A fan film about the comic book character The Joker

Ahead of the release of Suicide Squad, a sinister new short takes viewers on a trip inside the twisted psyche of the Joker. From director/producer duo The Hallivis Brothers, The Laughing Man references Scott Snyder’s “Death of the Family” Batman comic, taking place in a psychiatric facility where a menacing new arrival brings more questions than answers.

With no fingerprints or identification, the strange man presents himself as a new patient—whom the resident psychiatrist isn’t quite sure how to assess. As the psychiatrist tries to pin down the man’s identity and motive for admitting himself to the facility, the viewers are taken on a tense excursion into brutal territory as the dialogue unfurls into a high-stakes role reversal. A study in mayhem, the Hallivis Brothers’ short takes the superhero out of the equation, instead highlighting the anti-hero whose disturbed mental states often lay the foundation of iconic comic book narratives.