David Fincher feels Joaquin Phoenix-starrer 'Joker' is a

(2020) I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman seems unrelentingly obsessed with tearing apart and exposing the male psyche. It’s something I love about his films but it also can be depressing how much I relate to them.
Runners- up: Possessor Uncut, Nocturne, Invisible Man, The Rental, Relic, Palm Springs, Shirley, Becky
(2019) The Lighthouse
The story in this film is shrouded in mystery but the clues and tools needed to decipher it do exist and with a rewatch, finding them felt so rewarding. It’s the kind of movie that I want to make my friends watch, simply so I have someone to discuss it with. It’s one of the best horror films I’ve ever seen.
Runners-up: Little Monsters, Furie, I Am Mother, Glass, Crawl, Ma, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Us, Color Out of Space, Ready or Not, Midsommar, Zombieland: Double Tap, The Head Hunter, Parasite, Villains, Swallow, Nimic, The Head Hunter, I Trapped the Devil, Pet Sematary, Guns Akimbo, Harpoon, Annabelle Comes Home, Vivarium, It Chapter 2, Zombieland: Double Tap, The Color out of Space, Joker, Come to Daddy, The Lodge, Home with a View of the Monster, Ready or Not, The Platform, I See You, The Vast of Night, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
(2018) The House That Jack Built
In my mind, this is Lars Von Trier’s masterpiece and Matt Dillon’s best performance to date. It’s hands down the most fun, engaging, darkly humorous, disturbing, bleak and creative film I’ve seen this year.
Runners-up: Annihilation, Apostle, The Bad Seed, Summer of 84, Mandy, Upgrade, Calibre, Hereditary, A Quiet Place, Bird Box, Lords of Chaos, Head Count, The Witch in the Window, Dragged Across Concrete, Braid, Climax, Incident in a Ghostland, Hold the Dark, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, The Strangers: Pray at Night, Suspiria, Halloween, Monster Party, Bloodline, Gwen, Freaks, Overlord, Monster Party, Pledge, High Life, Possum, Wildling, The Nightingale
(2017) Mother!
Mother! is an incredibly conscientious statement on the nature of humanity, steeped in religious allegory. The last 30 min or so makes up for any weariness over the pacing. It’s one of the most intense, impressive sequences I’ve seen in a horror film in the last decade. The absolute perfect icing on the cake for what is such a masterful dip into surrealism.
Runners-up: Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil, The Endless, You Were Never Really Here, The Ritual, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Creep 2, Brawl in Cell Block 99, It, It Comes at Night, Get Out, Tigers are Not Afraid, Jungle, Cold Skin, The Crecent, Pyewacket, A Ghost Story, The Bar, Ghost Stories, My Friend Dahmer, One Cut of the Dead, Marrowbone
(2016) The Wailing
The photography direction and cinematography are astounding. I could pause the movie at any given moment and marvel at an iconic photograph. This film had me guessing up until the very last moments. It’s exactly what I crave, an unapologetically evil entry into horror cinema.
Runners-up: Better Watch Out, Boys in the Trees, We are the Flesh, ‘Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl’, Here Alone, The Girl with all the Gifts, Raw, Nocturnal Animals, A Dark Song, The Void, Split, Train to Busan, Arrival, The Eyes of My Mother, Blair Witch, The Good Neighbor, Don’t Breathe, Phantasm: Ravager, Swiss Army Man, Before I Wake, The Shallows, In the Deep, Are We Not Cats, Sam was Here, White Girl, The Lighthouse
(2015) The Witch
I really think it focused on expressing the idea of evil being a completely separate entity from god and that the characters in the film can do fuck-all about it. The incredible struggle that every single character is going through in this film is palpable in literally every shot. It’s astounding how well Robert Eggers was able to get this exposition across with such little dialogue.
Runners-up: Tale of Tales, The Gift, The Devil’s Candy, I Am a Hero, The Lure, Evolution, Hell House LLC, Landmine Goes Click, Green Room, The Visit, The Final Girls, Southbound, Baskin, Remember, Room, Jurassic World, Tag, The Invitation
(2014) Alléluia
It’s a gritty tale of heartbreak, loneliness, jealousy, greed and obsession. It’s just fucking real; the kills feel impulsive and impactful. It’s also shot in this dirty format where both killer’s (the woman’s more so) physical appearances degrade as the film progresses.
Runners-up: It Follows, Zombeavers, Interior, Backcountry, Dig Two Graves, The Taking of Deborah Logan, A Girl Who Walks Home Alone at Night, What We Do in the Shadows, The Voices, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Wolfcop, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, Creep, The Babadook, Tusk, Girl House, Tusk, Honeymoon, As Above So Below, Life After Beth, The One I Love, John Wick, Spring, The Treatment, Clown, The Incident, The Guest
(2013) The Conjuring
One of the most established and refined supernatural horror films ever made. James Wan’s style is immortalized here and would go on to be imitated by dozens of other horror filmmakers.
Runners-up: Insidious: Chapter 2, Pee Mak, The Sacrament, Escape from Tomorrow, Oculus, We Are What We Are, Coherence, Evil Dead, Afflicted, Horns, I Spit on Your Grave 2, V/H/S 2, Bad Milo, Jug Face, Under the Skin, Blue Ruin, Evil Dead
(2012) Byzantium
This film really transfixed me on vampires until I was at a point where instead of fear and dread, I was really in-tune with that intense, multi-life spanning loneliness, rather than the violence. It’s really a tale of romance, even just the way it feels. There’s moving Beethoven piano music flooding a sort of neo-gothic atmosphere which, by the way, intertwined perfectly with the flashbacks throughout the film. It’s inevitable that a vampire movie would be grounded in classic elements of the sub-genre but Byzantium manages to push in its own direction, inspiring a surprising amount of mystery.
Runners-up: The Battery, Antiviral, Cosmopolis, The Collection, Resolution, The Conspiracy, Chained, The Bay, Vamps, V/H/S, Sinister
(2011) Sleep Tight
Luis Tosar puts on a sickeningly realistic performance that boasts up an already incredible script. His character is this unstable complex mess of depression, sadism and sociopathy. He’s the world’s worst nightmare, hiding in plain sight.
Runners-up: Scream 4, Take Shelter, Guilty of Romance, The Innkeepers, The Woman, Detention, The Rite, You’re Next, Kill List, Apollo 18, The Cabin in the Woods, Source Code, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, Contagion, We Need to Talk About Kevin
(2010) I Saw the Devil
Jee-Woon Kim makes actions feel loud and crisp. Both the villain and our protagonist are powerful in their own right. It’s both intensified but also remarkably realistic. I get that that’s a paradox of sorts but I just mean, it’s just not what audiences are used to seeing. There’s not too much left to the imagination with this one in terms of the violent sequences.
Runners-up: Insidious, Trust, Trollhunter, Dream Home, Helldriver, The Crazies, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, I Spit on Your Grave, Inception, Buried, Skeletons
(2009) Dogtooth
Yorgos Lanthimos’s filmmaking style is darkly calculated with deadpan cinematography and tip-toeing dialogue thats minimalism only adds to its strangeness. I haven’t been made this uncomfortable by a film since Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. Dogtooth offers a difficult, albeit alluring glimpse into a world of isolationism, abuse, violence and psychopathy.
Runners-up: The Forbidden Door, [REC] 2, The Collector, The Fourth Kind, Orphan, Drag Me to Hell, The House of the Devil, Antichrist, Zombieland, Jennifer’s Body, Cropsey, The Loved Ones
(2008) Let the Right One In
The way this film deals with both sexuality and immortality is genius. It’s a rotten dichotomy between pedophilia and loneliness that ends up being darker than the actual violence.
Runners-up: Cloverfield, The Strangers, Quarantine, Four Nights with Anna, Pontypool, Vinyan, Surveillance, Eden Lake, Martyrs, Lake Mungo, The Ruins, Lake Mungo
(2007) 1408
1408 captures the magic of The Twilight Zone and blends it expertly into the most horrific supernatural waterboarding experience.
Runners-up: 28 Weeks Later, The Orphanage, Hansel and Gretel, Funny Games, Resident Evil: Extinction, The Girl Next Door, Trick r’ Treat, Paranormal Activity, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stuck, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, An American Crime, Teeth, Death Sentence, Timecrimes, Zodiac
(2006) Inland Empire
Inland Empire is the most ambitious conceptual interpretation of Hollywood and film making that I have ever or could ever conceive. It challenged my mind for three consecutive hours and reinvented the way I interpret his films.
Runners-up: Fido, Sheitan, Severance, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Hatchet, Slither, Final Destination 3, Bug, Population 436, Children of Men
(2005) The Descent
The impassioned and realistic performances in this movie by every single female actress involved cannot be overstated. It’s absolutely terrifying and top-to-bottom, one of the most effective horror movies ever made.
Runners-up: John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns, Noriko’s Dinner Table, The Call of Cthulhu, A History of Violence, Lady Vengeance, Funky Forest: The First Contact, Haze, The Skeleton Key, The Decent, Doom, Hostel, Strange Circus, Red Eye, Constantine
(2004) Shaun of the Dead
This movie is just wonderful. I find it hilarious on a personal level but also so intelligently funny that it could go down as one of the greatest horror-comedies of all time. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have an undeniable chemistry and just simply make an entire new breed of film-style. It’s dry, whimsical, crass, darkly funny and wholesomely endearing.
Runners-up: The Phantom of the Opera, Shutter, Dumplings, Three Extremes, Calvaire, Saw, Dead Man’s Shoes, The Village, The Butterfly Effect, Saw, Hellboy
(2003) Oldboy
Everything about this film is exceptional. It looks fantastic, the acting is fantastic and Chan-wook Park wrote an incredible story. I think when you try and sell a revenge movie to someone, it can imply some degree of formulaic filmmaking but Park’s films are anything but. This one had me guessing up until the very last minute.
Runners-up: Dead End, Open Water, Willard, Identity, High Tension, Dark Water, A Tale of Two Sisters, Gozu, House of 1000 Corpses, Jeepers Creepers 2, Scary Movie 3, Final Destination 2, Alexandra’s Project
(2002) The Ring
The Ring is a terrifying film that relies on an unstoppable force. It utilizes one of the few shining examples of a successful grey-scale and manages to convey a horrifying sense of bleakness and helplessness. It’s better than the original.
Runners-up: 28 Days Later, Blade 2, May, Dog Soldiers, Resident Evil, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, In My Skin, The Eye, Irreversible
(2001) Pulse
How a horror movie can make ghosts infiltrating our world through the internet not stupid is beyond me but everything here just worked. For 2001, the visual effects for the ghosts are perfect and don’t steal the spotlight away from the emotionally driven horror that makes this project successful. I’ve yet to be more moved by a horror film, this one absolutely broke me.
Runners-up: The Devil’s Backbone, Frailty, Suicide Club, Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer, Trouble Every Day, Dagon, Jeepers Creepers, The Others
(2000) American Psycho
You won’t see a much better performance by Christian Bale; he’s top notch, however, the success is owed to everyone involved. It’s an excellent script, written from excellent source material and expertly directed by Mary Harron. This film is pure genius and it’s well worth noting that even if you’re not viewing the film under a super-critical lens, it’s highly entertaining.
Runners-up: Fail Safe, Ginger Snaps, Final Destination, The Gift
(1999) The Sixth Sense
I can’t praise this movie enough. It’s dark, depressing and only offers the humblest of reprieve in the end; much like what many of the films characters go through. This is M. Night’s masterpiece.
Runners-up: Arlington Road, The Blair Witch Project, Nang Nak, Idle Hands, Audition, eXistenZ, Sleepy Hallow, The Ninth Gate, Deep Blue Sea
(1998) Ringu
This is a benchmark in atmospheric horror and a film that spawned an entire generation of psionic horror films. It’s dark and heartbreaking.
Runners-up: Blade, Bride of Chucky, Phantasm IV: Oblivion, The Faculty, Disturbing Behavior, Pi
(1997) Lost Highway
This film is about how powerful the human mind is and how we cope with intense guilt, fear and regret. Specifically, in this instance, the compartmentalization of murder. Although that all seems inherently negative, especially in the context of the movie, it’s really just about confronting your issues; even if that means accepting your punishment.
Runners-up: The Devil’s Advocate, Funny Games, Alien: Resurrection, The Cure, Cube, Event Horizon, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Men in Black
(1996) Scream
Scream just may be the best meta-horror film ever made. It’s so special to me and was probably the film that sparked my fascination with horror. I watched it the year after it came out, at 8-years old, alone in my dark basement. I shut it off after the opening scene with Drew Barrymore and never saw the rest until years later. However, if I had just stuck with it, it actually evolves into this darkly funny, poignant statement on slasher films.
Runners-up: Ebola Syndrome, Naked Blood: Magyaku, From Dusk Till Dawn, Crash, The Craft
(1995) The Addiction
This was Abel Ferrara’s extremely personal vampire film that tackled addiction and through the gritty melodramatic landscape of New York, he really sheds his skin. It’s raw and rightfully claims the best film of the year.
Runners-up: The Eternal Evil of Asia, Habit, The Day of the Beast, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
(1994) In the Mouth of Madness
Simply one of the best Lovecraftian films ever made. The special effects in this movie range from miniature set pieces shot up close to a full size 30-man operated partially animatronic wall of creatures. Some people will say that these 80’s style techniques hurt the production value but those people don’t know shit about shit.
Runners-up: Interview with The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Cemetery Man, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Mask
(1993) Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park is everything. This movie is the perfect blend of horror, action, adventure and sci-fi. It was the “fuck yeah, dinosaurs!” of many or our childhoods. As an adult though, re-watching it for the 50th time, it feels like so much more.
Runners-up: The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story, Necronomicon: Book of the Dead, Fire in the Sky, Return of the Living Dead 3
(1992) Man Bites Dog
One of the strangest aspects to some horror movies is their ability to make light of ultra-violent crimes like rape and murder. Man Bites Dog will actually have you laughing out loud until you realize you’re in a kitchen watching three men rape a woman while she pleads for mercy. Whatever way you choose to digest this movie, I can guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like it before.
Runners-up: Ghostwatch, Army of Darkness
(1991) The Silence of the Lambs
While the film does stand out in blatant, suspenseful, scary moments; it’s the conversations between Clarice and Dr. Lecter that make it so memorable. It just adds this timeless psychological horror element that helps establish it as a classic in my eyes.
