Brightburn is not for the weak hearted but is definitely effective in what it sets out to do! Worth your bucks!

Akash

Do all superhero characters have to do good for the people or are there the terrorizing and grey shaded ones too? With special powers bestowed within a kid who is not treated genuinely by this world, is it wrong to expect him to be like all others? Here is Brightburn, that brings to light the superhero horror concept and is largely believed to be Superman’s parody film. Does Brightburn pull it off?

Jackson A Dunn plays a 12 year old school kid named Brandon who is just like every other child on the outside but has some really special powers within. When the world does not seem to treat him right, he exposes his negativity and power to destroy anything that comes by. What happens when a caring mother and a sceptical father try to figure out the problem and solve it forms the rest of the plotline of Brighburn. But this line is sidelined and what the makers have concentrated on are about how intense they can portray this sort of a kid as a superhero.

To be honest, this works in a large part of the 90 minute long film and even though there is some glorification of violence, the film does keep one hooked throughout. You may or may not like Brandon Breyer for what he does, but what he does will surely keep you guessing at the edge of the seat. A big positive for this film established by the writers and director David Yarovesky by sticking to the genuine nature of the script.

As for actors, there could not have been a better choice for Brandon and even though not many parents would like a murderer son like the one Jackson played in Brightburn, it is easy to say he has shouldered the entire film and understood the script to the fullest potential possible. Kudos to the kid and to the versatile Elizabeth Banks who plays his mother Tori. Their bond is also beautifully established and the fact that a mother would never brand her son bad, no matter how many people tell her about his whereabouts is quite true and amazing to watch. All the other actors have done a decent job too.

Brightburn leaves you no time to get started and from the very first frame, we are brought into the scenes and the naturally portrayed characters. A few typical school friends of the title character seemed a little force fitted to induce a conflict and this could have been more uniquely sketched. Even the policemen in the film did not seem to have as much power as one would expect and this seemed like a possible glitch. However, the arguments made by the kid stating how special he is for reasons considered a crime by the others in the society, brings out the psychotic side of someone who is affected by cosmic radiation and this is more believable and interesting than a usual ‘superhero saves the day’ sort of film. How bored are we of that beaten concept?

Perhaps, a certain large section of the audiences may be disgusted in a few scenes due to raw violence. Even though this seemed quite intentionally placed, it did not seem wrong and that was exactly why every person in the theatre never walked out in spite of the disgust and bloodshed. An adult rated picture usually has adult content but how often do we see a 12 year old kid execute this sort of a content on screen? There is your answer, Brightburn is one of those very rare and unique attempts at superhero horror and those who wish to watch something very new and intense can definitely be in for a treat.

The technicians need an applause as there was realism written all over some of the scenes, especially the lighting in low light areas were appreciable. Cinematography by Michael Dallatore is top class and music by Timothy is also a big positive as he provides necessary support with his background score. Overall a good technical show that holds together the script. Some of the mention worthy scenes include the car accident sequence, the climax, the restaurant murder and so on. But what keeps these glued together are the subtle emotional scenes between Brandon and his mom. When the emotion works, the film eventually will tap you in the right places.

As we had stated earlier, a lot of the audiences might find Brightburn to be a very negative, very violent and disturbing film with no scenes written out for the light hearted. But nobody would walk out of the theatre if they are ready to accept the fact that they are not in for a ‘happy fairy tale’. Brandon does have special powers and he is going to use them against anyone who comes his way, but if you notice closely, even the dearest of his people would have tried to backstab him at some point of time in the film and this justifies why he decides to unleash the monster within him. He probably has the powers to destroy but he does not show his bad side for no reason. This genuinity and justifiability, to the horrifying psycho side of a 12 year old is a major contributing factor that will keep audiences gripped throughout and also the reason that might make Brightburn a successful franchise with a following for its uniqueness!

Bottomline

A disturbing, horrifyingly yet engaging and impactful watch!

Rating: 3/5