The Batman Fans Need To Watch The Director's Horror Masterpiece While They Wait For The Sequel

When I watch "The Batman," I never want it to end. Even three hours isn't enough time in this world, and the spin-off show "The Penguin" could only tide me over so much. Even "The Penguin" setting the stage for "The Batman Part II" is bittersweet because that sequel remains years away.

Matt Reeves' "The Batman Part II" has been delayed several times. The movie is currently set to open October 1, 2027, but DC Studios co-chief James Gunn told Entertainment Weekly that he hadn't seen Reeves' script as of the end of March 2025.

It's easy to feel cynical right now. On top of these delays, Gunn is reimagining the DC Universe on film and it's difficult to see Reeves and actor Robert Pattinson's Batman fitting into that. DC Studios has even announced a different Batman movie, "The Brave and the Bold," featuring Bruce Wayne and his son Damian/Robin.

But I'm holding out hope that "The Batman Part II" does not get canceled. If it does, at least the first movie will hold up as a superlative take on Batman, too. "The Batman" is a rare superhero film that does not reek of creative compromise and reaffirms that Matt Reeves is a blockbuster auteur. And while you're rewatching "The Batman," don't neglect Reeves' previous films. He broke out as a director with the found footage film "Cloverfield," then climbed even higher with "Dawn of Planet of the Apes" and "War for Planet of the Apes." 

In 2010, between those big spectacles, Reeves made something smaller: a remake of the 2008 Swedish horror film "Let The Right One In," retitled simply "Let Me In." Reeves' movie (set in 1980s Los Alamos, New Mexico) is about a young and lonely boy, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Owen's parents are divorcing and he's bullied at school; the only friend he finds is new neighbor, Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz), which soon turns into puppy love. Sounds like a cute and cuddly story, right? It would be, except Abby is a vampire.

Though Batman is no monster, he's sometimes compared to a vampire. He dresses in black, lives in a castle, prefers to go out at night, etc. (The Dark Knight has even fought a few vampires over the years, Dracula included.) Keeping that comparison going, I'd argue "Let Me In" is Matt Reeves' film that's most similar to "The Batman."

"Let Me In" was shot by cinematographer Greig Fraser and scored by Michael Giacchino; Reeves reteamed with both of them on "The Batman." Fraser gives both movies similar looks, where they're warm but heavily shadowed. "The Batman" has been compared to David Fincher's "Se7en," but compare the foggy yellow of that movie with the high black and gold contrasts of "The Batman."

"Let Me In" doesn't have a lot of vampire gore, but when it does happen in bursts, you understand why the movie is still horror. Abby's guardian Thomas (Richard Jenkins), when going out to hunt for blood, drains one of his prey like a hunter does to a deer. Removing the sensual biting from a vampire feeding emphasizes the creepy cannibalistic side of these monsters. Thomas masks himself with a black garbage bag while hunting, looking not unlike the Riddler (Paul Dano) in "The Batman."

Reeves' influences on "The Batman" were not just Batman comics but other films, both the New Hollywood ("Chinatown" and "Klute" especially) and older classics. "The Batman" is as obsessed with voyeurism as any Hitchcock picture. The opening shot of the movie is the Riddler spying on the mayor of Gotham City through binoculars, like how Batman later eyes Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz). After Batman and Selina start working together, he fits her eyes with video camera contact lenses as she walks through the Iceberg Lounge. This isn't just a cool "detective Batman" beat, it's Batman seeing things through Selina's eyes, drawing a parallel to the connection of James Stewart and Grace Kelly's characters in Hitchcock's "Rear Window."

"Let Me In" is also about voyeurism; after all, vampires are predators who stalk their prey before making the kill. One of the first scenes with Owen is him looking through his telescope into the windows of his neighbors' homes, with the framing and camera movement looking quite similar to the Riddler's binocular opening shot in "The Batman." Owen's snooping from his room is how he first sees Abby; like Bruce and Selina, the sparks of infatuation happen from a distance.

Bruce and Selina's romance in "The Batman" is a little bit different from the classic "Catwoman teases Batman" dynamic. As some critics have observed, they're both lonely people making the rare choice to — wait for it – let each other in. Reeves has said that one of his key moments of inspiration writing "The Batman" was to reimagine Bruce Wayne as a recluse, not a playboy. This Batman isn't James Bond, he's Kurt Cobain ... or, looking at Reeves' own body of work, a slightly more grown-up riff on Owen. 

The "Let Me In" title quotes the Big Bad Wolf, and it refers to the vampire rule about needing an invitation to enter a place (see also: "Sinners"). But it's also about Owen and Abby letting each other into their guarded hearts. Abby's a monster, but she does love Owen; one of the last scenes of "Let Me In" is her killing his bullies. Owen is so ostracized that he only finds belonging in the arms of a creature of the night, the same way that Bruce Wayne only feels at peace living the violent life of Batman.

If a pointy-toothed stranger dressed all in black asks to enter your home, don't let them in! But every "The Batman" fan out there should absolutely open themselves up to "Let Me In."