DC Showcase: The Spectre

source: DC Showcase: The Spectre

After having a great time viewing Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010 Video-also reviewed) we took a look at the extras on the disc and found a character "Showcase" special,which led to us taking on Spectre. View on the film: Given under 15 minutes to fill in the panels, the screenplay by Steve Niles brilliantly makes a splash across the pages, via a live-wire Neo-Noir Horror (Horror sadly being a genre sadly rarely touched in animation) mystery, which studies the fixable morals of The Spectre,whilst Jim Corrigan (voiced with Spectre with a great grit by Gary Cole) tries to stay within the rules and solve the case ahead of Spectre. Unleashing gloriously designed zombie-style ghosts, director Gary Cole gives the tale a faded tint over the terrific hand-drawn animation, which weaves the investigation into an eerie Noir atmosphere, powered by the actions of Spectre.

I AM VENGEANCE, I AM THE SPECTRE Spectre is one of the coolest DC characters that deserves a live-action film. But instead WB decides to give him a short film. After nine years since this short released, it's outrageous that he's still not introduced to the big screen. #DCEUNeedsTheSpectre.

Very beautiful animation in this short film about DC's undead vigilante. It mixes genres in its 10-minute length: horror, police, superhero, vingança. I loved the colors, and the horror vendetta story works.

The plot was okay according to short story but really want the spectre on main league in theaters with a proper long story. Loved the character.

Be warned the Specter is a character that is very dark for a child to watch so don't show them this short. The animation and voice acting are good but the story is just too much WTF did I just watch. In the story, the Specter kills someone by using his dummies against them, controlling a car and ramming it into them and turning money notes into paper cuts. It is an okay short.

This is another of these roughly 11-minute-long animated short films made by Warner Bros that came out 5 years ago. The director is Joaquim Dos Santos and his work here and also in the other showpieces lets me think that it would actually be nice if he got his own feature film at some point. The Spectre is a superhero who is relatively unknown and it would be equally nice if he got his own film at some point, maybe even live action. The story here is about a man who gets killed and The Spectre, who has the ability to breathe life into inanimate objects, takes revenge. First we think, it is because of a thing he has going on with the victim's daughter (voiced by Alyssa Milano), but then things move into another direction. The final plot twist elevates a fairly mediocre film to this point. Good writing here, although I still believe that he solved these cases far too quickly. Maybe one villain in the middle of the film would have been enough and instead some more elaboration on how he found out who was really behind it all. Still, that's just a minor criticism. The animation is pretty good and this is a decent film. I still believe "Jonah Hex" is the best of these, but "The Spectre" is maybe 3rd behind Superman as well, but better than Green Arrow and Catwoman. Recommended.

This short was such a cool little surprise and I ended up liking it a whole lot more than the movie it came with! It had a lot of edgy noir-esc pizazz and a very appealing retro visual look with seventies type grain and a soft glow to the picture, and I was quite hooked by that style almost right away, it gave the short a terrific tone, as well as making the superb animation stand out more. I enjoy the brief murder mystery plot of it, for such a short..short they do a good job of giving it an effective setup, middle and payoff, but I really loved it because of the title character, a dark avenger I'd never even heard of before watching this. He was so awesomely mysterious and his abilities were so otherworldly, I was surprised to find out that he's actually one of the oldest comic book characters, having decades on creations like Ghost Rider and Spawn, whom he immediately made me think of. I'm not saying that my personal knowledge goes for everyone, but compared to Superman you'd be hard pressed to find the average person in the street who knew who the Spectre was, and that's a shame because there's some pretty great potential there, I could watch a whole series or an animated movie based around this guy if it were as well made and gripping as this short. He really kicked ass, when he wasn't masquerading as the hard boiled fifties gumshoe detective that he was in life, the Spectre was like a dispassionate judge who delivered frightening ethereal doom down upon those that the harsh form of cold cosmic justice that he embodied, deemed guilty! I think his particular style of merciless punishment prevents him from being considered a true hero, definitely more of an anti-hero.. What he did to the guilty was downright brutal, and while not quite gory, it certainly didn't pull any punches with the death and violence, with a very creepy sequence of a man trapped in a movie studio full of monster props that catch and eat him, and a beautiful but heartless debutante who had her own father assassinated for his money being blendered alive by a whirlwind of the ill gotten dollar bills as sharp as razors! I love the classic horror movie references, the brilliant homage to John Carpenter's Christine is pretty unmistakable, but I also spied little nods to The Exorcist and a quick music theme near the end that sounded very similar to that Italian band that were in a lot of giallo horror movies Goblin! So while you may require a pentient for the macabre to really love this, I found it to be a great thrilling and atmospheric short that made me want to see more of this ghostly guardian of dire justice who truly brings new meaning to the word Wrath! Excellent and well worth seeing. X

