I wasn’t originally sold when I heard the synopsis for Brightburn. The story revolves around a young alien child named Brandon (of course!) who crash-lands on Earth and is taken in by a young, loving couple in the Midwest. As he grows older, he starts to realize he has superhuman powers that set him apart from the innocent mortals he lives with. Sound familiar? Of course you recognize it as the origin story of Superman. However, things are different in Brightburn. Quite different...
Oh yeah, young Brandon has no intention of fighting for truth, justice and the American way.
I shouldn’t have doubted because this new trailer for the James Gunn-produced horror film looks pretty darn terrific. Though touching upon countless comic book tropes, the story feels exciting and novel. The direction and horror set pieces teased in the trailer also feel original. You have to give credit to the people behind Brightburn because there are plenty of ways this movie could seem like a joke. I expected the movie to seem silly, I suppose. But it doesn’t seem silly. It seems quite scary, to be honest. Far scarier and unnerving than I expected. You should watch so you can agree with me:
It’s one of those plots that seems so obvious that you wonder why it hasn’t been made before. Which of us haven’t thought about what Superman would be like if he turned towards evil instead of good? Comic book aficionados got a taste of that world with Mark Millar’s Superman: Red Son. But Brightburn looks to have taken that to a much higher - and scarier - level. I might have been cautious before but I’m completely on board after this trailer.
Brightburn will be hitting theaters on May 24th. Here’s your official synopsis:
What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? In this horrific take on the classic superhero trope, a couple (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) adopts a baby who came from the stars. While they attempt to raise the boy (Jackson A. Dunn) to use his powers for good, an evil begins to grow inside that he unleashes.