual in its nastiness, shocking and delivering continuous gut punches. Viewers with a knack for the off-beat, jarring stuff would love it; others might not.

https://www.twitter.com/ViewerAnon/status/1138703911835979777

Another user who claims to have seen the movie described it as scary and terrifying, praising Joaquin Phoenix’s transformation into the Joker and going so far as to call it the “scariest thing on the planet”. Exaggeration? Yes.

There are a couple of reactions here and there that can be found but the general consensus seems that Joaquin Phoenix seems to have nailed his role as the Joker, delivering a performance that is, in social media parlance, absolutely lit. He morphs into the Joker so convincingly you forget it’s the actor playing the part, which should bode well given the role of the clown prince of crime has traditionally had a high bar when it comes to actors. The movie should also feature elements pertaining to relevant issues that could make for some uncomfortable viewing and spark a debate or two.

These reactions are not entirely out of sync with what we’ve been hearing about the movie. Previously, the script was described as being incredible, with a later report praising the movie’s political commentary. That Warner Bros. has been treating this Joker origin movie as an independent project with a considerably lower budget leaves open room for dabbling in genres and experimentation. At this point, the movie is described as being a lot closer to Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver in tone and style.

Joker is set for release on October 5, 2019. It stars Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, along with Zazie Beetz and Robert DeNiro and will be written and director by Todd Phillips. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures but will not be a part of the DCEU.