What an interesting concept. A baby arrives via a meteorite to a childless couple on an isolated farm. They raise him as their own, but he begins to demonstrate powers....hmmm, where have I heard that before?
BRIGHTBURN is, for the most part, a pretty decent and enjoyable scary twist on that same legend, but with a boy that takes a decidedly different turn at 12 years old. Think Damien, not Kal-El.
Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect, The Hunger Games) is Tori, the fiercely protective Mom of our guest youngster from another world. David Denman (13 Hours) is very good as her husband Kyle, whose much quicker to regret their hospitality.
Jackson A. Dunn (young AntMan in Infinity War) is Brandon Bryer. He's excellent in the part, just off kilter enough to raise an eyebrow and downright evil when he comes into his power.
Like "The Omen" series, the people that get in his way are murdered in very graphic, showy fashion, cutting loose some of the most inventive, freaky and violent slayings in recent memory. It's very gory and doesn't pull any punches, daring you to look away.
The special effects team is first rate for the fairly low budget.
The stupid character behavior meter is off the charts. One woman has her backyard motion sensor go off three times and a terrifying visit at her front door and responds by (wait for it...) texting her husband that she's going to bed and turning her ringer off. Okay, that's logical.
I also started internally bitching and moaning of why the parents would keep the child's arrival and history secret for so long, but then I realized that I'd bought the same premise with Superman for years.
The clever angle is making you look at that story in a very different light. What if Superman was more Michael Meyers than Clark Kent?
A lean 90 minutes long, it moves fast, keeps you on your toes and offers plenty of surprises, at least the ones that weren't revealed in the trailer, which tells you WAY too much and ruins some of the key story elements of the conclusion.
My favorite scene has Brandon levitating just off the floor and entering his bedroom in a very bad mood, with Tori hiding under his bed. It's perfectly shot, well executed by all and tees up a manic conclusion that shows the flip side of that romantic Superman/Lois Lane flight around Metropolis.
BRIGHTBURN heats up a solid B from me. It's a taut, lightweight blast.
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