“It’s like a horror film, human parents adopt an evil alien baby” I tell mom, before putting on the 2019 film ‘Brightburn’ on Netflix. In-fact, mom and I did see its trailer three years ago, but it wasn’t on any streaming site yet, so we played something else.
Directed by David Yarovesky, the film stars Jackson A Dunn as Brandon Breyer, the extra-terrestrial child who is raised by Tori (Elizabeth Banks) and Kyle Breyer (David Dennman). After Brandon turns twelve, he starts exhibiting worrying behavior and signs of supernatural powers. When people around the Breyer start getting hurt, his parents are forced to make some difficult decisions.
The cinematography felt a lot like a B-horror film, with the lot of slow jump scares and exaggerated gory scenes that were comical. For those who cannot stand blood, some of the violent scene are quite hard to watch without flinching your eye. ‘Brightburn’ tries to explore ‘what is superman was a bad creepy kid’ and makes for a fun watch for viewers who are open to some genre-blending stories.
Jackson A Dunn carries the entire film on his shoulders, because the rest of the cast is mediocre at best. Dunn doesn’t just look the part of a weird kid with superpowers, but also pulls of the ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ kind of character that’s written for his part. On one hand you have a regular nerdy kid, who aces his exams, is a loving child at home; on the other hand you have a potential monster that could spell doom for those around him. Elizabeth Banks as the gullible mom was forgettable, so was David Dennman as the dad.
I love how the director foreshadows two strong possible climactic outcomes and then surprises the viewer with an end that is quite unlike ‘evil vs the rest’ kind of films. In-fact, the climax is so entertaining that it almost redeems all the other plot-holes and ridiculousness that unfolds before.
It’s a 7/10 from me.
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