Brightburn Review

What would you do if you have unlimited power? This is the debate often explored in superhero fiction and the film Brightburn gives audiences their take through the prism of a horror film.

In 2006 Toni and Kyle Breyer (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) were trying to have a baby when a spaceship crashes near their farm. Within the ship was a baby and the couple raise him as their own son. 12 years later, Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) starts to develop superpowers but also starts to hear voices and becomes increasingly angry whilst his mother ignores the signs.

The premise of Brightburn is simple: what if Superman was evil? And the filmmakers don’t even try to hide this influence. Brandon has the same origins as Clark Kent – both were raised on farms in Kansas with loving parents and has the same powers.

Brightburn does draw from many Superman sources. The most obvious is 2013’s Man of Steel which took a darker, more realistic take on the Superman origins story with a particular look at the differing views between Jonathan Kent and Jor-El. Brightburn had a similar look to Man of Steel and the music was influenced by the score composed by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. The task of the filmmakers was to see if they could make a darker version of Man of Steel. But it came off as fan-fiction.

There have been revisionist takes on Superman before Brightburn. Mark Millar gave the world an alternative version with Red Son which Superman being raised in Stalin’s Soviet Union instead of America. The 2008 comedy Hancock show a Superman-like figure was a dejected alcoholic and needed help with his PR. Both stories put a lot more revising the Superman story than Brightburn.

Many Superman adaptations have had a religious theme – it is about a powerful being sending his son down to Earth to protect the people. Brightburn allures to this with its ending which is akin to the classic horror flick The Omen.

There was an attempt at a nature vs. nurture storyline. Brandon was loved by his parents and he seemed to be a decent kid up until his powers awaken. He is shown to be possessed and that led to his change. And this was a problem because the change was so sudden – he turns 12 and he becomes a perverted sociopath with no empathy. It reminded me of a sketch from The Harry Enfield Show when Kevin turns into a moody teenager.

A film with a similar theme was Chronicle which showed a group of teens suddenly gain superpowers. One of them was at breaking point because his dad was physically abusive, his mum was dying, and he was bullied at school. His journey towards supervillainy was more organic than Brandon’s.

Brightburn was directed by David Yarovesky who has experience in the horror genre. But his direction early on was too reliant on jump scares. There was also a focus on violence which was expressively gory. A scene where a character gets glass in their eye forced me to look away from the screen.

The highlight of the film was when Brandon uses his powers to their fullest. It was satisfying when he uses his heat vision or smashes through his family home. The budget for the film is estimated to be $7 million and the CGI effects were really impressive. The third act was a highlight from an action and special effects standpoint.

Brightburn was a film with loads of potential and it will gain a cult following and defenders. I wanted to like Brightburn a lot more which makes it extra frustrating because it wasted its potential. There are much better revisionist superhero films.