Runners-up: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, The Addams Family, Sometimes They Come Back, Naked Lunch, Highway to Hell
(1990) Der Todeskin: The Death King
While often wavering between the blunt, literal message and depressive expressionism, Der Todesking manages to feel all too real. It’s one of the best arthouse-style horror films I’ve seen to date.
Runners up: It, Misery, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Jacob’s Ladder, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, The Exorcist 3
(1989) Santa Sangre
Easily the most impressive aspect of this film is the ventriloquism inspired acting. It starts out as a goofy aspect of the plot, something that doesn’t really necessarily grab you. However, by the end of the film, it’s molded into this beautiful, creepy display of possession.
Runners-up: The ‘Burbs, Ghostbusters 2, The Woman in Black, Bride of the Re-Animator, Society, Intruder, The Cook, The Thief, his Wife & Her Lover, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(1988) The Vanishing
The Vanishing is an absolutely raw tale of abduction, almost like a Norman Rockwell imagining of an American’s European vacation turned horror story. It takes this incredibly simplistic but underlying dynamic approach to horror that’s as refreshing as it is captivating.
Runners-up: Child’s Play, Dead Ringers, Men Behind the Sun, Pumpkinhead, Pin, Phantasm II, Brain Damage, The Following, Halloween 4: The Return, Beetlejuice, Akira, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Vampire’s Kiss
(1987) Evil Dead 2
Just from a technical perspective, everything is so fucking impressive. It’s all basically hand-done, practical effects and the camera work is just remarkable. The film leans more towards the humor side of the series but it does so both intentionally and gracefully. I adore this movie, it’s on par with the original
Runners-up: Hellraiser, Creepshow 2, Near Dark, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors, The Witches of Eastwick, Anguish, Prince of Darkness, Angel Heart, Fatal Attraction, The Believers, The Lost Boys
(1986) In a Glass Cage
It’s an incredible movie about consequence and revenge that’s told in a manor that I think bewildered reviewers for years. It blurs the lines between right and wrong, willing to sacrifice lives in the process of condemning an extraordinary evil. The specific breed of revenge, as portrayed in this film, isn’t noble but rather an inevitable product of abuse. If you think you can stomach it, I can’t recommend this enough.
Runners-up: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Fly, The Hitcher, Blue Velvet, Night of the Creeps, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, From Beyond, Little Shop of Horrors, Aliens
(1985) Come and See
Come and See is a raw and sobering look at WW2 from the Soviet perspective. It’s one of the least “Hollywood” war movies I’ve ever seen. Some of the scenes towards the end were truly gut wrenching and will most likely stick with me for quite some time.
Runners-up: Lifeforce, Silver Bullet, Fright Night, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, The Return of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, Day of the Dead
(1984) A Nightmare on Elm Street
This felt like a first glimpse into Wes Craven’s mind and the last glimpse into my well-rested sleep. It’s creative, vile and fucking scary.
Runners-up: Poison for the Fairies, Countdown to Looking Glass, Threads, Gremlins, The Terminator, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
(1983) Videodrome
Videodrome is a fucking trip and it’s an incredible feat of psychological horror while also being a visually horrific movie.
Runners-up: Something Wicked This Way Comes, Angst, The Day After, Special Bulletin, The Boxer’s Omen, Eyes of Fire, Christine, The Dead Zone, Cujo
(1982) The Thing
It’s one of the best sci-fi body-horror films ever made and the fact that no one is steeping up to say otherwise should be a clue.
Runner-up: Creepshow, Poltergeist, Cat People
(1981) The Evil Dead
I’ve wracked my brain trying to think of a good description. This is one of the most incredible horror films ever made. It manipulated both the body and time itself to establish such a pure horror environment.
Runners-up: The Howling, Halloween II, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Ms. 45, An American Werewolf in London, The House by the Cemetery, Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1980) The Shining
Absolute perfection. This is such an enthralling psychological horror film.
Runners-up: Inferno, Hex, Altered States, Cannibal Holocaust, City of the Living Dead, The Ninth Configuration
(1979) Alien
A classic and possibly the best creature film ever produced. There hasn’t ever been a better blend of sci-fi and horror.
Runners-up: Salem’s Lot, The Driller Killer, The Brood, Zombie, Apocalypse Now
(1978) Invasion of the Body Snatchers
I love this fucking movie with all my heart, it’s seriously one of the best alien invasion movies I’ve ever seen. It’s drenched in dread from start to finish, a film that never gave you a safe moment to take a breath.
Runners-up: Beauty and the Beast, The Shout, Magic, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, Slave to the Cannibal God
(1977) Suspiria
Its psychedelic, pastel, fun-house atmosphere, coupled with a fantastic score lend a benchmark aesthetic for Italian horror and well, horror in general. Many have tried to emulate it and most have failed.
Runners-up: The Hills Have Eyes, Shock Waves
(1976) God Told Me To
Cohen takes all this religious subtlety and blows it all up for the finale into a very Cronenberg-style conclusion. Despite all the veils seemingly being lifted at once, I still found myself unsure of what to think during some of those pivotal scenes. After the credits rolled, I was damn sure I was into it.
Runners-up: The Tenant, Carrie
(1975) Jaws
This movie actually made people scared to go in the water. It’s almost difficult to think of a more impactful film off the top of my head.
Runners-up: Deep Red, Shivers, Satanico Pandemonium
(1974) Vampyres
It’s dark, moody, sexy and offers one of the most unique vampire film experiences to date. It’s a film that makes Dennis’ idea from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia about a full-penetration, Dolph Lundgren crime fighting movie seem almost plausible. It plays with the dynamics of Vampire lore in general, while somehow getting to the true root of this sub-genre.
Runner-up: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
(1973) The Exorcist
William Friedkin takes the time to let the characters accept their reality in a realistic manner. It’s a technique that creates a very human aspect to them and watching the mother and the priest break down actually becomes as horrific as anything else here.
Runners-up: The Legend of Hell House, The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now, Soylent Green, The Crazies
(1972) Images
Robert Altman’s Images is an exhibition into how to fully encapsulate an idea within the confines of a visually and sonically refined film. You could throw away the plot entirely and I’d still tell you this is one of the best looking films, period.
Runners-up: Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, Morgiana, What Have You Done to Solange?, Don’t Torture a Duckling, Raw Meat, Tales from the Crypt, The Last House on the Left, Horror Express
(1971) The Devils
It’s tough to tell how accurate of a representation The Devils is of what actually occurred in Loudun, France back then but either way, it seems eye-opening. It’s a very powerful film, I really enjoyed this one.
Runners-up: THX 1138, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Short Night of Glass Dolls, The Cat o’ Nine Tails, Blade the Ripper, Malpertuis, A Bay of Blood
(1970) Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
I would absolutely consider this a coming-of-age film and they balanced the horror and whimsical elements perfectly. For that reason alone, I don’t believe I’ve seen any other film quite like this. With a tantalizing soundtrack and colorful visuals, I really felt transported into this strange new world.
Runner-up: The House That Screamed
(1969) Horrors of Malformed Men
I’ve never been so confused only to have everything wrap up so emotionally that the vision and artistic direction became so clear. I don’t want to ruin anything so I’ll just leave the teaser as, this film might be among the strangest Japanese horror films I’ve seen to date.
Runners-up: Cremator, One on Top of the Other
(1968) Hour of the Wolf
Hour of the Wolf is a top to bottom, beautifully produced psychological, surrealist nightmare. The first half of the film is fueled by pure intrigue through the perplexity of events that unfold. Like most surrealist films, a portion of your attention is devoted to figuring out what’s real and what isn’t. To speak to that aspect specifically, not a whole lot is left to the imagination, at least through my interpretation. I definitely feel like this project inspired filmmakers like David Lynch to push some of those boundaries, eliminating the extra explanation and leaving more up to the viewers interpretations.
Runners-up: Kuroneko, Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Living Dead, Even the Wind is Afraid
(1967) Viy
This is the first and possibly only soviet horror film. For the resources they had, everything looks amazing. It’s an incredibly fluid experience that takes zero time before jumping straight into the scares.
Runners-up: Wait Until Dark, ’Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told’, Our Mother’s House, Violated Angels
(1966) Persona
It’s instantly one of my favorite arthouse-style films of all time. All of the flashing images, cuts and effects are almost unbelievably purposeful. Just 5-minutes of this films would spell pretentiousness but as a whole, it’s a masterpiece.
Runners-up: Seconds, ‘Kill Baby, Kill’, Cul-De-Sac
(1965) Repulsion
Sonically the movie thrives in the negative. When our lead actress is being raped Polanski purposely takes her voice away, really emulating the fear and helplessness in a genuinely scary way. The delusions she’s having are clearly transparent but intentionally so, though they tend to bleed into reality towards the end in a satisfying way. Couple this with a claustrophobic atmosphere and we’re given a seriously trimmed up psychological horror thriller that was way ahead of its time.
Runners-up: Fists in the Pocket, Planet of the Vampires
(1964) Kwaidan
This is an anthology but rather than dissect each segment I’d rather just speak on the film as a whole. All four stories really encapsulate a sort of morbid beauty and tend to compliment one another over the course of the three-hour long movie.
Runners-up: Castle of Blood, Blood and Black Lace, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Masque of the Red Death, Lady in a Cage, The Last Man on Earth
(1963) The Haunting
The Haunting, despite being such an influence in the horror genre in general, seems to be an incredible lesson in use of space. Architecture, ceilings and walls are constantly the focus. Wise creates a ton of claustrophobic tension and before the story even begins to evolve, you get the sense that these individuals are indeed, trapped inside this house.
Runners-up: Black Sabbath, The Birds, The Haunted Palace, Twice-Told Tales
(1962) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
This film was fantastic. Beyond the poignant statement it makes, it’s just such a solid, performance driven thriller. I’m very surprised I’ve never heard of it before today.
Runner-up: Carnival of Souls
(1961) The Innocents
This is simply one of the most beautifully shot horror films from the early 60’s. Every frame is truly a picture and for that alone, I’d call this a must watch for horror fans.
Runners-up: Mother Joan of the Angels, Pit and the Pendulum
(1960) Psycho
There’s a scene where Norman Bates first shows real nervousness. The actor playing him, Anthony Perkins, puts on probably the most believable performance here that I’ve ever seen. It really gave me chills. If you haven’t seen this before, it just might be the first and greatest execution of a theatrical misdirection.
Runners-up: Peeping Tom, The Brides of Dracula, Village of the Damned, Jigoku, Black Sunday, Eyes Without a Face, The Virgin Spring
(1959) A Bucket of Blood
This is such an awesome Corman film. It’s pure entertainment and just an excellent horror-comedy. Dick Miller is a great lead.
(1958) Horror of Dracula
Both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are fantastic in their roles and it’s strange to even be saying this is one of the best Dracula films at this point, after having seen so many.
Runners-up: The Fly
(1957) Curse of the Demon
Certain aspects of the ending sequences don’t exactly age gracefully but for the most part, Curse of the Demon remains compelling and creepy.
(1956) The Bad Seed
Outstanding performances from both mothers and really just an excellent film all around. It’s probably the earliest film to tackle childhood evil in a realistic sense, without all the usual campiness.
Runner-up: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Forbidden Planet
(1955) The Night of the Hunter
The film just looks fantastic, I mean seriously, it doesn’t get much better for the era. The depth for a black and white film is incredible, especially in the backdrops. It makes for some really iconic looking scenes and those moments are probably what I’ll hold onto as time passes. The underwater shot of the car was fucking stunning.
(1954) Rear Window
This film just feels like Hitchcock flexing. He knows how to make the perfect theatrical experience in technicolor with all the hottest stars.
Runner-up: Godzilla
(1953) House of Wax
House of Wax, much like other Price films, is meant to be fun. It’s definitely dark and horror focused but it’s also colorful and accessible. Phyllis Kirk is also a very capable female lead.
(1952) The White Reindeer
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Finnish horror film before but this was great. It’s super mellow but builds into this atmospheric horror-fantasy.
(1951) Strangers on a Train
This is such a fantastic crime thriller and I absolutely loved the character Bruno Antony. It added such a creepy element seeing this seemingly desperate man reveal himself to be something entirely different.
(1950) Sunset Boulevard
It totally brings a smile to my face to say this this is, yet again, another film that had to inspire David Lynch. It’s certainly film-noir but the melodrama itself is so creepily in-tune with the struggles of Hollywood actors and actresses. It’s almost as if acquiring fame is accepting a deal with the devil.
(1949) The Queen of Spades
Dickinson managed to capture the both literally figuratively cold vibe of imperialistic Russia and I think that’s one of the main components that makes it stand out to me. It certainly is an exercise in greed but within the setting you almost adopt an understanding for our main character, however devious he may be.
(1948) Rope
Despite a very straightforward plot, I can’t help but thinking there’s a ton going on in this movie, a lot of which was way ahead of its time. It’s not just about two men attempting to get away with murder but it also introduced this widely controversial notion of lesser lives being expendable to the more powerful sector of society.
(1947) Black Narcissus
This film is absolutely breathtaking. For anyone who’s ever considered technicolor to look fake, blown-out and oversaturated, this is a shining example of it done right. It’s an entirely created set with gorgeous artwork. This film so elegantly says what I believe religious detractors have a hard time putting into words. There’s a huge portion of the movie that’s confronting sexual temptation and it’s an aspect that’s woven into every single frame of this film. I mean that literally.
(1946) Bedlam
This film is hugely influential and may just be the first film to explore the horrors of being accused of insanity. It also happens to be pretty diverse between horror, cruelty, meta-humor and wholesomeness.
(1945) Dead of Night
This is a clear inspiration for The Twilight Zone and just the structure alone felt way ahead of its time. It’s a nightmarish journey adapting many horror traits but really building a foundation around surrealism. There’s just so much that stands out as influential to modern horror that I’m a bit surprised to have never heard of this film before. It’s one of the earliest examples of a film that initially inspired skepticism from strange acting, performances that ended up being integral to the heart of the film.
(1944) The Uninvited
The character relationships are comically whimsical and coupled with the upbeat score, I didn’t get really any “scary” vibe from it. It’s an aspect I didn’t hate though, it’s really what this film is about, the characters.
(1943) Shadow of a Doubt
Joseph Cotten’s character really stands out as the focal point of the film. Hitchcock manages to build suspense throughout the film my highlighting his presence in subtle powerful ways. Whether it be through camera framing or the subversive violent tone of his dialogue, you really feel tension whenever the man is on screen. It’s techniques like these that made some of his later films great as well, such as with Strangers on a Train.
