Brightburn - a superhero horror movie by James Gunn

Eesh, that eye injury is worse than I thought it'd be >_<

That extended trailer unsettled me a bit.

So the boy turns evil due to his alien nature, isn't that implying outsiders are inherently dangerous?

It probably depends on what's in the actual movie. All we have to go on is trailers and promos, and guys like James Gunn like to throw people for a loop when it comes to expectations.

Yeah, it's heavily implied that the kid becomes a misanthrope because he's bullied in school, not because he's an alien.

Basically it's "What would happen if a school shooter had superpowers".

Or they can do as Elfen Lied, which at the beginning seems that Lucy is evil for what she suffered, but then it turns out that it is the nature of her species.

Of course many fans do not like that interpretation of diclonii.

Edited by JoLuRo075 on May 17th 2019 at 10:09:27 AM

From what i've heard the bullying is only a factor and the rest comes from his inate instincts. So the original question still stands.

Basically it's "What would happen if a school shooter had superpowers".

They actually did that in the Smallville Comics. It was Clark Luthor doing it over on his Earth and it was just as brutal as you'd imagine.

Also Carrie.

Edited by Guy01 on May 17th 2019 at 2:58:35 AM

Check out the vision he has in the latest trailer;

his mom with bad black barf coming out of her mouth and eyes. The ship is having an effect. Could the ship be Brainiac, trying to possess Brandon? Could his eviler deeds be done under the influence of Brainiac?

Or a Brainiac equivalent. Because, you know, this isn't coming from DC.

Actually, if we want to go the extra-creepy route, what if BB's Brainiac equivalent is some kind of demonic entity known only to aliens? SPACE DEMON.

Anyway, reviews are leaking in IMDb and some of them reach spoiler territory. Namely how there are apparently more super villains...

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on May 20th 2019 at 4:40:16 AM

I'm personally getting Lovecraftian vibes about this, so maybe that sort of thing is happening.

(Is stricken with the sudden realization that Cthulhu is basically a space demon)

Well, I caught myself by surprise...

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on May 20th 2019 at 4:45:13 AM

Aside from a more Lovecraftian Brainiac take (which has been done), it could just as well be an analogue to Darkseid that is responsible.

The ship could well have implanted Father Box technology.

And considering Brandon can apparently be harmed by it, and destroys it later himself, what this means for his character after...it remains to be seen.

Edited by NickTheSwing on May 22nd 2019 at 5:29:36 AM

It sounds like the only things that have changed since I was spoiled was the name of the kid(Brandon now, but Ben in the info that was available) and how the aunt character in the movie is handled.

I have also been told the movie is quite lazy and uses its comic book trappings mostly as a means to engage in unusually spectacular slasher film violence.

Edited by Prowler on May 23rd 2019 at 3:25:00 AM

Anyone else think James made this movie just to spite Marvel Studios for his firing?

Considering principal photography started before he ever got fired, I doubt it.

The day the scandal happened was the day he was going to air the trailer at Comic-Con. Footage and FX were already done.

Nah, I just think he legitimately wanted to make a horror film with a superhero villain. He's not a stranger to horror films with odd premises, such as The Belko Experiment, Saw with office workers.

Or more fittingly, Battle Royale meets Office Space.

Gunn is the producer, not director nor writer.

And if he were really spiteful, he would make movies about evil Iron Man or Thor.

Edited by RAlexa21th on May 28th 2019 at 7:22:38 AM

So I enjoyed the overall tone and style, but Brandon goes a little too Obviously Evil really fast and it is more gory than scary. It robs the movie of having any real second act or build up to the climax.

From everything I've heard I guess I'm not quite sure what the point is.

Like, why include the "his ship is influencing him to become evil" thing? Doesn't that just undercut the whole "Fall to darkness" storyline

Brightburn might be the closest we get to a movie about the Crime Society.

how about the fact the film bombed?

Edited by jppiper on Jul 2nd 2019 at 5:30:02 AM

Are you talking about Brightburn? Because although not a huge success, it grossed $31M out of budget of $6M, making it at least somewhat profitable.