Brightburn

Brightburn is a clever and mostly effective take on the "killer kid" movie, a sub-genre of horror that I usually don't enjoy.  This movie does have an irresistible hook, basically taking the Superman origin, and twisting it into a dark horror story.  Basically, it asks what would happen if a young Clark Kent decided to use his powers for vengeance, instead of for defending Truth, Justice and the American Way.

The opening beats of the film mirror the story of the comics faithfully.  An alien spacecraft crash lands in the woods behind a farmhouse owned by a childless couple, Tori (Elizabeth Banks) and Kyle (David Denman).  Investigating the crash site, they find a baby boy within, and decide to adopt him, all the while hiding the remains of the ship he arrived in underneath a trap door in the barn.  The young boy, named Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn), grows up to be extremely bright and a genuinely good kid, who can also be awkward and have trouble making friends at school.  But around the time the boy turns 12, he starts acting strange.  His mother catches the boy walking in his sleep in the barn, around the area where the ship he arrived in is hidden.  He also begins to learn that he is not like others when he begins to realize that his strength and agility have started to grow to that above others.  He begins to test out his powers in secret, learning that he can fly, and is immune to almost any kind of pain.

You've probably seen a good number of superhero movies start out the same way, but Brightburn quickly starts going into areas that the Marvel or D.C. movies never intended.  Brandon begins exhibiting a violent and rebellious nature, and seeing himself as superior to everyone around him.  The rules of mere humans no longer apply to him, especially when he discovers that discarded ship hidden away, and figures out where he came from.  One of the touches of the screenplay that I appreciated is that we don't truly learn what planet Brandon came from, or why he was sent here.  However, it's pretty safe to assume that he was not sent for a friendly visit to Earth, as he is able to translate the words of his alien people that sent him here as "Take the World".  Brandon dons a homemade mask and cape, and decides to do just that, by taking on the bullies and people who he feels have wronged him.

Screenwriters Mark and Brian Gunn (both of them related to James Gunn of Guardians of the Galaxy fame, who produced this film) could have easily cast a lot of irony or winking humor to this situation, but they handle it with strict urgency.  Brandon has all the comic book abilities like super strength, flying, and heat-vision, and decides to use all of them to murder his enemies in a series of scenes that can be quite graphic and brutal.  He is cold and ruthless, but in a way I can believe a troubled kid discovering they have super powers being.  My problem with a lot of "evil kids" in horror movies is that they often come across as mini intellectual sadists.  They talk and think like adult psychopaths, and their manner is usually too manipulative and cunning.  Brandon is lashing out.  He doesn't know how to control himself, he just knows he has power, and he now has a means to strike back at people who he feels are against him.  I can believe a kid thinking this way in a certain situation.  The way he fools the authority figures, and writes down his twisted dreams and conquests in his journal is kind of chillingly real.

Another thing the script does that I appreciate is that it creates a drama for his adoptive parents.  As Brandon starts acting strange, and the mysterious deaths start popping up, both of them react differently.  Tori wants to defend and protect Brandon.  She can't believe that her son could have anything to do with the tragedies all around them.  Kyle, on the other hand, is much less trusting.  After all, he is not technically their son, and they have no idea where he came from or why he's here.  He wants to be there for his son, and it's obvious there is as much love as Tori has for him.  But, it's easier for Kyle to accept that their boy is capable of doing the horrible things that he suspects.  We can understand both sides, and the movie gives the characters enough of a chance for them to express their views in some quiet dialogue-driven scenes.

Brightburn is almost certain to make viewers wince with some of the graphic death scenes, but this is not just a gore show.  I like that the filmmakers made Brandon a troubled kid with his own set of morals for what he is doing.  He's not just another junior psychopath, and that his adopted human parents find themselves unprepared.  Could the movie have played this angle up a little more?  Probably, but at least what's here shows that the movie is not completely on autopilot. 

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