Runner-up: The Seventh Victim
(1942) Cat People
Simone Simon is a fantastic lead and even with the short runtime, I came to understand her character rather quickly. Tons of anxiety as well as repressed sexuality sort of hone her into this timid and frighted woman who brings her own fears to life.
(1941) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
As with any Jekyll and Hyde film, it all really hinges on the performance of the two and Spencer Tracy fucking killed this role. The first scene with him as Hyde in the bar was super creepy and also pleasantly rape-y. Is that weird to say?
Runner-up: The Wolf Man
(1940) The Invisible Man Returns
A young Vincent Price plays our perp this time and he’s excellent as always. It’s not paced exactly as intensely as the original but I enjoyed the steady decent into madness.
(1939) Son of Frankenstein
I probably should have watched the original Frankenstein first but eh, what can you do? I totally dug this though! Of course there’s that 1930’s cheesy sci-fi but the film as a whole is very entertaining and the set pieces are incredible.
(1938) They Drive by Night
This is a great fucking movie that totally embodies crime-noir. It reminds me a ton of early Hitchcock and for the 30’s, the narrative is spectacularly clean.
(1937) Song at Midnight
I wasn’t really looking forward to watching a 2-hour long remake of The Phantom of the Opera and thankfully, Song at Midnight managed to really set itself apart from the original, even more-so than many US remakes. I’d consider it more of a reimagining, a film inspired by the original. It is tedious but really, not overly so. A huge aspect of this film is character and tension building and in that regard, it really works.
(1936) The Invisible Ray
Man I love this movie. You obviously have Boris and Bela back together but it’s just such a legitimately fun sci-fi horror film. The plot is straight out of a 1950’s nuclear propaganda film which was probably the coolest aspect. With that, the effects are also fucking top-notch.
(1935) The Bride of Frankenstein
Boris Karloff is the only Monster in my mind. I would even consider this film to be family friendly as he’s the sweetest version of himself. There’s no really complex character development but The Monster is undoubtedly more self-aware which makes the entire film more engaging.
Runner-up: The Black Room
(1934) The Black Cat
When I thought of things that struck me that were worth mentioning, I actually thought of vacation-horror. Beyond all the elements of lust and innocence, I actually was struck by how much this film probably influenced destination horror films. These films excelled at taking our protagonists out of their comfort zones, before even introducing fucked up shit to the plot. It’s smart, concise and something I feel is even worth revisiting.
(1933) The Invisible Man
I’m absolutely floored by the production of this film. I went in with this preconceived expectation of the invisible man solely being portrayed wearing all the rags and shit. The effects for 1933 are very impressive.
Runner-up: King Kong
(1932) The Old Dark House
This is Karloff’s best look to date. I mean seriously, his performance is pretty muted and mostly expressed in body language but he has the same screen presence as Mickey Rourke.
Runners-up: The Mummy, Vampyr, Freaks
(1931) M
I feel like I, myself, never realized how far back people have been recognizing mental illness. I don’t mean in the specific and complex clinical sense, but more so, just in the obvious sense, certain displays that appeal to our natural, compassionate nature. Of course, in this film you do see the antithesis of that at times but really only to highlight the importance of law, reason and justice. Absolutely fantastic film and a staple in the horror genre with really the first truly dynamic killer that comes to mind.
Runners-up: Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein
(1930) L’Age d’Or
It’s very much one of the earliest, full-length, surrealist films and with that comes the usual loose narrative that can be hard to follow. When I say hard to follow, it’s probably because it wasn’t meant to be “followed”. I digested this film as sort of an anthology of poignant criticisms by the filmmakers and Dali.
(1929) Seven Footprints of Satan
This film is fucking insane. It’s a super surrealist spiral through satanic-based situations. It’s really indescribable. The effects and cuts are excellent. I loved the restored version I watched. I don’t even know what to say. I definitely think this inspired or at least should be mentioned as a precursor to films such as Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf.
(1928) The Man Who Laughs
Some people might not know but this film was the direct inspiration for the ultra-famous DC comics villain, The Joker. It’s pretty fucking incredible how much people took to this idea of someone being disfigured in such creatively sadistic manner. I would absolutely, especially with the role of Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, consider Conrad Veidt to be a horror icon.
(1927) The Unknown
It's a really fun movie. You’ve got Lon Chaney and he’s not just a modern day novelty in this. His expressionistic performance is actually the main highlight, even more-so than Joan Crawford.
(1926) The Bat
(1925) The Phantom of the Opera
(1924) Hands of Orlac
(1923) The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(1922) Nosferatu
(1921) Destiny
(1920) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(1919) Eerie Tales
(1914) The Egyptian Mummy
(1913) The Student of Prague
(1912) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1910) Frankenstein
(1909) The Sealed Room
(1907) Satan at Play
(1906) The 400 Tricks of the Devil
(1905) The Black Imp
(1903) The Monster
(1902) Mephistopheles’ School of Magic
(1901) Bluebeard
(1900) Faust and Marguerite
(1899) The Sign of the Cross
(1898) A Trip to the Moon
(1897) The X-Ray Fiend
(1896) The House of the Devil
(1895) The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

Mist rose in a thick haze, obscuring my vision as we drove along the road by the sea, down to The Monolith. As we approached I saw why it had earned its name. I could see it further down the coast, a solid dark shape jutting out from the side of the rocky cliffside. Time had eroded the concrete foundations but it had not destroyed the great fortress that stood vigilant on the coastline.
​
What had once been called Cordington Citadel now sat abandoned in this forsaken part of the coastline. Years ago, back when WWII had been in full swing Cordington or ‘The Monolith’ as its denizens called it was quite a busy little outpost, monitoring friendly seas for German U-boats and launching British submarines.
​
At the time, people had joked that a sailor could have seen its bulky concrete tower all the way from Denmark, and indeed, it was quite inconspicuous. That was part of the point, though. Half of the purpose of the Monolith was to launch submarines but the other half was to see sailors safely home. There was even a lighthouse on the cliffs above the installation that was part of the property and as far as I could tell, it was still operational.
​
After the war though, there was no purpose for the old fort. Over time, the Monolith was decommissioned and ultimately abandoned. The Government still owns the property but there’s really nothing they seem to be doing with it. Occasionally it will be rented out for a movie shoot. The abandoned base has featured in a few small-time films, usually for interior locations and it really does have quite an impressive little resume. The interior really is a beautiful sight to see, even if it is a tad run down and that was part of why we were there, to try and document that interior before time took it all away from us.
​
My name is James Davidson, and I want to be one of the greats like Stanley Kubrick or Steven Spielberg. I love the atmosphere of some older movies and I want to recreate that in my own films! That was what drew me to the Monolith. From what I knew, it was the perfect setting for the latest film I had in mind! I didn’t have much of a budget or any big-name actors, but I was sure that I could work with what I did have so long as I used it all effectively and I figured the Monolith would be a big part of that. That was why I was there that day. I just wanted to scout out the location and see if it would actually suit my needs.
​
In the car beside me was Darren Leigh, a close friend of mine who I’d worked with before and was more than happy to work with again. Darren was a decent cameraman and he knew how to handle the equipment well enough. Besides, it was nice to at least have someone to talk to on my lonely excursion.
“Hell of a morning,” I remember him saying. He was looking out over the north sea to our left as we drove. The mist didn’t let him see far, yet there was something beautiful and aetherial about its presence.
“We should get some shots of that. It’s a damn pretty sight if there’s ever been one.”
​
I glanced over at the mist. Darren was right. It was a pretty sight to see. It would’ve been a crime not to immortalize it. The mist ahead of us swirled around the grey rectangular building ahead of us. Despite the stories of the height of the Monolith, I found that it was far wider than it was tall. It looked almost like an old castle sitting on the edge of the sea and the approach was like something out of a dream.
​
As we got closer, I could see the chain-link fence that stopped us from getting closer and my car slowed to a stop. Technically, we had no right to actually be there. The gate was closed but that really didn’t bother me much. I knew I wouldn’t be the first person to have snuck into the Monolith and I wasn’t going to be the last either. I pulled off onto the side of the road to park and got out of the car and Darren did the same. He headed around to the trunk to get his equipment. Mostly just a few cameras for some test shots. We could discuss getting a legitimate permit to film in the Monolith when we actually went there to film. This was just to ensure we weren’t wasting our time with the place.
​
“You got the wire cutters?” I asked. I lit a cigarette as I looked out over the sea. I already had a good vibe about this place. It gave the exact atmosphere that I wanted for my movie. I was still finishing the script, but it was meant to be a grim wartime character study about a technician on a base during WWII. If I got it right, it could be a masterpiece, on par with great films like Joker and Citizen Kane! Perhaps it might even bring me to the level of fame I’d only ever dreamed of before.
​
“I got them here,” Darren said and brushed past me. He cut the fence near where it met the cliff. Nothing that would be immediately noticeable. Just enough to let us push through to get inside.
​
The Monolith stood before us, unguarded and free to explore. I could only barely contain my excitement as I started towards the old building. An abandoned road overgrown with a few resilient weeds led towards the entrance of the base. The windows were boarded up with plywood and the concrete exterior was cracked and worn. We found a way inside and were greeted with an old, musty smell. The base was in worse shape than I had anticipated. There’d been little to no upkeep of it in the past 70-80 years and it showed.
​
I could hear the steady dripping of water somewhere far in the distance and there was no light other than the light from mine and Darren's phones.
“This is it?” He asked and he sounded disheartened. I won’t lie. I was pretty upset too. This place seemed so… dead… I’ll confess, I had imagined something far more grand and photogenic. Instead, this building felt like a waterlogged carcass. But we had come all this way, to give up at the first sight would be a mistake.
“We’ll see what the rest of the base looks like,” I said. “Let’s go.”
With that I descended into the darkness, unaware of what was waiting.
​
Much of the layout of the Monument was devoted to the submarine bays. There were twelve of them in total, spanning the length of the base. Near the rear, built into the cliff wall were what I assumed to have once been barracks and offices although it was hard to tell. Any furniture had long since been cleared away leaving nothing behind but cracked concrete. I saw a few small areas that might do for filming if they were dressed up a bit, but they probably would have required far more time, effort, and budget than I had to spare.
​
Darren took his photographs but it was already a foregone conclusion that the interior of the Monolith had little to offer. We’d wasted our time even if neither of us wanted to admit it yet. That’s not to say that the Monolith was not interesting. Far from it. The old base had an allure to it that was hard to accurately describe. It was rather fascinating to explore a place that was almost forgotten to time.
​
“Hey James, take a look at this!”
I was standing in one of the sub bays when Darren called out to me.
“Looks like they left something behind.”
I went over, wondering just what it was that he’d seen. He’d wandered off inside a side room and I was a little surprised to see a spiraling stairwell in an alcove against the wall. The metal was old and rusted. Climbing it may have been a mistake but it led upwards to some unseen part of the base and Darren was already halfway up.
​
“You sure that’s safe?” I asked but he didn’t reply. He just vanished up the stairs.
“Darren?” I called. Still no reply but I could hear his footsteps. I sucked in a deep breath and swore quietly before I started up the rusty staircase. The ancient metal groaned under my weight as I followed Daren up. The rusted stairway led up quite a ways but I could hear Darren just above me. I could feel powdered rust shaking off the old stairs above me and into my hair before I reached the top.
​
“Look at this!” I heard him say. From what I could see, he was standing in a circular room that was more brightly lit than the rest of the base. I looked up and I could see a seemingly endless tower with a spiral staircase curling around the walls like a tentacle. It took me a moment to realize that I was inside a lighthouse. No… The lighthouse. It must have gone deep into the earth so it could be accessed easily through the Monolith.
​
“Does it go all the way up?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Darren said as he began to ascend the stairs. This time, I didn’t wait behind him. The stairs here were newer. They didn’t creak and groan beneath our weight as much. Clearly, the Government had ensured that this lighthouse was operational and I suppose that made sense. It couldn’t hurt to have one more beacon out at sea.
​
Darren and I climbed the lighthouse tower in silence. It was one hell of a climb but Darren wanted to investigate and I was admittedly curious as to what it was like at the top myself. At the top of the lighthouse, we could see most of the Monolith far below us through the mist. The sea stretched out into the infinite void of white mist and we were denied a view of its true majesty. But there was still something breathtaking about the sights that we did see.
​
Darren’s camera clicked as he snapped a photograph.
“This is gorgeous,” He said under his breath. “We could get some outstanding shots from up here!”
I just nodded silently in response. The shining beacon spun slowly behind us, sending its light far away. My eyes studied the sea before I looked down to the Monolith below us.
​
Just outside of the installation, I saw small shapes moving amongst the mist and I squinted to try and get a better look at them.
“Darren, I don’t think we’re alone.”
Darren paused and looked down. It took him a minute to see what I saw.
“Shit, do you think someone saw us come in?”
“It’s possible,” I replied. “We should go. We’ll get back to the car and get the hell out of here.”
​
Darren frowned. He didn’t like the idea but he couldn't disagree. Hiding in the lighthouse tower would’ve effectively cornered us and neither of us wanted that. I started back down the stairs again, taking them almost two at a time and I could hear Darren behind me. We reached the landing where the lighthouse began. There was a closed door that I assumed led outside and I almost considered taking it. To do so would’ve meant we’d find ourselves at the top of the cliff with no clear way down. We needed to go out the way we’d come in, through the rusted staircase.
​
I saw it through a doorway that Darren had forced open when he’d come in first. It was rusted to shit so he’d probably broken it easily. With my friend behind me, I started for those rusted stairs and I didn’t linger on them. I hurried down, not thinking about whether the stairs could handle my speed. I could hear Darren coming down behind me and the metal groaned in protest. I shouldn’t have been surprised when it gave out, but I still was.
​
As we were nearing the final few steps, Darren gave a sudden cry before a section of the spiral stairs snapped beneath him. I didn’t see him fall but I saw him hit the ground and I heard his cry of pain.
“FUCKING HELL!”
“Darren?!”
​
As I reached the ground again, I saw what had hurt him. A section of the broken metal had left a jagged tear in his calf. Blood soaked through his jeans and Darren clutched his leg, gritting his teeth to stop himself from screaming. The sight of all that blood turned my stomach and as the panic set in it became harder to think clearly. We needed to go!
