The Shadow (film)/Nightmare Fuel

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


As per any adaptation of the Shadow, the movie has it's fair share of frighting scenes.

  • Any time Lamont Cranston's life as Ying Ko, is much scarier than his role as the Shadow.
    • While not quite related, there is a moment of weakness when Lamont has his first nightmare. He finds himself in his bathroom scratching his face. Only to find his hand digging under his skin. Which in turn tears off more skin, until he reveals himself to be Shiwan Khan underneath. Prompting Margo to scream in terror, before Lamont wakes up. Shiwan's attempts to corrupt him seemed of have gotten to him psychologically.
    • His second nightmare is no slouch either. Margo sees that he's sleeping with his eyes open with a look of terror on his face. She reads his mind and meets him in a mental version of Ying Ko's fortress as Ying Ko. The apparition of him telling her she's not supposed to be here as the flames of his fire place surround her. She looks into them which shows her the memory of his previous life as Ying ko. Screaming in glee with blood on his face as he and his men raid a village. With Ying Ko personally slaughtering every man, woman and child and soaking his face in more of their blood.
    • In the beginning of the movie, Ying Ko has already conquered a large part of Tibet to establish his Opium fields. Li Peng, a rival dealer is brought in to answer for three men he and his brothers murdered that worked for Ying Ko. Although he talks big and boast that he'll kill more, before even saying that his brothers will come for Ying Ko, should he himself die; Ying Ko is not swayed and even boasts that if they do, he'll bury them beside Li Peng. In a last desperate move to escape, Li Peng holds Wu, Ying Ko's advisor hostage. Stating that his marksman are not good enough to shoot around him. Ying Ko agrees, gives Wu surprisingly kind last words. Then gives out an order that would make Genghis Khan proud. Prompting his men to gun down Li Peng and killing poor Wu in the process.

Ying Ko: Shoot through him.

  • When captured by the Tulku, Ying Ko's first move is to try to jump him. Only for the Tulku to turn intangible and fly to another direction of the Temple. The tulku doesn't relent his speech to him either only stopping, when Ying Ko tries to use the Phurba on him. The Phurba comes to life and slips out of his hand. Ying Ko is shocked at seeing this knife have a mind of it's own, but said shock is halted, when the knife flies out and stabs him in the leg. Making him scream. Although me manages to get the knife out, the face on the handle comes to life and bites his hand with razor sharp teeth, drawing blood. When Ying Ko let's it go, it seems to gleefully want to finish the job only to be called off (Twice) by the Tulku. Ying Ko, wounded and exhausted only has one question to ask.

Ying Ko: Am I in Hell?
Tulku: Not yet.

  • Then you have the Shadow himself.
    • His first scene has him foil a three man mob crew from killing Roy Tam. Who accidentally witnessed them murder a police officer. The crime they were about to commit is scary enough as they put him in Cement Shoes and intend to drop him off a bridge. Despite his begging and pleading even saying he has a family. Just when they are about to drop him, they hear an Evil Laugh echoing throughout the bridge. They set Roy down and pull their guns out. The Shadow taunts the head guy, Duke, that he knows what he did. Unable to take the laughter Duke shoots at him. First emptying his revolver then firing at him with a Tommy Gun. Taking out nothing but the lights. When Duke thinks he hit the guy, The Shadow appears and beats the hell out of him. Appearing directly from nowhere with each hit, but disappearing when each hit finishes. He demands that Duke confess his murder, but Duke refuses. Prompting the Shadow to vow that if he doesn't he'll be wherever he goes. Going so far to dangle Duke over the bridge by his leg to prove his point. When Duke swears to confess, The Shadow throws him at his car. Then appears to the last two guys, glaring at them. Prompting them to run away. Despite being a good guy, he shows how scary he is to Roy. Roy initially thinks that the Shadow is gonna shoot him in cold blood, panicking at first. Only to find that he was using his guns to clear his Cement Shoes off his feet. Moe's cab arrives, allowing The Shadow to transport him to safety while recruiting him as an agent.
    • When he goes to confront Shiwan Khan and his thugs at the Monolith Hotel, Farely is especially afraid because he tried to kill the Shadow before. Farley believes that the Shadow is still pissed at him for doing so. Shiwan demands that Farley kill the Shadow. He's reluctant at first but then Shiwan hands him a tommy gun. As he looks for him, The Shadow appears. Farley had some advantage, knowing that his Shadow is his weak spot as it reveals his location. So he shoots at it first chance he gets. Only for it to fail. Then he sees another Shadow, shooting at it and failing as well. The Shadow laughing the whole time telling him he's everywhere around him. It seems Lamont can't hide his shadow, but can use his power to make multiple clones of it. This drives Farley mad with fear as he empties the gun in all directions. Farley manages to grow a pair and demand The Shadow to come at him and fight like a man. Only for the Shadow to appear in front of him. Reducing him to a stuttering laughing mess. He demands that Farley get out of his sight. Which he obliges. As Farley looks for a way out, The Shadow manifests an Exit sign in one of the windows, saying that's Farley's exit. Farley madly rushes towards it killing himself. Granted he deserved to die, but the way the Shadow messed with him made Death a mercy for him.
  • Shiwan Khan is no slouch himself.
    • Even before he appears outside of Genghis Khan's Tomb, the tomb itself is intimidating to the curators that they warn the Security Guard not to open it.
    • Khan's first appearance has him hypnotize the poor security guard into shooting himself.
    • When he doesn't want a record of his Cab ride, rather than use his ability to make the cab driver forget it, he makes him think he ran out of gas. Prompting him to drive into a Gas station, blowing him up and any innocent bystanders along the way. Laughing Evilly as he does it.
    • When he first meets Lamont, he first intrigues him since they are both student's of the Tulku. However unlike Lamont who was successfully turned to the side of good, Shiwan hasn't. He also tries every chance he gets to corrupt Lamont and bring him back to his Ying Ko ways. While Lamont is strong willed enough to refuse. As mentioned above some of what Shiwan says got to him.
    • His intention was to send Margo Lane to kill Lamont, hoping that Lamont would at least kill her in self defence. It doesn't work, but the fact that he was able to control a fellow psychic made him much stronger than Lamont who couldn't even hypnotize her into forgetting about him.
    • His plan in general. He plans to blow up New York with an atomic bomb, in an effort to finish Genghis' quest and take over the entire world.
    • While he works his plan out on the Empire State Building, a sailor taunts him about his robes. Prompting him to hypnotize the guy into jumping off. Unlike the Cab driver, he makes the poor guy aware of what he is doing and helpless to stop it.
    • Worst of all, is that unlike Lamont, he has the ability to control the Phurba. Which he used to kill the Tulku. The only thing that made Lamont snap and attempt to end his life then and there.
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