JACKSON — Visitors to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson next year will get to experience the terror of being victimized by the Joker while waiting to be rescued by Batman.

The theme park plans to introduce a new attraction in April: The Dark Knight Coaster, an indoor ride based on Warner Bros. Pictures' upcoming movie "The Dark Knight," which features the DC Comics characters Batman and the Joker.

On the coaster, riders will be transformed into citizens of Gotham City, a municipality being tormented by the Joker, according to a news release issued by the park. Riders will speed through six 180-degree turns, climb unseen hills and plunge into pitch darkness as they try to escape danger.

Their only hope of rescue is that Batman will arrive in time to save them.

The coaster will use storytelling, physical movements, video, sound and special effects to help riders experience the danger of Gotham City, according to the release. It will be located in the Movietown section of Six Flags.

The movie "The Dark Knight" is scheduled to open in theaters July 18. In the movie, Batman (Christian Bale) sets out to dismantle the criminal organizations that continue to plague the streets of Gotham City. He, along with Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) must take on a criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Heath Ledger).

Six Flags is on Route 537 in Jackson. It features the 465-foot-high Kingda Ka, which park officials say is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world; and El Toro, whose 76-degree drop is the steepest of any wooden roller coaster in the world, according to park officials.

More than 1,200 animals live at the park all year round, with most on display to visitors who drive the 4 1/2-mile auto trail through the park's Wild Safari, officials say.

Next door to Six Flags Great Adventure is Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.

The 45-acre, tropical-theme water park includes a million-gallon wave pool with ocean-size waves, one of the world's largest adventure rivers and almost 20 speed slides, according to the park's Web site.