Brightburn is the new superhero horror film, directed by David Yarovesky and written by Brian and Mark Gunn. After an alien life form crash lands on Earth, it’s taken into the custody of Tori and Kyle Breyer, who raise him as if they were their own child; however, unlike Clark Kent, Brandon Breyer as a child becomes power hungry, and is soon a ticking time bomb of danger if he snaps.
After James Gunn was put on timeout by Disney, his involvement as a producer got this film twice the publicity expected; I mean, a horror film about an evil kid Superman, from Sony and the guy who gave us Guardians of the Galaxy, was probably the combination no one ever thought to say out loud. And considering he’s also going to be one of the head honchos for future DC movies, he’s pretty much got every studio wrapped around his finger.
Aside from his brother and cousin writing the script, David Yarovesky also worked for him by directing the Guardians Inferno music video. And for a less than $15 million budget, this became one of the most intriguing movies I couldn’t ignore this year. Did the film live up to that hype? In some ways, yes; in others, it’s a little hard to say.
Yarovesky does a great job building both a comfortable mid-western setting, then shifting into this unsettling atmosphere that creeps on you. Considering this is a teenager figuring out he has powers and is going through puberty, the tension is like living with a ticking time bomb on legs. The scenes involving him and any of his classmates, particularly this one girl Caitlyn (Emmie Hunter), had me really gritting my teeth at what would jump next. It was actually one of the first times in a long while that a jump scare was executed properly, without the loud string chord they use. That’s not to say this film doesn’t have jump scares or any gruesome moments, including chicken murder...wasn’t expecting THAT. The third act is easily the best part of the movie, as the build up shows Brandon finally break loose, and it really gets intense.
Elizabeth Banks and David Denman as the parents do a fine job with their performances, battling out what their son is and what they should do, and the chemistry the two have is engaging, especially when he’s trying to bond with Brandon. You can tell in each of those scenes, there’s a desperation to be the parents they’ve dreamed of being, no matter how difficult it gets.
Jackson A. Dunn as Brandon Beyer, he does well with the traditional ‘secretly demonic kid’ trope to a good level, and he does have some powerful moments. Like I said, the scenes of him with either Caitlyn or his parents, especially as the film goes on, you really feel the tension build, not knowing what he’s going to do next out of a tantrum.
However, my biggest problem with Brandon has to do with what makes him evil: the asteroid he came in. While it does register that this is a destructive force influencing him, it doesn’t seem to go much into where it came from and why it wants to destroy, but that could be how I’ve adapted to modern films needing to explain everything. There are also a couple moments that feel like the film wanted to dive deeper into, but had to make cuts to work with the small budget they had.
Also, not to give away any spoilers here, but this film does imply that it takes place in the same universe as another James Gunn property...and thinking about that connection does lead to some questions of what their planning or if that’s just an easter egg.
Brightburn is a great concept with a bit of a flimsy execution, but it definitely is worth your time. If you were someone who got impatient with the release of The New Mutants and really wanted to see a modern superhero horror film, this will definitely give you that fix. They make the most with their low budget, when it comes to the superhero parts of the film, but the writing could have used some work, at least in the motives. Other than that, not a bad movie.
Rating: B-
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