Brightburn

Brightburn is a 2019 horror film about a murderous boy from another planet.

2 out of 10 stars.  This is a D flick, barely watchable.

In 2006, a couple in Brightburn, Kansas see a meteor crash.  They go to investigate and discover it’s not a meteor, but a space capsule with an infant boy inside.  Since they can’t conceive a child, and they’ve been really trying, they assume the child was sent from God.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  Twelve years later as their son Brandon enters puberty he becomes murderous.  Within a matter of days, he kills his mother’s sister and her husband as well as the mother of the girl he has a crush on until inevitably he kills his father and then his mom.

First, let’s talk special effects. They were practically non-existent.  When the boy has superpowers he puts on a tacky red hoodie and then his eyes glow red.  That’s it.

Second, let’s talk acting.  Some kid actors are pretty good.  Others are at least watchable.  This kid is really bad.  Most of his lines are delivered with a deadpan expression which is to say no expression at all.

Third, let’s talk plot.  It’s not that difficult to figure out when a kid is lying.  Getting his parents to believe he’s a liar is another matter entirely.  The mom’s sister in this film is conveniently the school counselor who holds Brandon in her office after he crushes the wrist of a classmate, a girl he has a crush on.  That she didn’t take this injury seriously is not normal in any situation.  He didn’t just break this girl’s wrist, he shattered it.

2 out of 10 stars.  There’s a lot wrong with this film.  But if you’re desperate it is watchable.