​
“Shit… Darren, can you stand?”
He just growled at me and I took its meaning to be that he couldn’t exactly get up on his own. I rushed over to him, offering him a hand to pull him to his feet.
“Come on, man, come on…”
​
Darren did what he could to pick himself up and he cried out in pain as he did. He almost collapsed outright before he steadied himself. His wounded leg wobbled under his weight as he leaned against the wall for support.
“Fuck… Jesus fucking Christ, James…”
“Hold still lemme just see how bad it is!”
I leaned down, looking at the bleeding gash in Darren’s leg. I wasn’t a doctor. I had no idea how to diagnose any of this but it looked bad.
“We need to get you to a doctor,” I finally said.“No shit, James!”
​
The last thing I needed was his attitude at that moment but I tried to ignore it.
“Let’s get you back to the car…”
“The car? You want me to walk back to the car?” Darren asked. He laughed loudly and humorlessly.
“You wanna get arrested?”“I’m fucking bleeding, you daft cunt! We’re not sneaking past whoever’s in here! Be a man and bite the bloody bullet! Call for help!”
Somewhere deeper in the base, I heard movement and spun around. With all the noise we were making, of course, we’d already been found.
​
I glanced at Darren before deciding that there wasn’t much of a choice. He was right. Sneaking to the car wasn’t an option.
“Over here!” I called. “My friend’s hurt bad! Bring help!”
The movement in the darkened halls grew closer and I saw a man enter the room.
“Thank God, do you have a phone? Should we call an ambulance?” I asked. The man didn’t reply. He stood in the doorway, staring at us before he began to approach. As he drew nearer though, something seemed off.
​
His gait was slow and sluggish. He walked like a drunkard, dragging his feet and staggering towards us. I could hear water dripping onto the concrete floor as if this newcomer had just crawled out of the sea. As he got closer, I could make out some of the details of his uniform. It was dark blue with a white belt. His clothes were soaking wet and dripping onto the floor. I could see a white undershirt clinging to his chest as he drew nearer. His skin seemed so pale it almost seemed to glow in the dim light. His eyes looked sunken in and hollow. Staring at him filled me with a quiet creeping dread and I found myself recoiling from him.
​
“Sir?” I asked. Still no response. Behind him, I could see two similarly dressed men entering the room behind him. Like him, they moved with a shuffling gait, and water dripped from their drenched uniforms.
“James?” Darren asked. “What the fuck is wrong with them?”
I had no answer. I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I knew that it scared the piss out of me! I recognized those uniforms from my research on my screenplay. They were naval. Not just naval… They were old. These looked like WWII era uniforms… Not what you’d see on a few security guards or God forbid the police!
​
“James?” Darren asked again. They were so close to us now and getting closer with every passing second and I finally found my voice again.
“Run!” I grabbed Darren by the wrist, not caring if he could actually run or not.
“Wait!” He called. “The camera!”
​
He tried to pull away from me and reach for the camera. With everything that had happened, I hadn’t noticed that he’d dropped it when he’d fallen through the stairs. I hadn’t even thought about the bloody camera!
“Leave it!” I called but Darren pulled away from me, almost collapsing to snatch the camera off the ground.
​
I felt a cold, wet hand grabbing my arm in an iron grip. One of the dead-eyed sailors pulled me towards the door and yanked me off my feet. I watched as his companions grabbed Darren and began to drag him along the concrete floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake as he struggled and thrashed in their grip.
“Let me go! You goddamn bastards, let me the fuck go!”
​
I tried to brace my feet against the concrete and pull myself free but the sailor who had a grip on me would not relent. Without a word from our captors, Darren and I were dragged through the abandoned Monolith and out through the way we’d come in. Around us, I saw other dead eyed figures. Most were sailors, some were dressed in other outfits. I spotted a couple of figures in more modern attire. All of them were pale and dripping wet. All of them looked dead.
“What the fuck? W-what the FUCK?” I heard Darren yell. His voice quaked with fear. He didn’t know what was going on anymore than I did and truth be told I didn’t want to fucking know!
​
As we were dragged out of the Monolith, I saw even more of the dead men around us. They stood around, mindless guardians of this place and they stared upwards towards the top of the cliff. My eyes shifted upwards, looking at the lighthouse we had just been inside. The light from its beacon cut through the mist and stretched far out over the sea, and as I looked up at it, I realized that even abandoning the Monolith still served its purpose. At one point, half of that purpose had been to launch submarines but the other half was to see sailors safely home.
​
Looking around at the dead men around me I realized that these were those sailors who had been claimed by the sea, home at last.
“Let go! Let go!” Darren screamed and his cries brought me back to reality. I looked ahead of us, to where the dead sailors were trying to drag us. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks and a spike of panic rose in my chest.
​
They were bringing us to the sea and if they did not stop, they’d drag us to the watery depths that they’d come from and then we, like them, would be of the sea. Dead things bound to return to this place by whatever unnatural thing had risen them from their graves.
​
No. No, I didn’t want to die. Not like this!
​
With all of my strength, I struggled and fought. I brought my leg around to kick at the sailor who was dragging me but he barely seemed to flinch and his iron grip didn’t let up.
“No! NO! NO!”
​
My frantic screams didn’t register with me at first but when they did, they actually unnerved me. My eyes were wide open as I struggled against the grip of the sailor dragging me to my death. I wished we’d never heard of the Monolith. I wished we’d never come to that wretched place! We were so close to the rocks now and I braced my feet against them, trying to hold some sort of ground and stop myself from being dragged into oblivion. The sailor dragging me paused, only for a moment and I saw an opening. I kicked at his knee suddenly and I felt it snap and bend in half. He didn’t make a sound. His grip didn’t even let up, but he did fall.
​
I moved to stand over him and twisted his arm back behind him until I heard the bone snap. His grip on me loosened and I felt a sudden spike of joy!I was free!
​
“James!”
I looked over at Darren and as I did I saw other dead-eyed sailors looking at me. I saw their bodies moving towards me. If I ran for Darren, they would have gotten me. There was no way to free him and fight off more of those cold, undead things! No… I couldn’t do that…
​
I took a step back, clearing the way for the dead sailors to drag Darren to the edge of the sea as he screamed my name.
“JAMES! HELP ME!”
I couldn’t, though.
​
I’d tried, we’d both have ended up dead. Even if I’d succeeded, that wound in his leg was too serious. He’d have no way to run, and even if he’d made it to my car, he’d have bled out before we got him to safety! No… No… Darren was dead the moment he’d fallen. My camera was clutched in his hand and I almost went in to grab it. Almost.
​
What few photographs we’d taken were not worth my life, though. I would not be returning to the Monolith, that much was for sure and I left it behind along with Darren as I turned to run.
​
“JAMES!” I heard him scream after me but I didn’t look back.
​
“JAMES! JAMES, HELP ME! JESUS CHRIST, JAMES! JAAAMES!”
​
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, sprinting past sluggish dead things and towards the hole we’d cut in the fence. I didn’t stop until I was inside my car and speeding off down the road we’d come down.
​
In my rearview mirror, I saw the shapes of what were once men trying to pursue me but I was free of them. Soon, they vanished into the mist along with Darren’s final cries.
​
I will not return to the Monolith.
​
I have seen all that I needed to see of that place and I know that no good can come of being there. I know that among the dead things that may arise from the sea as the mist overtakes the old fortress, there is a figure with the face of a friend. Perhaps Darren is dead and gone for good. Perhaps his corpse doesn’t rise with the others… But I’m happy never knowing for sure. Too many nights, I’ve woken up in a cold sweat from a dream of Darren wrapping his cold, dead hands around my throat and dragging me from my bed… and some nights I swear I hear the steady drip of water onto my bedroom floor.

Mist rose in a thick haze, obscuring my vision as we drove along the road by the sea, down to The Monolith. As we approached I saw why it had earned its name. I could see it further down the coast, a solid dark shape jutting out from the side of the rocky cliffside. Time had eroded the concrete foundations but it had not destroyed the great fortress that stood vigilant on the coastline.
​
What had once been called Cordington Citadel now sat abandoned in this forsaken part of the coastline. Years ago, back when WWII had been in full swing Cordington or ‘The Monolith’ as its denizens called it was quite a busy little outpost, monitoring friendly seas for German U-boats and launching British submarines.
​
At the time, people had joked that a sailor could have seen its bulky concrete tower all the way from Denmark, and indeed, it was quite inconspicuous. That was part of the point, though. Half of the purpose of the Monolith was to launch submarines but the other half was to see sailors safely home. There was even a lighthouse on the cliffs above the installation that was part of the property and as far as I could tell, it was still operational.
​
After the war though, there was no purpose for the old fort. Over time, the Monolith was decommissioned and ultimately abandoned. The Government still owns the property but there’s really nothing they seem to be doing with it. Occasionally it will be rented out for a movie shoot. The abandoned base has featured in a few small-time films, usually for interior locations and it really does have quite an impressive little resume. The interior really is a beautiful sight to see, even if it is a tad run down and that was part of why we were there, to try and document that interior before time took it all away from us.
​
My name is James Davidson, and I want to be one of the greats like Stanley Kubrick or Steven Spielberg. I love the atmosphere of some older movies and I want to recreate that in my own films! That was what drew me to the Monolith. From what I knew, it was the perfect setting for the latest film I had in mind! I didn’t have much of a budget or any big-name actors, but I was sure that I could work with what I did have so long as I used it all effectively and I figured the Monolith would be a big part of that. That was why I was there that day. I just wanted to scout out the location and see if it would actually suit my needs.
​
In the car beside me was Darren Leigh, a close friend of mine who I’d worked with before and was more than happy to work with again. Darren was a decent cameraman and he knew how to handle the equipment well enough. Besides, it was nice to at least have someone to talk to on my lonely excursion.
“Hell of a morning,” I remember him saying. He was looking out over the north sea to our left as we drove. The mist didn’t let him see far, yet there was something beautiful and aetherial about its presence.
“We should get some shots of that. It’s a damn pretty sight if there’s ever been one.”
​
I glanced over at the mist. Darren was right. It was a pretty sight to see. It would’ve been a crime not to immortalize it. The mist ahead of us swirled around the grey rectangular building ahead of us. Despite the stories of the height of the Monolith, I found that it was far wider than it was tall. It looked almost like an old castle sitting on the edge of the sea and the approach was like something out of a dream.
​
As we got closer, I could see the chain-link fence that stopped us from getting closer and my car slowed to a stop. Technically, we had no right to actually be there. The gate was closed but that really didn’t bother me much. I knew I wouldn’t be the first person to have snuck into the Monolith and I wasn’t going to be the last either. I pulled off onto the side of the road to park and got out of the car and Darren did the same. He headed around to the trunk to get his equipment. Mostly just a few cameras for some test shots. We could discuss getting a legitimate permit to film in the Monolith when we actually went there to film. This was just to ensure we weren’t wasting our time with the place.
​
“You got the wire cutters?” I asked. I lit a cigarette as I looked out over the sea. I already had a good vibe about this place. It gave the exact atmosphere that I wanted for my movie. I was still finishing the script, but it was meant to be a grim wartime character study about a technician on a base during WWII. If I got it right, it could be a masterpiece, on par with great films like Joker and Citizen Kane! Perhaps it might even bring me to the level of fame I’d only ever dreamed of before.
​
“I got them here,” Darren said and brushed past me. He cut the fence near where it met the cliff. Nothing that would be immediately noticeable. Just enough to let us push through to get inside.
​
The Monolith stood before us, unguarded and free to explore. I could only barely contain my excitement as I started towards the old building. An abandoned road overgrown with a few resilient weeds led towards the entrance of the base. The windows were boarded up with plywood and the concrete exterior was cracked and worn. We found a way inside and were greeted with an old, musty smell. The base was in worse shape than I had anticipated. There’d been little to no upkeep of it in the past 70-80 years and it showed.
​
I could hear the steady dripping of water somewhere far in the distance and there was no light other than the light from mine and Darren's phones.
“This is it?” He asked and he sounded disheartened. I won’t lie. I was pretty upset too. This place seemed so… dead… I’ll confess, I had imagined something far more grand and photogenic. Instead, this building felt like a waterlogged carcass. But we had come all this way, to give up at the first sight would be a mistake.
“We’ll see what the rest of the base looks like,” I said. “Let’s go.”
With that I descended into the darkness, unaware of what was waiting.
​
Much of the layout of the Monument was devoted to the submarine bays. There were twelve of them in total, spanning the length of the base. Near the rear, built into the cliff wall were what I assumed to have once been barracks and offices although it was hard to tell. Any furniture had long since been cleared away leaving nothing behind but cracked concrete. I saw a few small areas that might do for filming if they were dressed up a bit, but they probably would have required far more time, effort, and budget than I had to spare.
​
Darren took his photographs but it was already a foregone conclusion that the interior of the Monolith had little to offer. We’d wasted our time even if neither of us wanted to admit it yet. That’s not to say that the Monolith was not interesting. Far from it. The old base had an allure to it that was hard to accurately describe. It was rather fascinating to explore a place that was almost forgotten to time.
​
“Hey James, take a look at this!”
I was standing in one of the sub bays when Darren called out to me.
“Looks like they left something behind.”
I went over, wondering just what it was that he’d seen. He’d wandered off inside a side room and I was a little surprised to see a spiraling stairwell in an alcove against the wall. The metal was old and rusted. Climbing it may have been a mistake but it led upwards to some unseen part of the base and Darren was already halfway up.
​
“You sure that’s safe?” I asked but he didn’t reply. He just vanished up the stairs.
“Darren?” I called. Still no reply but I could hear his footsteps. I sucked in a deep breath and swore quietly before I started up the rusty staircase. The ancient metal groaned under my weight as I followed Daren up. The rusted stairway led up quite a ways but I could hear Darren just above me. I could feel powdered rust shaking off the old stairs above me and into my hair before I reached the top.
​
“Look at this!” I heard him say. From what I could see, he was standing in a circular room that was more brightly lit than the rest of the base. I looked up and I could see a seemingly endless tower with a spiral staircase curling around the walls like a tentacle. It took me a moment to realize that I was inside a lighthouse. No… The lighthouse. It must have gone deep into the earth so it could be accessed easily through the Monolith.
​
“Does it go all the way up?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Darren said as he began to ascend the stairs. This time, I didn’t wait behind him. The stairs here were newer. They didn’t creak and groan beneath our weight as much. Clearly, the Government had ensured that this lighthouse was operational and I suppose that made sense. It couldn’t hurt to have one more beacon out at sea.
