Rent Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023)

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Among the many Elsewhere DC Comics stories, there’s something rather compelling about this entry taking the route of Lovecraft. Set in the 1920s, this revisionist take transforms the tale of Batman into one of supernatural terror, demons, and nightmarish violence. Despite getting lost in the weeds of its dread, it’s surprising how much of this material works.

It doesn’t take long for the film to set the right tone. Within the first few minutes, Bruce Wayne is set up as an explorer who discovers Oswalt Cobblepot (The Penguin) has lost his mind in the Arctic and gone off to live with penguins. Alongside his young prodigies, Bruce discovers an evil in the cold so sinister that its followers have ripped out their eyeballs amid praising some otherworldly force. While Bruce makes the right call to blow it up, it will take more than stopping this evil force from coming to this dimension.

Forced into becoming Batman, Bruce tackles an onslaught of mutated and deformed villains that have cropped up in the wake of the creature’s coming to 1920s Gotham City. This leads to unique additions like Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, going from hunting drunk to a Crusader warrior, harboring biblical weapons to battle with a vicious Poison Ivy. James Gordon hasn’t quite become the vigilante supporting law enforcement but will soon when the kills for a supernatural cult continue. Harvey Dent appears as the politician who will later be mutated into the villain Two-Face, but in a manner that is one of the most tragic of villain origins, leaving him more like a mess of a man than a bitter crook ready to decide death with a coin. Characters like Dick Grayson become a unique young protege amid many working for Bruce, and it’s fascinating watching the pathos unfold with this aspect.

It’s not all major revisions, though. Some Batman characters mess perfectly into this story, as with the rhyming demon Etrigan bringing dark omens and Ra’s al Ghul being the herald of doom for Gotham. They become more prominent in a tale where it feels like Bruce has to travel to hell to stop a grotesque force that claims lives. Some real stakes on the line go well beyond just making Gotham City fall, and Bruce doesn’t make it out of this story unscathed. There’s quite a surprise waiting for him at the end of this story.

There’s a lot to like about this film, from the period style of the design to the clever reworkings of the DC Comics properties. And yet it never entirely takes off, constantly feeling like it's one or two scenes away from being far more engaging. As the picture continues, it feels like it’s in a rush to get to the subsequent 1920s redressing before the ones on screen can fully take flight. When it feels like we see a different side of a drunk hunter within Oliver, the film is already onto the next villain mucking about or a figure transformed by horror. The rushed nature becomes present in this film kept to 90 minutes or less that it rarely lets much of its material develop, dashing from Gotham City retoolings to Lovecraft-style horror sights.

The Doom That Came To Gotham is sure to scratch a horror itch for fans of the DC Comics animated movies. It has the proper staging and clever designs to be a more refreshing addition to the rigid DC Comics Animated Movie Universe. And yet it still feels par for the course in the onslaught of these films, playing far too close to the rulebook than I’d prefer for a film like this. Not a bad addition to the long line of DC DTV movies, but sadly falls short of its full potential.