Listen, strange UFOs in fields distributing alien children is no basis for a system of adoption!
Being not a fan of superhero movies, I probably wouldn’t have watched Brightburn (2019) if I’d seen the poster ahead of time. Thankfully, I did not – because this is an excellent horror movie!
While visually we follow the protagonist for most of the movie, we’re clearly meant to identify with the parents (Elizabeth Banks, David Denman). The gradually mounting concerns about their child’s “difficult” adolescence are normal. These “growing pains” are to be expected, after all. But we are gradually nudged – against our sympathies – into accepting the realization that something is really, really wrong with our son.
It’s an exotic flavor of horror we don’t see very often – acknowledging of course The Bad Seed (1956) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).
Brightburn is part super villain origin story, part ‘coming of age’ tale. With the proviso that once the child comes of age, we all die.
I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