​
Darren and I climbed the lighthouse tower in silence. It was one hell of a climb but Darren wanted to investigate and I was admittedly curious as to what it was like at the top myself. At the top of the lighthouse, we could see most of the Monolith far below us through the mist. The sea stretched out into the infinite void of white mist and we were denied a view of its true majesty. But there was still something breathtaking about the sights that we did see.
​
Darren’s camera clicked as he snapped a photograph.
“This is gorgeous,” He said under his breath. “We could get some outstanding shots from up here!”
I just nodded silently in response. The shining beacon spun slowly behind us, sending its light far away. My eyes studied the sea before I looked down to the Monolith below us.
​
Just outside of the installation, I saw small shapes moving amongst the mist and I squinted to try and get a better look at them.
“Darren, I don’t think we’re alone.”
Darren paused and looked down. It took him a minute to see what I saw.
“Shit, do you think someone saw us come in?”
“It’s possible,” I replied. “We should go. We’ll get back to the car and get the hell out of here.”
​
Darren frowned. He didn’t like the idea but he couldn't disagree. Hiding in the lighthouse tower would’ve effectively cornered us and neither of us wanted that. I started back down the stairs again, taking them almost two at a time and I could hear Darren behind me. We reached the landing where the lighthouse began. There was a closed door that I assumed led outside and I almost considered taking it. To do so would’ve meant we’d find ourselves at the top of the cliff with no clear way down. We needed to go out the way we’d come in, through the rusted staircase.
​
I saw it through a doorway that Darren had forced open when he’d come in first. It was rusted to shit so he’d probably broken it easily. With my friend behind me, I started for those rusted stairs and I didn’t linger on them. I hurried down, not thinking about whether the stairs could handle my speed. I could hear Darren coming down behind me and the metal groaned in protest. I shouldn’t have been surprised when it gave out, but I still was.
​
As we were nearing the final few steps, Darren gave a sudden cry before a section of the spiral stairs snapped beneath him. I didn’t see him fall but I saw him hit the ground and I heard his cry of pain.
“FUCKING HELL!”
“Darren?!”
​
As I reached the ground again, I saw what had hurt him. A section of the broken metal had left a jagged tear in his calf. Blood soaked through his jeans and Darren clutched his leg, gritting his teeth to stop himself from screaming. The sight of all that blood turned my stomach and as the panic set in it became harder to think clearly. We needed to go!
​
“Shit… Darren, can you stand?”
He just growled at me and I took its meaning to be that he couldn’t exactly get up on his own. I rushed over to him, offering him a hand to pull him to his feet.
“Come on, man, come on…”
​
Darren did what he could to pick himself up and he cried out in pain as he did. He almost collapsed outright before he steadied himself. His wounded leg wobbled under his weight as he leaned against the wall for support.
“Fuck… Jesus fucking Christ, James…”
“Hold still lemme just see how bad it is!”
I leaned down, looking at the bleeding gash in Darren’s leg. I wasn’t a doctor. I had no idea how to diagnose any of this but it looked bad.
“We need to get you to a doctor,” I finally said. “No shit, James!”
​
The last thing I needed was his attitude at that moment but I tried to ignore it.
“Let’s get you back to the car…”
“The car? You want me to walk back to the car?” Darren asked. He laughed loudly and humorlessly.
“You wanna get arrested?” “I’m fucking bleeding, you daft cunt! We’re not sneaking past whoever’s in here! Be a man and bite the bloody bullet! Call for help!”
Somewhere deeper in the base, I heard movement and spun around. With all the noise we were making, of course, we’d already been found.
​
I glanced at Darren before deciding that there wasn’t much of a choice. He was right. Sneaking to the car wasn’t an option.
“Over here!” I called. “My friend’s hurt bad! Bring help!”
The movement in the darkened halls grew closer and I saw a man enter the room.
“Thank God, do you have a phone? Should we call an ambulance?” I asked. The man didn’t reply. He stood in the doorway, staring at us before he began to approach. As he drew nearer though, something seemed off.
​
His gait was slow and sluggish. He walked like a drunkard, dragging his feet and staggering towards us. I could hear water dripping onto the concrete floor as if this newcomer had just crawled out of the sea. As he got closer, I could make out some of the details of his uniform. It was dark blue with a white belt. His clothes were soaking wet and dripping onto the floor. I could see a white undershirt clinging to his chest as he drew nearer. His skin seemed so pale it almost seemed to glow in the dim light. His eyes looked sunken in and hollow. Staring at him filled me with a quiet creeping dread and I found myself recoiling from him.
​
“Sir?” I asked. Still no response. Behind him, I could see two similarly dressed men entering the room behind him. Like him, they moved with a shuffling gait, and water dripped from their drenched uniforms.
“James?” Darren asked. “What the fuck is wrong with them?”
I had no answer. I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I knew that it scared the piss out of me! I recognized those uniforms from my research on my screenplay. They were naval. Not just naval… They were old. These looked like WWII era uniforms… Not what you’d see on a few security guards or God forbid the police!
​
“James?” Darren asked again. They were so close to us now and getting closer with every passing second and I finally found my voice again.
“Run!” I grabbed Darren by the wrist, not caring if he could actually run or not.
“Wait!” He called. “The camera!”
​
He tried to pull away from me and reach for the camera. With everything that had happened, I hadn’t noticed that he’d dropped it when he’d fallen through the stairs. I hadn’t even thought about the bloody camera!
“Leave it!” I called but Darren pulled away from me, almost collapsing to snatch the camera off the ground.
​
I felt a cold, wet hand grabbing my arm in an iron grip. One of the dead-eyed sailors pulled me towards the door and yanked me off my feet. I watched as his companions grabbed Darren and began to drag him along the concrete floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake as he struggled and thrashed in their grip.
“Let me go! You goddamn bastards, let me the fuck go!”
​
I tried to brace my feet against the concrete and pull myself free but the sailor who had a grip on me would not relent. Without a word from our captors, Darren and I were dragged through the abandoned Monolith and out through the way we’d come in. Around us, I saw other dead eyed figures. Most were sailors, some were dressed in other outfits. I spotted a couple of figures in more modern attire. All of them were pale and dripping wet. All of them looked dead.
“What the fuck? W-what the FUCK?” I heard Darren yell. His voice quaked with fear. He didn’t know what was going on anymore than I did and truth be told I didn’t want to fucking know!
​
As we were dragged out of the Monolith, I saw even more of the dead men around us. They stood around, mindless guardians of this place and they stared upwards towards the top of the cliff. My eyes shifted upwards, looking at the lighthouse we had just been inside. The light from its beacon cut through the mist and stretched far out over the sea, and as I looked up at it, I realized that even abandoning the Monolith still served its purpose. At one point, half of that purpose had been to launch submarines but the other half was to see sailors safely home.
​
Looking around at the dead men around me I realized that these were those sailors who had been claimed by the sea, home at last.
“Let go! Let go!” Darren screamed and his cries brought me back to reality. I looked ahead of us, to where the dead sailors were trying to drag us. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks and a spike of panic rose in my chest.
​
They were bringing us to the sea and if they did not stop, they’d drag us to the watery depths that they’d come from and then we, like them, would be of the sea. Dead things bound to return to this place by whatever unnatural thing had risen them from their graves.
​
No. No, I didn’t want to die. Not like this!
​
With all of my strength, I struggled and fought. I brought my leg around to kick at the sailor who was dragging me but he barely seemed to flinch and his iron grip didn’t let up.
“No! NO! NO!”
​
My frantic screams didn’t register with me at first but when they did, they actually unnerved me. My eyes were wide open as I struggled against the grip of the sailor dragging me to my death. I wished we’d never heard of the Monolith. I wished we’d never come to that wretched place! We were so close to the rocks now and I braced my feet against them, trying to hold some sort of ground and stop myself from being dragged into oblivion. The sailor dragging me paused, only for a moment and I saw an opening. I kicked at his knee suddenly and I felt it snap and bend in half. He didn’t make a sound. His grip didn’t even let up, but he did fall.
​
I moved to stand over him and twisted his arm back behind him until I heard the bone snap. His grip on me loosened and I felt a sudden spike of joy! I was free!
​
“James!”
I looked over at Darren and as I did I saw other dead-eyed sailors looking at me. I saw their bodies moving towards me. If I ran for Darren, they would have gotten me. There was no way to free him and fight off more of those cold, undead things! No… I couldn’t do that…
​
I took a step back, clearing the way for the dead sailors to drag Darren to the edge of the sea as he screamed my name.
“JAMES! HELP ME!”
I couldn’t, though.
​
I’d tried, we’d both have ended up dead. Even if I’d succeeded, that wound in his leg was too serious. He’d have no way to run, and even if he’d made it to my car, he’d have bled out before we got him to safety! No… No… Darren was dead the moment he’d fallen. My camera was clutched in his hand and I almost went in to grab it. Almost.
​
What few photographs we’d taken were not worth my life, though. I would not be returning to the Monolith, that much was for sure and I left it behind along with Darren as I turned to run.
​
“JAMES!” I heard him scream after me but I didn’t look back.
​
“JAMES! JAMES, HELP ME! JESUS CHRIST, JAMES! JAAAMES!”
​
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, sprinting past sluggish dead things and towards the hole we’d cut in the fence. I didn’t stop until I was inside my car and speeding off down the road we’d come down.
​
In my rearview mirror, I saw the shapes of what were once men trying to pursue me but I was free of them. Soon, they vanished into the mist along with Darren’s final cries.
​
I will not return to the Monolith.
​
I have seen all that I needed to see of that place and I know that no good can come of being there. I know that among the dead things that may arise from the sea as the mist overtakes the old fortress, there is a figure with the face of a friend. Perhaps Darren is dead and gone for good. Perhaps his corpse doesn’t rise with the others… But I’m happy never knowing for sure. Too many nights, I’ve woken up in a cold sweat from a dream of Darren wrapping his cold, dead hands around my throat and dragging me from my bed… and some nights I swear I hear the steady drip of water onto my bedroom floor.

Mist rose in a thick haze, obscuring my vision as we drove along the road by the sea, down to The Monolith. As we approached I saw why it had earned its name. I could see it further down the coast, a solid dark shape jutting out from the side of the rocky cliffside. Time had eroded the concrete foundations but it had not destroyed the great fortress that stood vigilant on the coastline.
​
What had once been called Cordington Citadel now sat abandoned in this forsaken part of the coastline. Years ago, back when WWII had been in full swing Cordington or ‘The Monolith’ as its denizens called it was quite a busy little outpost, monitoring friendly seas for German U-boats and launching British submarines.
​
At the time, people had joked that a sailor could have seen its bulky concrete tower all the way from Denmark, and indeed, it was quite inconspicuous. That was part of the point, though. Half of the purpose of the Monolith was to launch submarines but the other half was to see sailors safely home. There was even a lighthouse on the cliffs above the installation that was part of the property and as far as I could tell, it was still operational.
​
After the war though, there was no purpose for the old fort. Over time, the Monolith was decommissioned and ultimately abandoned. The Government still owns the property but there’s really nothing they seem to be doing with it. Occasionally it will be rented out for a movie shoot. The abandoned base has featured in a few small-time films, usually for interior locations and it really does have quite an impressive little resume. The interior really is a beautiful sight to see, even if it is a tad run down and that was part of why we were there, to try and document that interior before time took it all away from us.
​
My name is James Davidson, and I want to be one of the greats like Stanley Kubrick or Steven Spielberg. I love the atmosphere of some older movies and I want to recreate that in my own films! That was what drew me to the Monolith. From what I knew, it was the perfect setting for the latest film I had in mind! I didn’t have much of a budget or any big-name actors, but I was sure that I could work with what I did have so long as I used it all effectively and I figured the Monolith would be a big part of that. That was why I was there that day. I just wanted to scout out the location and see if it would actually suit my needs.
​
In the car beside me was Darren Leigh, a close friend of mine who I’d worked with before and was more than happy to work with again. Darren was a decent cameraman and he knew how to handle the equipment well enough. Besides, it was nice to at least have someone to talk to on my lonely excursion.
“Hell of a morning,” I remember him saying. He was looking out over the north sea to our left as we drove. The mist didn’t let him see far, yet there was something beautiful and aetherial about its presence.
“We should get some shots of that. It’s a damn pretty sight if there’s ever been one.”
​
I glanced over at the mist. Darren was right. It was a pretty sight to see. It would’ve been a crime not to immortalize it. The mist ahead of us swirled around the grey rectangular building ahead of us. Despite the stories of the height of the Monolith, I found that it was far wider than it was tall. It looked almost like an old castle sitting on the edge of the sea and the approach was like something out of a dream.
​
As we got closer, I could see the chain-link fence that stopped us from getting closer and my car slowed to a stop. Technically, we had no right to actually be there. The gate was closed but that really didn’t bother me much. I knew I wouldn’t be the first person to have snuck into the Monolith and I wasn’t going to be the last either. I pulled off onto the side of the road to park and got out of the car and Darren did the same. He headed around to the trunk to get his equipment. Mostly just a few cameras for some test shots. We could discuss getting a legitimate permit to film in the Monolith when we actually went there to film. This was just to ensure we weren’t wasting our time with the place.
​
“You got the wire cutters?” I asked. I lit a cigarette as I looked out over the sea. I already had a good vibe about this place. It gave the exact atmosphere that I wanted for my movie. I was still finishing the script, but it was meant to be a grim wartime character study about a technician on a base during WWII. If I got it right, it could be a masterpiece, on par with great films like Joker and Citizen Kane! Perhaps it might even bring me to the level of fame I’d only ever dreamed of before.
​
“I got them here,” Darren said and brushed past me. He cut the fence near where it met the cliff. Nothing that would be immediately noticeable. Just enough to let us push through to get inside.
​
The Monolith stood before us, unguarded and free to explore. I could only barely contain my excitement as I started towards the old building. An abandoned road overgrown with a few resilient weeds led towards the entrance of the base. The windows were boarded up with plywood and the concrete exterior was cracked and worn. We found a way inside and were greeted with an old, musty smell. The base was in worse shape than I had anticipated. There’d been little to no upkeep of it in the past 70-80 years and it showed.
​
I could hear the steady dripping of water somewhere far in the distance and there was no light other than the light from mine and Darren's phones.
