Joker release sees security beefed up in US cinemas to deter copycat attacks

The recent release of Todd Philips' highly acclaimed but controversial movie Joker has seen security beefed up in theatres across various cities of the United States.

The precautionary measure has been taken in a bid to deter the possibility of copycat attacks similar to the 2012 Colorado shooting when an assailant named James Holmes had opened fired on cinema-goers during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. 

Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is from the same franchise as the Dark Knight and has an antagonist that takes the life of crime, which has fuelled concerns that it could inspire real-life violence. 

According to Reuters, additional security has been deployed in theatres across New York, Los Angeles and Chicago to keep an eye on any suspicious activity, although nothing untoward has been reported as yet.

Furthermore, it was speculated that officers in plainclothes would also be deployed inside cinemas to closely monitor the theatres.

Police have also refrained cinema-goers from donning costumes and face masks and warned parents not to bring their children along with them.

The R-rated film is about the dark history of Batman’s arch-nemesis and how the marginalised clown goes on a killing spree. The film is labelled as a “character study” and has garnered Oscar buzz.  

The plot has left audiences divided and even before its release, families of mass shooting victims protested against the film as it supposedly glorified the killer.

Despite the criticism, critics have deemed it a "brilliant but terrifying performance".