Superhero Horror Becomes Reality in Brightburn

By Ryan Grow | May 29, 2019

What if the Man of Steel didn’t become the hero he is, but instead became some dark and sinister? With Brightburn, the visionary filmmaker of Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.

Superman is probably one of the most popular superhero character, which means everyone knows his origin story. The story behind Brightburn uses Superman’s story but twists it in a dark and interesting way. The movie’s concept is fascinating and a lot more interesting than I had previously thought.

James Dunn’s name has been associated with all of the film’s marketing, and he’s only a producer on the film. But its Gunn’s longtime collaborator David Yarovesky who directed the film. The film uses the sense of fear and anticipation to consistently build up tension. The most impressive element in Yarovesky’s direction is his storytelling. The pacing of the film is well his balanced and his excellent casting choices help his storytelling.

Elizabeth Banks is just brilliant in Brightburn and a good portion of the film dedicates itself on her exceptional leading performance. Banks gives the film a flawed and naive character that manages to keep the story tethered in reality. Newcomer Jackson A. Dunn is just phenomenal and terrifying as Brandon, the devilishly smart and selfish title character. This makes Dunn’s work far more complex than his age suggests. The writing allows the actors to explore the character’s psychology enough to fulfill the story’s main premise, but hopefully will be even more explored in a sequel.

The character’s motivations are unclear but deal with the concepts of innocence, the corruption of youth, and the uncontrollable use of godlike powers. The film effectively uses gore and violence to extreme and horrifying degrees. The climatic sequence alone is both breathtaking and terrifying.

Brightburn is nothing more than a horror movie, but with the added superhero element successfully creates the beginning of a new subgenre – superhero horror.  

Critic Review: 5/5 stars

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