“This is it?” He asked and he sounded disheartened. I won’t lie. I was pretty upset too. This place seemed so… dead… I’ll confess, I had imagined something far more grand and photogenic. Instead, this building felt like a waterlogged carcass. But we had come all this way, to give up at the first sight would be a mistake.
“We’ll see what the rest of the base looks like,” I said. “Let’s go.”
With that I descended into the darkness, unaware of what was waiting.
​
Much of the layout of the Monument was devoted to the submarine bays. There were twelve of them in total, spanning the length of the base. Near the rear, built into the cliff wall were what I assumed to have once been barracks and offices although it was hard to tell. Any furniture had long since been cleared away leaving nothing behind but cracked concrete. I saw a few small areas that might do for filming if they were dressed up a bit, but they probably would have required far more time, effort, and budget than I had to spare.
​
Darren took his photographs but it was already a foregone conclusion that the interior of the Monolith had little to offer. We’d wasted our time even if neither of us wanted to admit it yet. That’s not to say that the Monolith was not interesting. Far from it. The old base had an allure to it that was hard to accurately describe. It was rather fascinating to explore a place that was almost forgotten to time.
​
“Hey James, take a look at this!”
I was standing in one of the sub bays when Darren called out to me.
“Looks like they left something behind.”
I went over, wondering just what it was that he’d seen. He’d wandered off inside a side room and I was a little surprised to see a spiraling stairwell in an alcove against the wall. The metal was old and rusted. Climbing it may have been a mistake but it led upwards to some unseen part of the base and Darren was already halfway up.
​
“You sure that’s safe?” I asked but he didn’t reply. He just vanished up the stairs.
“Darren?” I called. Still no reply but I could hear his footsteps. I sucked in a deep breath and swore quietly before I started up the rusty staircase. The ancient metal groaned under my weight as I followed Daren up. The rusted stairway led up quite a ways but I could hear Darren just above me. I could feel powdered rust shaking off the old stairs above me and into my hair before I reached the top.
​
“Look at this!” I heard him say. From what I could see, he was standing in a circular room that was more brightly lit than the rest of the base. I looked up and I could see a seemingly endless tower with a spiral staircase curling around the walls like a tentacle. It took me a moment to realize that I was inside a lighthouse. No… The lighthouse. It must have gone deep into the earth so it could be accessed easily through the Monolith.
​
“Does it go all the way up?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Darren said as he began to ascend the stairs. This time, I didn’t wait behind him. The stairs here were newer. They didn’t creak and groan beneath our weight as much. Clearly, the Government had ensured that this lighthouse was operational and I suppose that made sense. It couldn’t hurt to have one more beacon out at sea.
​
Darren and I climbed the lighthouse tower in silence. It was one hell of a climb but Darren wanted to investigate and I was admittedly curious as to what it was like at the top myself. At the top of the lighthouse, we could see most of the Monolith far below us through the mist. The sea stretched out into the infinite void of white mist and we were denied a view of its true majesty. But there was still something breathtaking about the sights that we did see.
​
Darren’s camera clicked as he snapped a photograph.
“This is gorgeous,” He said under his breath. “We could get some outstanding shots from up here!”
I just nodded silently in response. The shining beacon spun slowly behind us, sending its light far away. My eyes studied the sea before I looked down to the Monolith below us.
​
Just outside of the installation, I saw small shapes moving amongst the mist and I squinted to try and get a better look at them.
“Darren, I don’t think we’re alone.”
Darren paused and looked down. It took him a minute to see what I saw.
“Shit, do you think someone saw us come in?”
“It’s possible,” I replied. “We should go. We’ll get back to the car and get the hell out of here.”
​
Darren frowned. He didn’t like the idea but he couldn't disagree. Hiding in the lighthouse tower would’ve effectively cornered us and neither of us wanted that. I started back down the stairs again, taking them almost two at a time and I could hear Darren behind me. We reached the landing where the lighthouse began. There was a closed door that I assumed led outside and I almost considered taking it. To do so would’ve meant we’d find ourselves at the top of the cliff with no clear way down. We needed to go out the way we’d come in, through the rusted staircase.
​
I saw it through a doorway that Darren had forced open when he’d come in first. It was rusted to shit so he’d probably broken it easily. With my friend behind me, I started for those rusted stairs and I didn’t linger on them. I hurried down, not thinking about whether the stairs could handle my speed. I could hear Darren coming down behind me and the metal groaned in protest. I shouldn’t have been surprised when it gave out, but I still was.
​
As we were nearing the final few steps, Darren gave a sudden cry before a section of the spiral stairs snapped beneath him. I didn’t see him fall but I saw him hit the ground and I heard his cry of pain.
“FUCKING HELL!”
“Darren?!”
​
As I reached the ground again, I saw what had hurt him. A section of the broken metal had left a jagged tear in his calf. Blood soaked through his jeans and Darren clutched his leg, gritting his teeth to stop himself from screaming. The sight of all that blood turned my stomach and as the panic set in it became harder to think clearly. We needed to go!
​
“Shit… Darren, can you stand?”
He just growled at me and I took its meaning to be that he couldn’t exactly get up on his own. I rushed over to him, offering him a hand to pull him to his feet.
“Come on, man, come on…”
​
Darren did what he could to pick himself up and he cried out in pain as he did. He almost collapsed outright before he steadied himself. His wounded leg wobbled under his weight as he leaned against the wall for support.
“Fuck… Jesus fucking Christ, James…”
“Hold still lemme just see how bad it is!”
I leaned down, looking at the bleeding gash in Darren’s leg. I wasn’t a doctor. I had no idea how to diagnose any of this but it looked bad.
“We need to get you to a doctor,” I finally said. “No shit, James!”
​
The last thing I needed was his attitude at that moment but I tried to ignore it.
“Let’s get you back to the car…”
“The car? You want me to walk back to the car?” Darren asked. He laughed loudly and humorlessly.
“You wanna get arrested?” “I’m fucking bleeding, you daft cunt! We’re not sneaking past whoever’s in here! Be a man and bite the bloody bullet! Call for help!”
Somewhere deeper in the base, I heard movement and spun around. With all the noise we were making, of course, we’d already been found.
​
I glanced at Darren before deciding that there wasn’t much of a choice. He was right. Sneaking to the car wasn’t an option.
“Over here!” I called. “My friend’s hurt bad! Bring help!”
The movement in the darkened halls grew closer and I saw a man enter the room.
“Thank God, do you have a phone? Should we call an ambulance?” I asked. The man didn’t reply. He stood in the doorway, staring at us before he began to approach. As he drew nearer though, something seemed off.
​
His gait was slow and sluggish. He walked like a drunkard, dragging his feet and staggering towards us. I could hear water dripping onto the concrete floor as if this newcomer had just crawled out of the sea. As he got closer, I could make out some of the details of his uniform. It was dark blue with a white belt. His clothes were soaking wet and dripping onto the floor. I could see a white undershirt clinging to his chest as he drew nearer. His skin seemed so pale it almost seemed to glow in the dim light. His eyes looked sunken in and hollow. Staring at him filled me with a quiet creeping dread and I found myself recoiling from him.
​
“Sir?” I asked. Still no response. Behind him, I could see two similarly dressed men entering the room behind him. Like him, they moved with a shuffling gait, and water dripped from their drenched uniforms.
“James?” Darren asked. “What the fuck is wrong with them?”
I had no answer. I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I knew that it scared the piss out of me! I recognized those uniforms from my research on my screenplay. They were naval. Not just naval… They were old. These looked like WWII era uniforms… Not what you’d see on a few security guards or God forbid the police!
​
“James?” Darren asked again. They were so close to us now and getting closer with every passing second and I finally found my voice again.
“Run!” I grabbed Darren by the wrist, not caring if he could actually run or not.
“Wait!” He called. “The camera!”
​
He tried to pull away from me and reach for the camera. With everything that had happened, I hadn’t noticed that he’d dropped it when he’d fallen through the stairs. I hadn’t even thought about the bloody camera!
“Leave it!” I called but Darren pulled away from me, almost collapsing to snatch the camera off the ground.
​
I felt a cold, wet hand grabbing my arm in an iron grip. One of the dead-eyed sailors pulled me towards the door and yanked me off my feet. I watched as his companions grabbed Darren and began to drag him along the concrete floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake as he struggled and thrashed in their grip.
“Let me go! You goddamn bastards, let me the fuck go!”
​
I tried to brace my feet against the concrete and pull myself free but the sailor who had a grip on me would not relent. Without a word from our captors, Darren and I were dragged through the abandoned Monolith and out through the way we’d come in. Around us, I saw other dead eyed figures. Most were sailors, some were dressed in other outfits. I spotted a couple of figures in more modern attire. All of them were pale and dripping wet. All of them looked dead.
“What the fuck? W-what the FUCK?” I heard Darren yell. His voice quaked with fear. He didn’t know what was going on anymore than I did and truth be told I didn’t want to fucking know!
​
As we were dragged out of the Monolith, I saw even more of the dead men around us. They stood around, mindless guardians of this place and they stared upwards towards the top of the cliff. My eyes shifted upwards, looking at the lighthouse we had just been inside. The light from its beacon cut through the mist and stretched far out over the sea, and as I looked up at it, I realized that even abandoning the Monolith still served its purpose. At one point, half of that purpose had been to launch submarines but the other half was to see sailors safely home.
​
Looking around at the dead men around me I realized that these were those sailors who had been claimed by the sea, home at last.
“Let go! Let go!” Darren screamed and his cries brought me back to reality. I looked ahead of us, to where the dead sailors were trying to drag us. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks and a spike of panic rose in my chest.
​
They were bringing us to the sea and if they did not stop, they’d drag us to the watery depths that they’d come from and then we, like them, would be of the sea. Dead things bound to return to this place by whatever unnatural thing had risen them from their graves.
​
No. No, I didn’t want to die. Not like this!
​
With all of my strength, I struggled and fought. I brought my leg around to kick at the sailor who was dragging me but he barely seemed to flinch and his iron grip didn’t let up.
“No! NO! NO!”
​
My frantic screams didn’t register with me at first but when they did, they actually unnerved me. My eyes were wide open as I struggled against the grip of the sailor dragging me to my death. I wished we’d never heard of the Monolith. I wished we’d never come to that wretched place! We were so close to the rocks now and I braced my feet against them, trying to hold some sort of ground and stop myself from being dragged into oblivion. The sailor dragging me paused, only for a moment and I saw an opening. I kicked at his knee suddenly and I felt it snap and bend in half. He didn’t make a sound. His grip didn’t even let up, but he did fall.
​
I moved to stand over him and twisted his arm back behind him until I heard the bone snap. His grip on me loosened and I felt a sudden spike of joy! I was free!
​
“James!”
I looked over at Darren and as I did I saw other dead-eyed sailors looking at me. I saw their bodies moving towards me. If I ran for Darren, they would have gotten me. There was no way to free him and fight off more of those cold, undead things! No… I couldn’t do that…
​
I took a step back, clearing the way for the dead sailors to drag Darren to the edge of the sea as he screamed my name.
“JAMES! HELP ME!”
I couldn’t, though.
​
I’d tried, we’d both have ended up dead. Even if I’d succeeded, that wound in his leg was too serious. He’d have no way to run, and even if he’d made it to my car, he’d have bled out before we got him to safety! No… No… Darren was dead the moment he’d fallen. My camera was clutched in his hand and I almost went in to grab it. Almost.
​
What few photographs we’d taken were not worth my life, though. I would not be returning to the Monolith, that much was for sure and I left it behind along with Darren as I turned to run.
​
“JAMES!” I heard him scream after me but I didn’t look back.
​
“JAMES! JAMES, HELP ME! JESUS CHRIST, JAMES! JAAAMES!”
​
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, sprinting past sluggish dead things and towards the hole we’d cut in the fence. I didn’t stop until I was inside my car and speeding off down the road we’d come down.
​
In my rearview mirror, I saw the shapes of what were once men trying to pursue me but I was free of them. Soon, they vanished into the mist along with Darren’s final cries.
​
I will not return to the Monolith.
​
I have seen all that I needed to see of that place and I know that no good can come of being there. I know that among the dead things that may arise from the sea as the mist overtakes the old fortress, there is a figure with the face of a friend. Perhaps Darren is dead and gone for good. Perhaps his corpse doesn’t rise with the others… But I’m happy never knowing for sure. Too many nights, I’ve woken up in a cold sweat from a dream of Darren wrapping his cold, dead hands around my throat and dragging me from my bed… and some nights I swear I hear the steady drip of water onto my bedroom floor.

This is an old humor thing I was noting down in my journal that I thought y’all would enjoy
Mr. Mistar
Batman’s most French of enemies. Jean-Garcon Saint-DeGaul, known in the criminal underworld as Mr. Mistar, is the richest man in Europe. A real estate magnate, he funds super- villains to get inside info on what properties will be destroyed, giving him an edge in the market. After the combined efforts of Batman and Bruce Wayne to foil his plan to turn Gotham’s public housing into high rises and turn homeless shelters into pop culture art museums, he swears vengeance. His most successful scheme turned the main Wayne Enterprises building into a hostel for villains for the better part of a year.
Clayface 3000
The original Clayface in the future becomes integrated with the internet, able to learn and manifest anything that exists on the internet. Batman’s new foe Scale sends him from the future as an elaborate distraction to kidnap Alfred. Clayface 3000 was sent back to the future after Batman was able to show him a picture from the future.
Philadelphia Hang Glider
Normally an antagonist to the teen superhero group The Needed, Philadelphia Hang Glider took the news of Batman’s apparent death to perform high flying bank robberies in Gotham. Upon Batman’s return, Batman beat, humiliated, and subsequently cyber-bullied Philadelphia Hang Glider so badly, Philadelphia Hang Glider sued Batman under his real name Stan Aerosmith, leading to his arrest. There is a grass roots movement in Gotham to hold Batman responsible for psychological trauma to Philadelphia Hang Glider.
Chupacabra Mask
Originally the Riddler was granted mystical powers from wearing this mask during his mini-series The Answer. Later, in a confrontation with Batman, the mask fell into a Lazarus Pit. The pit granted the mask life, sentience, and the singular goal of revenge against Batman for bringing it into this miserable existence. Although alive and able to talk, its still just a mask. Most appearances of Chupacabra Mask have been it screaming for help at the bottom of a Lazarus Pit or telling museum goers at the Gotham Museum of Crime and Aviation that Batman sucks.
