Redbox Reviews: ‘Brightburn’

Written by Brian & Mark Gunn

Directed by David Yarovesky

Starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, & Jackson A. Dunn

Mild Spoilers

Imagine how insane it would have been if Superman was born evil. Brightburn does just that. An alien ship crashes in the farmlands of modern day Kansas, and is found by infertile parents, Tori and Kyle (Banks & Denman). Of course this is ostensibly a gift from the very heavens. They decide to raise their young alien child as their own son, Brandon (Dunn) and things are great.

Well, for a while anyway.

Hidden away and padlocked in the barn, the alien ship suddenly comes to life in beams of eerie red and activates Brandon – all their lives are forever changed. Brandon slowly embraces his new powers, testing them on his classmates and fellow townspeople as he finds himself with super speed, super power, nearly invincible and with heat vision much like ol’ Supes.

Brandon shows who he really is transitioning from low-ball malevolence to straight up murder. Relishing his cat and mouse tactics, he terrifies as he kills. Yarovesky’s vision for this film is perfect. His directing style reminds us that this is a horror film despite the superhero, or anti-superhero set-up. Dunn is great at portraying the confused and conflicted kid who eventually embraces his evil existence. The kills in the film are over the top and gruesome. I think any horror fan will appreciate Brightburn.

His parents try to deny it at first, but it becomes obvious that their “son” is a godlike psychopath, and they must do something to stop him. Must try to stop him I should say because good things don’t happen to his poor parents.

All in all, I really liked this film and wish I would’ve made the trip to the local Googoplex. You can find this now at Redbox for the low price of two bucks.

Final score: B+.