Netflix has no room for niceties. Even if a film or show is loved by a core base of subscribers, the streaming giant has no qualms about removing the content, whether it be because of poor viewing figures or due to licensing issues. And now another great little flick has fallen to this fate.
Brightburn is a 2019 film directed by David Yarovesky and produced by James Gunn, and has a unique take that blends the superhero and horror genre. The movie plays with beloved tropes like the creepy kid and the dangerous outsider.
Brightburn begins with a spaceship crash in Brightburn, Kansas. Tori Breyer (Elizabeth Banks) and her husband Kyle (David Denman) see the incident and rush to the site to find a baby in the wreckage. They take him home and name him Brandon.
On his 12th birthday, almost-teen Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) discovers his powers. In your standard MCU film, this is where the good stuff starts happening, but Brightburn turns this around and has Brandon lean into his darker side. It begins with him tormenting a girl he has an unrequited crush on, but soon there are much graver consequences.
The Superman comparisons are easy to see, and there’s no doubt the Man of Steel had a huge impact on this story. But Brightburn doesn’t just rely on its inverted premise to engage. Like much of producer Gunn’s work there’s humor laced throughout the story, and both Banks and Denman give excellent performances as the parents, with Banks especially compelling as the mother of a monster who’s blinded by love.
Brightburn left Netflix on March 1, so you cannot watch it on the streaming platform right now but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to watch it. At a pacey 89-minutes, the movie is well worth carving some time out for, especially for those who want a twisted take on a classic story.
(featured image: Sony Pictures)
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