Norman Reedus
For one and a half issues of writer Jeph Linz limited-run series Bat-Family Massacre, acclaimed actor Norman Reedus was mind controlled by the genetic clone of Batman villain Hush, Shush. Shush’s mind control device not only controlled Reedus, but released his dopamine and adrenaline inhibitors, making him capable fo humanly impossible feats. After incapacitating Reedus with the help of former Wayne Enterprises outreach coordinator turned crime-fighter Echo Hope, Batman surgically removed the mind control device from Reedus. He then arranged for Alfred to return to Reedus to his family.
Dwight Howard
During a 2012 issue of Batman: Orange with Greed, Batman reveals he’s a huge Laker’s fan and expresses skepticism about the Howard trade, noting “The Laker need young guys and man Howard isn’t the kind of player that ages well, a center with that play style” as Alfred ignored him while tending his wounds. In a 2014 issue of the cross-over event Fiber HourGlass, Bruce Wayne attends a Rockets-Lakers game where he loudly boos Howard from the sideline.
Dr. Batman
The antagonist of a Tetris like mini game in the video game Arkham City. This is only unlockable by entering the secret room in Crime Alley after finding Two-Face’s dental records in the mission A Distress Signal to Bludhaven.
The Doll With No Name
During a promotional comic for the U2 album No Line on the Horizon, the multi-dimensional imp Mr. Mxyptlk finds out Batman doesn’t like U2 and sends Batman into physical manifestations of U2’s discography. As Batman overcomes these trials, he finds his toughest challenge in an empty street embodying “The Streets Have No Name,” only containing an American girl doll dressed as Bono. The doll starts listing Batman’s favorite bands, such as The Mountain Goats and Reel Big Fish, every name increasing the weight on Batman and crushing him. With no other choice, Batman admits that the only reason he doesn’t like U2 is their mainstream popularity. The issue closes with Batman attending a U2 concert, who is then brought on stage by The Edge to play a guitar solo during “Vertigo.”
The Doll with No Name would later return in DC continuity for two issues of Robin: Emancipated Boy Wonder to torture Robin over his favorite rapper being Eminem.
Akira Toriyama, Hirohiko Araki, and Naoko Takeuchi
On Earth 23.01, the setting of the DC comics line Detective Manga Dimension, Batman is an orphaned, rich, and unpopular high school student in Tokyo. But at night he stalks the streets as the extremely popular Bat Yokai, who fights crime and even has his own radio program.
After foiling a money laundering scheme by his childhood friend The Laughing Penguin, Laughing Penguin attempts to use the Bat Yokai’s love of manga against him by empowering the authors of Dragon Ball, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Sailor Moon with the Bane serum, unleashing them to rampage Tokyo. Hesitant to hurt his favorite artists, the Bat Yokai is soundly defeated with an uppercut from Naoko Takeuchi. But after a resounding speech about determination and not giving up from the Bat Yokai, the mangakas come to their senses and use the last of their super strength to capture The Laughing Penguin. The authors then take the Bat Yokai out for a milkshake, an evening that ends with a picture of them all hanging out drawn by Takeuchi’s husband, famed manga artists Yoshihiro Togashi.
Van Buren
An archeologist and a descendant of U.S. President Martin Van Buren, Scooter Scotsdale’s research led him to believe there existed an elixir of life deep in the mountains of U.S. Appalachia. His whole life, from growing up in an accident prone funeral home to his time bartending at the Chelsea Hotel, was surrounded by death. But he believed he could conquer death. During his excavation he stumbled though a crevice into a secret room on a mountain face. In the center was a pyramid with water trickling from it. He quickly drank from the pyramid, unaware of its purpose to commune with dead. His body transformed and as his mind receded into nothingness, all that remained was long dead United States President Martin Van Buren.
The resurrected Van Buren, angered at his mediocrity and obscureness to the nation he gave his entire being to, sough revenge on America. Seeing him as the both his greatest obstacle and a symbol of lady liberty gone awry, Van Buren resolves to start his quest with killing Batman or as Van Buren calls him “The Shadow President.” After an initial failed attempt to pistol duel Batman followed immediately by gifting him small pox blankets, Van Buren would frequently attempt to assassinate Batman over the last decade and half. Most notable of his attempts is when he closely tailed Batman throughout his year on the run during the events of Batman: Fugitive for Hire. At that time Van Buren was bonded with the Bio-Tech Bacteria, giving him unlimited stamina and the ability to create fungal weapon.
Flicky Dicky
Filamore Richard was a mild-mannered accountant and husband who carried a secret. At the age of 12, the great wizard Endelfun told him he was destined to be the warrior to bring about the end of the world. Not wanting to end the world, Filamore Richard did everything he could to make himself weak and stoppable. He forced an allergy to fresh air, intentionally malnourished himself, broke his bones whenever it seemed convenient, and legally changed his name to Flicky Dicky to hurt his confidence.
The prophecy turned out to be self fulfilling. His allergy to fresh air reactivated long dormant human genomes that were capable of bending the cords of reality. which were then forced into active development out of desperation from his weakened body. He was now warping reality with even the smallest of actions, in one instance turning half of Metropolis into a water park for dogs while attempting to pour milk into cereal. With the world on the verge of disaster, one hero after another attempted to defeat Flicky Dicky, suffering painful death and erasure from reality as Flicky Dicky watched in horror, unable to prevent it.
Batman, having deduced Flicky Dicky’s history with the help of Egyptian police sergeant-turned-dimension hopping cat Galbard Sphinx, found a more novel solution. Via drone, Batman instructed Flicky Dicky through a work out and diet regiment to, in Batman’s words “get him swole.” Once Batman successfully turned Flicky Dicky “into a true beefcake,” his effects on the world slowly reverted, his body no longer sensing any danger to him.
Future instances of Flicky Dicky’s reality warping appear during rare instances where he slacks on his fitness.
During the event of Infinite Bat-Crisis Across Unlimited Bat-Worlds, the Joker and Condiment King putting copious amounts of sugar into Flicky Dicky’s lunchtime SweetGreen salads is one of the three catalysts for alternate realities converging. Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond) and Thomas Wayne were able track down Flicky Dicky and initiate a cross-fit workout to alleviate his role in shifting reality.

This is Part 3 of my "Fixing the DCEU" Series. Parts 1 and 2 can be read here and here.
Suicide Squad could have been a good film, a decent film. It had a phenomenal cast of colorful and unique characters and a cool premise in its original source material. But man did they fuck it up with odd editing choices, misuse of tone / undecided on what tone to be, no arcs for its many characters, having a plot that makes no sense or proper act structure, basically... this film was an epic failure.
But there was good within it. Had it been made at the proper time and executed properly we'd have had a solid dark action film. And that's what Suicide Squad failed to be when it tried to be DC's discount Guardians of the Galaxy by taking only surface level lessons from that picture.
In my "Fixing the DCEU" Series, we've rectified things a bit by establishing the DC Film Universe' primary superheroes first. They follow as Man of Steel (2013), Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2015), Wonder Woman (2016), Aquaman (2016), and The Flash (2017). Our Suicide Squad film would release right after The Flash in 2017. With the benefit of these prior films building the world we were able to introduce several characters from Suicide Squad early such as Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. ARGUS also featured in these prior films as a mysterious antagonistic agency in these films.
Another major change to this version is that our Suicide Squad is Rated R. Somewhat following in Deadpool's footsteps, this is to allow this somewhat darker corner of the Universe to have the violence and action that fits these villains. Also to allow for them to speak like they would - Harley saying "I'm Harley FUCKING Quinn" and the like.
Much of the cast is the same as it was in the original film. Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jay Hernandez, Joel Kinnamen, Jai Courtney, Karen Fukuhara, Adwale, Agbaje-Akkinoyue, etc. But there is the addition of Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta as well as a different actor portraying Batman. The Enchantress is no where in this Rewrite.
Now... onto the Rewrite:
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.
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We begin with Amanda Waller shown sitting in an airplane flying over the fictional Latin American country of Val Verde. The country is controlled by an anti-American President (played by Benecio del Toro) who is actually rather benevolent. Our first scene of this guy is actually him ordering his officers to pay the working class more for building the President's palace. "If I refuse to pay my people, they will no longer love me and worse than that, I will have lost all honor". Clearly a revolution happened in this country and this guy genuinely believes in freedom and justice. He's not unloved in this nation nor a dictator at all.
Then we cut to around the Presidential Palace. Several people land in the jungle around the palace and we see Val Verde soldiers being taken out by them. One uses bullets, another hacks and slashes with a Japanese sword, another drags a man down into the water, another is speared by a harpoon, and another gets their neck broken. This last person is actually El Diablo and we hear over their radio Deadshot say "Really bro?".
Diablo at this point still has his vow to not use his superpowers. But he will still cooperate with this team and uses more physical skill and stealth on opponents instead of killing. However the Squad looks down on Diablo and thinks that he eventually will have to kill like the rest of them.
Then we see things go wrong as Captain Boomerang gets spotted out in the open. Boomerang loudly kills several soldiers which alerts the entire palace. The rest of the group - Katana, Killer Croc, Black Manta, and Deadshot - then begin killing soldiers left and right causing more chaos while El Diablo sneaks through the chaos to get to the President. Also descending from Waller's plane is the leader of this group, US Army Colonel Rick Flagg, who crashes in through the President's office as Diablo gets there and kills his guards and several Government officials.
Diablo speaks in Spanish to the President and asks him to simply surrender in order for no more people to get killed. The President recognizes Diablo's tattoos and asks if he should believe an obvious gangster. This somewhat hurts Diablo who doesn't argue his point. A frustrated Flagg then swears as he grabs the President and shoots his foot so he won't get away.
Meanwhile in the yard of the palace we see in full the Suicide Squad take on and defeat much of the guards / army. In a Metal Gear Solid esque moment, Deadshot and Captain Boomerang double team and take out a heavily fortified attack chopper with just one bullet and a boomerang. The team leaves and returns to Waller's plane giving the Val Verde President to her. She tells him that not working with the United States now has resulted in America taking his country from him by force. The President curses Waller and Waller tazes him.
Title Card: SUICIDE SQUAD
We then see Gotham City and get narration from a long awaited character: Harley Quinn, still played by Margot Robbie. Harley reiterates her meeting of The Joker, how she fell in love with him as his psychologist, and how she became Harley Quinn. Their relationship is obviously toxic and in Harley's narration we can tell she is trying to make things seem nicer than they actually are and omit the abuse she recieved but it's still noticeable.
(Side Note: Jared Leto.... is seriously toned down here. I'm tired of auteur takes on Joker. This is a comic book villain for pete's sake).
The Joker and Harley go on a crime spree that mainly is just for show and for Joker to prove that he's the boss of Gotham. This spree is shown in a montage and includes robbing a Gotham Bank not of its money but one bank tellers wallet and stealing the Gotham Zoo's white Grizzly bear. As they drive off after running over Gotham PD cars, they are chased by The Dark Knight of Gotham: Batman.
The chase is much like the original film in which Batman is mostly silent and we mainly see Harley and Joker's perspective as they drive and try to ward him off. Harley fires a bazooka at the Batmobile and accidently blows up a restaurant. Harley briefly looks concerned and says "I hope nobody was in there" which makes Joker say "Doesn't matter if they're dead now!". But then the chase ends as Batman fires his own rockets blowing up the back half of Joker's ride and sending him and Harley into Gotham Bay. Batman dives into the water to only find Harley Quinn who he subdues and takes into the Batmobile.
Batman drives Harley across the city and he talks to her one to one like a human being, mentioning how he knows Harley is smart and should know The Joker is bad for her. Despite being her enemy, Batman believes in the good in Harley even though she starts insulting Batman and talks about how she can tell he has emotional issues dressing up like a bat. Batman then arrives at an airfield where we once again see Amanda Waller who is waiting for him. Batman hands Harley over and in turn Waller gives Batman a suitcase of information, saying "So you have time to prep". Batman leaves and this is the last we see of him for now.
Harley is transported from Gotham (roughly on the East Coast) down to Belle Reve Prison in Louisiana. Sedated and later waking up Harley finds herself in solitary confinement and goes on a rant how it's a form of torture and how much it actually harms the mental state of prisoners (mixed in with colorful language like "F***ing Batman, f***ing Devil lady" and the like. But then the guards arrive led by Rick Flagg. Flagg introduces himself and says "Welcome to supervillain jail". This leads to a fight in which Harley demonstrates her athletic skills and knocks out almost all the guards but is sedated by Flagg who proceeds to drag her to the cafeteria.
Harley wakes up seated at a table where Deadshot, Katana, Black Manta, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, and El Diablo are eating. However unlike Harley who gets a tray of slop, the other villains get fine cuisine. Deadshot and Black Manta are eating fine lobster and steak with wine, Katana eats a traditional Japanese meal, Killer Croc is eating raw meat (with Flagg saying "Hannibal's got nothing on big boy here"), Boomerang drinking several cans of Fosters while eating Tim Tams, and El Diablo eating a salad. Harley is rightly confused and angry and shouting "How can a girl eat like this?" and Flagg says "Ain't you know lady? Dog's gotta earn their chow first".
Deadshot being the most sociable speaks up. "We did good, followed Boss Lady's orders, we get rewarded." Harley says "Boss lady - oh you mean that bitch!" then the slam of a door. Everyone turns to see Amanda Waller walk in. All the supervillains get tense as Waller walks in and approaches the table. Like if she does this every day, Waller sits next to the group and brings up how well they did on their last mission and that Val Verde now has a new government that's pro-American. Only Diablo is unafraid but clearly Waller has power over these supervillains.
Harley is then spoken to directly and Waller explains the purpose of Task Force X - or as the group likes to say "The Suicide Squad". Alongside superhuman threats, the Squad is a black ops unit that handles wet work and really dirty missions that are considered controversial such as assassinating other countries' leaders and officials or acts of terrorism for American interests. Waller also reveals Harley was implanted with an explosive that Waller can detonate at any moment (explaining why the Squad is so subservient). Harley brings up that while that is all neat, she isn't a metahuman nor does it make sense for her to be there. Waller argues this showing footage of her extreme athleticism and bringing up incidents of murder. She's right where she belongs.
Despite the situation Harley tries several times to escape with more crazier plans than the last. One in which she digs under the prison only to end up in Killer Croc's cell (and running like hell). Another instance going Metal Gear Solid sneaking by guards before getting tazed by Flagg. then lastly she tries sneaking in a van only to be driven back in.
