#16 - Brightburn (2019)

Brightburn (2019)

(dir. David Yarovesky)

An alien spacecraft crashes in the woods near the farmhouse of Tori and Kyle Breyer, and inside is an infant that they decide to raise as their own. They name him Brandon, and for over a decade they live a seemingly normal life. As Brandon turns 12, he starts to act strangely and develops dangerous powers, putting everyone around him at risk. This is literally just "what if Superman, but bad?"

I think the premise has a lot of potential, but this film didn't quite live up to my expectations. A story about a kid with incredibly powerful abilities but without the maturity to control them (or lack of empathy due to being alien) could've been really interesting, but it feels more like Brandon is just evil for no real reason. If he's there to take over the planet or whatever, why bother doing shit like scaring family members or leaving his little symbol all over the place? With his powers he could kill people instantly and would have no reason to fear getting caught by the police, but he chooses to sneak around and lurk in the shadows and generally act like a slasher movie villain.

Overall I enjoyed this well enough - there are some fun scenes and some pretty gnarly gore - but it does feel like a waste of a good premise. If you're interested in it, I think it's worth checking out, but don't set your expectations too high.