Brightburn (2019) Movie Review

Welcome to Knockout Horror. The superhero genre is more popular than it has ever been. Marvel are releasing hit after hit, DC are, well, trying, and cinema goers can’t seem to get enough. With that in mind, there has never been a better time to explore the darker side of the superhero universe. Enter Guardians of the Galaxy writer, and former Troma screenwriter, James Gunn and his twisted take on the superhero genre – Brightburn. Armed with a bevy of superhero experience, what can we expect?

Not so Superman

Brightburn focuses on the Breyer family; Mum Tori who is played by the always underappreciated Elizabeth Banks, Dad Kyle, played by David Denman who you may know as Roy from The Office, and son Brandon, played by relative newcomer Jackson A. Dunn. The film opens with Tori and Kyle making yet another attempt at conceiving a child. Their efforts are disrupted by an enormous bang; the house rattles and we are suddenly transported to the present day.

Fast forward a decade or so and it becomes apparent that Tori and Kyle now have a child and life seems pretty rosy. They live on a large farm and their child, Brandon, spends his time helping out his dad, playing hide and seek with his mum, and excelling at school at the cost of a little street cred. It’s a lovely little, super saccharine, slice of Americana and is in stark contrast to what happens later on in the movie.

As time progresses, we see a few hints that Brandon may be a little less than popular at school. He is teased in class and seems to be a bit of a loner. He develops a crush on a girl who shows him a little attention and, along with that, he starts to develop a bit of, what seems to be, pre-teenage angst.

Tori finds her son sleep walking in the night and attempting to break into a locked part of the barn. He’s apparently possessed by some subliminal force. These incidents continue to escalate to the point where Brandon begins to hear voices calling to him in an unusual language. The more he hears the voices, the more aggressive Brandon becomes, and that’s when everything changes.

Superhero Chronicle

We may as well get this out of the way early in the review. Many people are talking about Brightburn as if it’s the first horror movie to ever flip the superhero formula on its head. Brightburn’s story of power corrupting and creating a monster seems pretty original but it has been done before. Most notably with 2012’s Chronicle which is based around a similar premise. The big question here isn’t whether it is wholly original but whether Brightburn does it better.

Chronicle obviously approached things a little differently. For one it was a found footage movie with a much different aesthetic. Chronicle also presented its story in a different way; for example the characters were not born with their powers. It did, however, feature a conflicted antagonist who, due to difficulties in life and a lack of social acceptance, chose to use his powers for bad rather than good.

The age groups of the characters are quite different and the motivations vary but the overall theme is very similar. Chronicle was fantastic and very unique given the fact that there was nothing similar at the time. Brightburn is being afforded some of that praise itself but it’s worth remembering that the precedent has been set before and it’s not quite as unique as it may initially seem.

A different kind of superhero movie

I have to be honest, I am not the biggest fan of superhero movies. In fact, I will go out of my way to avoid them wherever possible. With that being said, I find the idea of a “superhero turned villain” story quite interesting. After all, the bad guys are always the most interesting characters, right?

Brightburn taps into the “Superhero gone bad” idea in much the same way that Chronicle did but without the good guy superheroes to act as a counter balance. This is a story that is far more focused on the emergence of a villain that has purely bad intentions.

Brightburn is as much a horror as it is a Superhero movie, too. In fact, at times, it borders on almost slasher levels of violence. It is extremely bloody, fairly tense, and the kills are up there with some of the champions of Gorno. People who love their horror with a ton of the red stuff are in for a great time.

It’s not just the kills that give away Brightburn’s horror leanings, though. The tension in many of the scenes resembles that of a retro slasher movie, with Brandon Breyer proving to be a capable, unstoppable, killer ala Jason or Mike Myers.

His impressive lack of empathy genuinely has you questioning what he will do next and to whom. There’s also a few moments that are reminiscent of “We Need to Talk About Kevin“, although I would rather spend my last moments with Brandon as Kevin is an annoying asshole.

Sounds good so far..

The thing that makes Brandon so intimidating, despite is diminutive stature, is that he is an alien from another planet and something that earth is evidently not prepared for. You would typically expect him to have some form of weakness; a Kryptonite if you will, and he does but it doesn’t play into the plot in the way you might think.

Brightburn is not afraid to stay away from the cookie cutter elements that usually plague this type of horror movie and it may surprise you with the direction it takes at key moments. With that being said, there are problems and they are pretty damn significant. Brightburn, as a movie, is far from perfect.

As a simple horror with a science fiction based theme, some serious slasher elements, a different kind of villain, and tons of gore, Brightburn can be fun. As a production, there are elements that are severely lacking. The first thing worthy of note is the writing of Brian and Mark Gunn which can really leave you wanting.

Character development is a particular area of weakness. Brandon goes from being a lovable kid without, seemingly, a bad bone in his body to being the very epitome of evil pretty much overnight. The things that happen to him are not really sufficient reason for him taking out his anger on the world in such a way. If he is just like this by design then a little more elaborating would have gone a long way to helping us understand the character. We never really get into Brandon’s head, we are just observers of his actions. A lot more character development would have been very welcome.

Brightburn (Dunceville)

Brightburn’s characters are also very one dimensional. Relationships are barely expanded upon and characters are essentially set up like bowling pins purely to be knocked down by our pre-pubescent, red eyed, bowling ball. You don’t care about the characters and that impacts the overall weight and significance of the events.

Some of the reactions of the residents of Brightburn are just ridiculous, as well. Characters come across as stupid and, in some instances, completely blind to what is going on. Couple this with some of Brandon’s actions making little to no sense and you have a pretty confused narrative. Was Brightburn built downwind of a nuclear testing site? Everyone seems a little simple.

I feel as though there were a fair few scenes left on the cutting room floor that probably expanded on things a lot. It all just feels so damn loosely put together. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 2 hour long director’s cut at some point in the future (this obviously never happened). I would definitely be interested in watching a version that goes into a little more detail on the events.

Acting and Cinematography

Cinematography was pretty good, nothing spectacular. There were some nice night-time shots in the barn. I felt as though some of the weird post production effects were unnecessary, though. Things flying at the screen and what not; it looked pretty bad and reminded me of a mid 2000s 3D movie.

Acting was good for the most part. Elizabeth Banks is always great and it makes a change to see her in a leading role. She always seems to be a co-star despite having the presence and unique looks to be a leading lady in Hollywood. She was very believable as a loving mother and wife that just wanted the best for her family.

Jackson A. Dunn was really good as Brandon. This is the type of role that often goes to kids who are just naturally a bit strange or quirky. “Better Watch Out’s” Levi Miller is a pretty good example of this, as is Ezra Miller in “We Need to Talk About Kevin”. Jackson A. Dunn actually just seems like a normal kid who is acting and he does a great job. I really loved the way he portrayed a lack of empathy and he had some excellent facial expressions when his mood switched in certain scenes.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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