Later on Harley gets to be outside in a gym yard but is guarded by almost all the prison. The other prisoners do their own thing with Diablo practicing yoga and Deadshot, Black Manta, and Killer Croc playing basketball. Harley however gets drawn to Katana who is meditating and keeps bugging her while mentioning psychology theories and overly complementing her which leads Katana to leap out and get Harley in a neck hold. Harley taps out and Katana lets her go.
Immediately after this, Flagg gathers the Squad for a new mission and the whole group (including Harley) are deployed into China to rescue a CIA agent. Harley isn't sure what she should be doing and at first sticks by Diablo but when he says he won't kill anyone, Harley runs off with Boomerang who mostly acts pretty crazy killing soldiers left and right. This leads to a major action scene as Harley kills Chinese soldiers with her acrobatics and manages to get a good amount of kills impressing the rest of the Squad.
The Agent - played by Scott Eastwood - is recovered and brought by the Squad out of China before Waller on her plane. He delivers the information the Chinese were after and once he does so, Waller shoots his head and drops him off of her plane. The whole Squad is unfazed by this except for Harley who shouts "What the FUCK!?". Now, Harley has definitely killed people, she's a criminal after all. But this cold bloodedness is enough to even freak her out.
At base, Harley is rewarded with a Cappuccino machine for her cooperation. She says she still doesn't trust Waller but immediately makes a crap load of Cappuccinos and kind of goes on a high of caffeine. Harley runs around her cell with so much energy and we briefly see her perspective looking psychedelic and at point Harley is like "I don't miss cocaine!" while hanging from the top of her cell by her bed sheets.
After this we get a short montage of more missions with the Squad around the world where Harley continues to use more unorthodox methods. She tag teams with nearly every member in battle like being thrown by Killer Croc to hit enemies with her bat, athletically taking out soldiers with Katana, helping El Diablo take out enemies with stealth, etc.
Moments back at Belle Reeve are also shown where Harley gets along with the Squad on their down time like her, Killer Croc, and Boomerang crying over The Bachelorette, Harley helping Black Manta spray paint his gear (but to his annoyance his Helmet is neon pink), and even other Squad members bonding with each other. El Diablo and Katana grow a mutual respect for one another as shown working out together in the yard. They even compliment each other in their respective languages. Flagg has also begun to lighten up and when the Squad returns from a successful mission he gives them beers leading to the whole Squad to be hammered on a plane ride back home.
The only one of the who is distant still is Deadshot, who is more focused on missions and kills. Harley later sneaks into his cell by tricking the guards and tries to get him to open up with her and points out a lot of the issues he displays from his behavior (again, Harley was a psychologist with a doctorate). Deadshot admits that he's a man who is always angry because no matter how much he tried to do the right thing, the world beat him down.
We see his backstory somewhat and learn he was a Special Forces Sniper for the US Military. But his unit had begun committing war crimes wherever they went and would always dodge punishment when Deadshot tried to report on them. Eventually his unit betrays him while in Afghanistan rescuing civillians. Deadshot however killed his unit before they could and cut ties with the military.s
His skills brought him around the world working for anyone - criminal groups, revolutionaries, etc. before he tried to settle down with his wife and daughter back in Gotham. But he was valued and continued to lend his skills for top dollar (and its shown even Amanda Waller would hire Deadshot as a client) before he was finally taken down by Batman (in front of his daughter on Christmas Eve). Harley wanted to get him to lighten up, to say that the world is fucked up so that's why you've got to embrace fun. But even her act is broken when she admits the world screwed them both over. But Harley says "Maybe there ain't a place for bad guys in their perfect world. But at least we got each other".
Now we get post mid point as the Suicide Squad is sent on another mission. This time a remote Russian Nuclear Base in the North Pacific. The objective being to wipe out the Russians here in order for American forces to blockade it. Things proceed as they usually do with the Squad cleaning house and working a lot better as a cohesive unit (which Flagg notes is due to Harley Quinn, even surprising Waller). But as things seem routine, the base is invade by an outside group that all wear animal and clown masks.
These soldiers blast laughing gas at the Russians causing them to laugh themselves to death. Harley realizes that these men are working for Joker. At the same time The Joker reveals himself as one of the soldiers and blasts Captain Boomerang with laughing gas when he tries to ambush him. Boomerang laughs so uncontrollably that he falls over a railing and to his death. Killer Croc, Katana, and Deadshot are nearly affected by it but are saved by Manta who injects them with a counter toxin while El Diablo finally unleashes his fire powers and kills many of Joker's men in retaliation for Boomerang's death.
However this is the chaos Joker needed in order to secure a nuclear warhead and proceeds to escape with the rest of his surviving soldiers. Harley Quinn pursues him and the two briefly talk - separated by water as Joker is on the sub and Harley on the base - with Joker noting that he knew she was in Belle Reve and saying "I was waiting for the right opportunity". Harley has grown independent but wants to join him and nearly runs off with him. Seeing this, Flagg almost detonates Harley's bomb but is tazed by Deadshot. Deadshot then stops Harley himself by shooting her with a nerve dart. She falls just as Joker gets away in the sea.
The Squad return and are verbally chewed out by Waller who is furious that the Joker out planned her. She also punches Deadshot and orders Flagg and group of other soldiers to all beat down Deadshot (as punishment for standing up for Harley). Despite being quite bloody, Deadshot stands up and flashes a smile to mock Waller. A guilty Harley later apologizes to Rick Flagg and asks him to send Deadshot a message. Despite what happened earlier, Flagg agrees and gives Harley's note to Deadshot. It's a crude cartoon drawing of him choking out Waller which makes him laugh.
We then see more of The Joker and its now we see from his POV all he's been up to since Harley was abducted. Mainly it's more sprees of terror and crime in which we also see his battles with Batman. But some of these incidents were the missions the Suicide Squad was on prior revealing Joker to have masterminded them. Joker has amassed a large following of fanatics, anarchists, criminals, and psychopaths who wish to spread more chaos. Basically take Joker fans in real life who drank the koolaide and you get Joker's army here.
At the same time, agents of Gotham PD, the FBI, and ARGUS manage to track down just where Joker is while Harley also deduces his most likely base of operations. She confronts Amanda Waller and Rick Flagg to tell them "Isn't it obvious? He's cooped up where freaks like us used to call home: Arkham." Arkham Asylum - located on an island in the Gotham Bay - is abandoned now due to the amount of super criminals that it failed to cure. Regular law enforcement try to enter but nearly all are taken out by Joker's forces.
Waller then enacts her grand plan: the Suicide Squad. Also this is where we learn the true purpose of Harley being in the Squad which was to capture or kill the Joker. The Squad is to drop down via HALO jump but while on the plane, Deadshot gives a rousing speech about how the world will always look down on them as freaks and outcasts and even call them villains but that they all know who they really are. (Harley has a look of guilt after Deadshot's speech since she was still a criminal and isn't sure what else she can be).
The Squad drops down only to be separated from each other. Each group does battle and indiscriminately kills Joker's men and succeed greatly. Deadshot with Black Manta, Harley with El Diablo, and Katana with Killer Croc explore and investigate Arkham. Flagg makes it to The Joker first and is spotted leading to a big fire fight in which he kills plenty of Joker's goons and nearly makes it to shooting down Joker when he is ambushed by a large hulking form: Bane. Joker has assembled some supervillains in order to evenly face the Squad and Bane brutally breaks Flagg's back and kills him.
The others make their way through Arkham but also encounter other super villains leading to smaller battles. Killer Croc and Katana fight King Shark, Deadshot and Black Manta face off against Deathstroke, and Harley and El Diablo battle Bane. But some of these fighters switch as Killer Croc is nearly overpowered by King Shark, Black Manta comes to his rescue and harpoons King Shark. Deadshot and Deathstroke have a deadly gun fight in which Deadshot's trigger finger is shot off. But then Deathstroke is burned alive by El Diablo who sneaks up on him. Deadshot jokes that Diablo couldn't have done that a second sooner.
Bane is the one skilled fighter who is able to really get away but Harley and Katana team up against him and Katana spears him through the head and takes his soul. It's a brutal move and Harley can't help but shout "Fatality!". Then Harley catches up with The Joker at last and his plan for the nuke is revealed: he's gonna turn Gotham into a wasteland. Why? He's bored. Harley however tries to convince him to just give it up and try to save her from Waller so they can be together. But Joker sees through Harley and says "you've gone soft" before proceeding to physically beat her.
Harley flashes back to her previous happy memories with the Joker and with each punch her memories change to the reality. Joker is a monster and used her until he had no interest in her. He admits that he was going to save Harley later on but he sees now that she's gone off and "betrayed" him by befriending the Suicide Squad. That she doesn't depend on him anymore is what sets him off.
Then we see Deadshot tackle Joker and the two get into a fist fight. The last of Joker's goons battle the Squad in a fire fight which also sees El Diablo unleash his full fire powers. While this goes on, Black Manta gets to the nuke and realizes it's gonna blow very soon.
Amidst all the gunfire and fighting, El Diablo decides enough is enough and assumes his true form of the giant Aztec fire demon and carefully takes the nuke and flies off out of Arkham and Gotham city. Joker shouts out as Diablo fully embraces what he's done and the nuke detonates destroying him way out into the ocean. Deadshot gets the upperhand and sucker punches Joker but is stopped by Harley who takes his gun and points it at Deadshot. Joker laughs and declares that Harley will always be "his" as she creeps towards him... only to then pistol whip Joker so hard that some of his grilled teeth fly out.
Harley Quinn then falls to her knees and sobs. Deadshot gently removes the gun out of her hands as Black Manta, Killer Croc, and Katana comfort her. But Black Manta approaches Joker and briefly holds his harpoon at his head. He knows Joker could once again commit more devestating crimes and wants to end things now. Harley and Deadshot look on before the harpoon is shot out of Manta's hands. Descending from the shadows: Batman.
Killer Croc - who at this point is just done with all of this - says "Where the fuck have you been?" to Batman and Batman admits he was late in finding Joker's hideout. He thanks the Squad but decides to take Joker to a secure facility rather than kill him as the Squad would like. Deadshot refuses to listen to Batman and argues "If Quinn wants him dead, then Mr. J's gone die". But Harley says it's okay that even now, it's not worth killing Joker and giving him the satisfaction. Batman smiles saying Harley's come a long way before taking Joker and departing in the Batwing.
The final scene sees Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Katana, Killer Croc, and Black Manta all gathered in a closed bar just down the road from Arkham. They all drink and just chill after all the crap they went to and cheers to Diablo's sacrifice. Eventually they are all hammered again with Katana and Killer Croc trying to sing "Juicy" by BIG, Deadshot and Black Manta laughing their asses off, and Harley again declaring she doesn't need cocaine anymore. A very annoyed Amanda Waller and ARGUS arrive to take them back to base with Waller shaking her head that these nutjobs actually saved the day. AS they're taken away we see in the distance a flash of fire soar across the sky.
END.
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Post Credits Scene: A gentleman dressed in fine attire within a study prepares tea and teatime snacks on a platter. This man is Alfred Pennyworth, played by Joseph Marcell, who, when the room shakes, says "The Dark Knight Returns" and walks through the fourth wall as the camera pans away. The study is actually connected to the wider Batcave which is a giant underground cavern full of classic easter eggs like the Tyrannosaurus and the giant penny. The Batwing lands on a platform nearby and Batman exits it.
Removing the mask, Batman reveals his true face: Bruce Wayne, a Korean-American billionaire played by Rick Yune. Bruce strides across a walk way as Alfred places the tea tray at the desk of a gigantic supercomputer. He asks if Bruce succeeded in his mission to which Bruce reveals that he dropped off Joker at a secure prison designed by Lex Luthor himself. Alfred then tells Bruce to eat as he's been awake for the last 48 hours. But Bruce says he'll eat after he's examined the drive.
Bruce opens the suitcase given by Waller and connects a sophisticated harddrive to the supercomputer. On several screens the individual master files of several people are revealed. Mostly it's official government documents as well as photographs. These of course are of several "Metahumans" - Clark Kent, Arthur Curry, Diana Prince, Wally West, and the last being an African-American gentleman who we haven't met yet.
Their records mostly detail his career as a US Marine but a photograph shows him flying in a flash of green light. This is Idris Elba as John Stewart / Green Lantern. His file however reads "MIA". Disturbingly the files for Clark and Arthur go back to at least their respective childhoods as seen in photographs. Diana's file features the famed WWI Photo with her unit as well as video footage from 1984 in Egypt, and recent footage from Paris. Bruce is silent as the camera pans away from his back as he reads all of this (all of the details I mentioned would be on screen for barely seconds) and subtlely, the Batman theme plays before a swarm of bats blacken the screen.
Second Post Credits Scene: We see Arkham Asylum which is now very destroyed and in ruins. But we can hear the faint yells of someone shouting "Hello! Anyone? Is anyone there?". Camera pans down revealing King Shark who is still impaled where Black Manta left him. He's not angry yelling but more so sounds a little annoyed. Apparently despite ARGUS sweeping the area everyone just assumed he was dead. King Shark keeps asking for help as the final logos are seen.
Final Thoughts:
Overall what I've written I believe would have been a far more engaging, exciting, and better Suicide Squad film that what we got in 2016. It's a more character built story, a more grounded story actually about supervillains as black ops, as well as more focused. Not only that but I've world built in the proper way which somewhat expands on the history of this DC Film universe but for the most part wasn't trying to be an ad for future movies (sans the very big post-credits scene).
Harley Quinn is the main focus because it's weird to have her and not put in the work to make her a protagonist. This is what the original film failed in. It had Harley more so as an image and less like a character. This is what Birds of Prey does right. So Harley is our focus, who drives the story, whose redemption and change is what we hope for as she bonds with the Suicide Squad. Obviously Will Smith as Deadshot is our second protagonist and El Diablo our third. But ultimately the whole Squad changes for the better and its through the bonding spent showing passage of time in this draft that cements this. Rather than spending a couple of hours together like they do in the original.
Also in my previous rewrites, I did not bother to introduce Batman until this film. Why is that? Well, I think popular culture - and really even beyond hardcore comics fans - people already know who the hell Batman is. We've seen his origin story so many times that we don't need his reintroduction. Also the change to Rick Yune is both personal preference and due to already having enough white Batmen.
Stay tuned for next time: Justice League.