'Brightburn' is a No-Mercy Version of Superman

Superman, he is not. Superhero, very doubtful. A psychopathic villain, very appropriate.

David Yarokevsky's Brightburn answers the question: what if a child from another world crashed on Earth, complete with Superman's superpowers except instead of becoming a hero, he turned out to be someone evil?

Evil despite being adopted and raised by a loving couple.

Columbia Pictures

Starting off swiftly a la Smallville, a massive explosion shocks the farm of Tori Breyer (Elizabeth Banks) and her husband Kyle (David Denman), a couple who's spent years trying but failing to conceive a child. A blessing in disguise, the blast is revealed a few minutes later to bear a baby boy. They raised him as their own, and as normal as possible, despite his superhuman qualities. They named the child Brandon (a terrific Jackson A. Dunn) who, after learning about his origin, later rebelled against them.

At first, it's almost a perfect depiction of a sweet nuclear family. Yarokevsky establishes the Breyer family as loving as possible without falling into cheesy family tropes in superhero movies where the superhero is embraced fully by normal beings. They are imperfect but they seem to be alright raising a boy going through puberty. It's always disguised as a film with a heart, that no matter what happens in this family, it's going to fall back into love.

But it's far from that. As soon as Brandon learned about his superpowers amidst his rebellion, it becomes an all-out no mercy exciting thriller. Imagine the stress level of A Quiet Place without the heart of the Krasinkis. That is exactly Brightburn without the alien monster. The monster here is an innocent-looking child who's purely evil and no ounce of heart for whoever.

Columbia Pictures

The jumpscares and gore are of high level that horror fans will surely enjoy as they squirm with terror on their seats. There are a handful of them and they're tense and edgy enough to make one laugh at themselves out of terror and disbelief, for the scary things Brandon could do to people, and even to his parents. Once it hits the climax, it's all-out crazy fun and entertainment.

There is no turning back for Brandon, even if the first half of the film says otherwise. This new villain is merciless and evil, and I don't think anyone could convince him to go back to the good side.
At least that's what the film implies, and even if there are unanswered questions, the film doesn't feel like the characters are written thinly. It's one that can be enjoyed even if it’s not clear if Brandon will ever stop.

With Brightburn, Yarokevsky creates new innovative ways to play with the superhero and horror genres and even combining them into one, almost producing a compelling family drama. It's several
brands crafted into one, but overall, Brightburn's horror is its best weapon.