What if Superman as a kid turned bad? The answer came in "Brightburn", a superhero horror flick produced by James Gunn. The strange fixation of an evil Superman or at least a darker one, while interesting in of itself, kind of got tedious with the oversaturation of media that play around with this idea lately. Nevertheless, the premise of this film did catch my attention, though I waited for it to be in the rental store rather than watch it in the theater.
The film stars Elizabeth Banks and she does a good job playing the adopted mother of Brandon, the alien child with incredible power and a sinister nature lurking beneath. As someone who raised this child, I understand her reluctance to accept that her "son", when he reaches a certain age, changes for the worst. The film does decently creating creepy imagery with good lighting (and lack there of) during the horror scenes. This kid's expressions, blank stares, and raggedy costume alone wave red flags. The body count throughout the film is unexpectedly low, but it does feature gore that, rather surprisingly, made my stomach a little queasy and this is coming from a guy who's seen the gore fest that is John Carpenter's "The Thing". That being said, I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of fear from "Brightburn". In a lot of ways, this is pretty standard fare for the genre from simplistic side characters I felt little attachment to, who will predictably bite the dust (or the steering wheel in one case), and I pretty much guessed how it would end long before seeing it. The film attempts to make Brandon seem sympathetic at times and he could've been with a rewrite (therefore making his turn to the dark side more impactful), but ultimately what drives him into murder is an external force and he doesn't go through much of an internal struggle of what he should do with his power.
All in all, "Brightburn" is a unique spin on the superhero story, but beyond that it's nothing groundbreaking. The humorous mid-credit scene leaves an opening for a possible expansion of the universe this is set in. That said, this is a film with few thrills to offer to go along with its concept that could've been more.
The film stars Elizabeth Banks and she does a good job playing the adopted mother of Brandon, the alien child with incredible power and a sinister nature lurking beneath. As someone who raised this child, I understand her reluctance to accept that her "son", when he reaches a certain age, changes for the worst. The film does decently creating creepy imagery with good lighting (and lack there of) during the horror scenes. This kid's expressions, blank stares, and raggedy costume alone wave red flags. The body count throughout the film is unexpectedly low, but it does feature gore that, rather surprisingly, made my stomach a little queasy and this is coming from a guy who's seen the gore fest that is John Carpenter's "The Thing". That being said, I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of fear from "Brightburn". In a lot of ways, this is pretty standard fare for the genre from simplistic side characters I felt little attachment to, who will predictably bite the dust (or the steering wheel in one case), and I pretty much guessed how it would end long before seeing it. The film attempts to make Brandon seem sympathetic at times and he could've been with a rewrite (therefore making his turn to the dark side more impactful), but ultimately what drives him into murder is an external force and he doesn't go through much of an internal struggle of what he should do with his power.
All in all, "Brightburn" is a unique spin on the superhero story, but beyond that it's nothing groundbreaking. The humorous mid-credit scene leaves an opening for a possible expansion of the universe this is set in. That said, this is a film with few thrills to offer to go along with its concept that could've been more.