If the ghost of Christmas Future had a creepier crime fighting relative, "The Spectre" would be it. By day, Detective Jim Corrigan investigates homicide cases; his latest case being the explosive murder of a Hollywood film executive producer. Incidentally, the victim is also the father of his girlfriend Aimee Brenner. The usual investigation red tape gets in the way of his investigation as Corrigan finds himself powerless to bring the suspects to justice. But Jim Corrigan has an ace up his sleeve. By night, Corrigan assumes his true form as "THE SPECTRE", an avenging spirit with immense supernatural powers. Unimpeded by the limitations of a human form, the Spectre seeks out the suspects of the murder case and dishes out his own supernatural form of justice. However, the clues might not be as obvious as he thought and the real suspect may be closer than he thinks. From the get go, "The Spectre" animated short film is a beautiful tribute to classic film noir supernatural thrillers. Everything from the old school music to the "grindhouse" film grain is heightens that "1970s" feel. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, who also directed the awesome G.I Joe Resolute movie, the animation and artwork here is astounding. Character movements are just so "real", so lifelike and extremely fluid. The artwork too has a higher level of detail even when compared to the full length "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" main feature that this short film came with. Easily better looking than many of the best Japanese anime too. Writer Steve Niles is no stranger to the horror genre, having penned the critically acclaimed "30 Days of Night" series. Clocking in at barely over 11 minutes, the entire set up of "the Spectre" is a classic, though rather predictable, detective story. But the scenes involving the Specter, glowing green eyes swirling cape and inhuman voice adding to air of creepiness, are genuinely scary with a couple of real shocks. Fans of horror movies will be able to pick out some noticeable homages to films like "Chucky" and "Final Destination". Seeing as how The Spectre might not be as famous as Batman or as popular as Superman, it was probably a wise move for Warner to only make one short film in order to gauge viewers' interest. The result was so spectacular, so oozing with style and boasting high end production values that it really is a pity Warner did not go all out to make a full length feature from the start. Having a mature narrative makes this short film accessible to even viewers who are not fans of animation as it plays out very much like a live action movie. Definitely not to be missed. Get it now with the blu-ray or 2 disc DVD copy of "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" or get the "DC Showcase: Original Shorts Collection" DVD and blu-ray due out in November 2010. Oh yes, there is quite a fair bit of violence, actually more so than the main Justice League feature; so be warned.

I'm not particularly familiar with The Spectre and I guess that's the point of these DC Showcases, an opportunity to become acquainted with lesser known heroes. With the neat voice talent of Gary Cole & Alyssa Milano this DC short gets to the point quick. It tells the story of a detective searching for a killer of a Hollywood actor, meanwhile the shadowy figure that is The Spectre is handing out his own brand of justice. Again not being familiar with The Spectre I didn't really know what to expect and have to say it has a real film noir feel about it. Combine that with his powers seeming somewhat overpowered and I'd be curious to see more. The Good: Good voice talent Well animated The Bad: Limited due to the time constraints Things I Learnt From This Short: Gary Cole needs to do more voice work