Brightburn - a superhero horror movie by James Gunn

I don't think the movie was a Fall to Darkness film.

Just about everything in the movie implies he was always a fucked up weird kid.

I agree it's not really a fall to darkness film, if only because the reasons for Brandon's change were left vague, and not in a scary sort of way. It splits the difference between puberty mood swing analogies and brainwashing from the alien craft, but doesn't make them connect. Once he recognizes his literal invincibility it doesn't make sense why he is concerned about being exposed or what his parents think, and the movie kind of sticks with the puberty outburst approach instead of a more genuine "I am above you all" Creepy Child. Before he realizes his powers he actually does seem to be a normal kid, if shy and artistic.

I do think the movie tries to say something interesting about the Superman mythos when it came to the relationship between Tori and Brandon, basically saying there are innate qualities in an individual that cannot be altered by the quality of their family life. Clark Kent wants to be Superman because that is who he is, not just because his parents taught him right from wrong. Tori's insistence that Brandon is special and amazing quickly started seeming delusional by the halfway point.

If anything it's less a Fall To Darkness thing and more like an adaptation of the beginning of Irredeemable.

Edited by theLibrarian on Jul 5th 2019 at 9:11:27 AM

Saw the movie recently and although I liked it was a bit disappointed.

IMO the super-powered alien angle wasn't sufficiently explored. You could've replace the "superhero" with just about anything from demonic possession to "find weird weapon" and the resulting movie would roughly be the same.

I would've like to see his background explored and how/why he went full psycho instead of "hears weird noises, becomes a murderer."

Other than that it's a nice little movie and i will still watch the probably sequel/spin-off.

My feelings toward the overall movie was that it was over-directed. Horror movies need an element of surprise and build-up to the jump scares and it was just so obvious in the "this is when you should start being scared" that it doesn't really have a sense of pacing. The truck scene where the lights go out and turn back on and Brandon is closer really stood out, as it was an editing trick I saw coming before it happened. Likewise when he was stalking the girl and turning her computer on, I wasn't really sure why she was suddenly in panic mode right from the start. Every victim needs some sort of "It's just the wind" shrug before they realize it isn't and there wasn't one here.

Watched a boot leg version of this. It was ok. Nothing amazing but not a frustrating watch either.

I'm excited to see this 'horror superhero universe' since Glass was such a failure, the DCEU is seemingly done, and the MCU I knew has basically concluded with Far From Home.

Technically, Glass was a huge box office success, grossing 250 dollars on a 20 million dollar budget, which is by any stretch a huge profit (literally grossed its budget 12 times over). It was just a critical failure and specifically meant to be the end of its universe.

Edited by Gaon on Jul 11th 2019 at 3:28:24 AM

While is true it end the universe the way it end kinda look a very open way to leave any sequel beyond what happen.

Well, I'm glad to have a shared superhero universe that isn't DC or Marvel, and leans more on the fantastical and unrealistic. And putting a horror spin on it is interesting.

Edited by FOFD on Jul 11th 2019 at 7:16:59 AM

Brightburn 2 News from Screenrant: https://screenrant.com/brightburn-2-sequel-movie-updates/

The news is a bit old but I didn't see it posted here so here goes: Apparently, the movie will incorporate AI and Web 3, and that the Evil Superheroes will be coming forward.

"Respect professionals and fans", he says, seemingly unaware we just had a huge strike about exactly this...

Wasn't the use of AI for movie making restricted because of the strike?

It is in the sense that studios themselves can't force it on the creatives, not that the creators can't use it themselves.

Look forward to a movie that makes low budget trash look professional.

Doesn’t mention if Gunn is involved…

If he's not that might explain why they go with AI.

Especially since Gunn would be busy working with DC.

> AI and Web3

Aight imma head out.

(AI and Web3 should not be used in place of writers and artists.)

If they decide to create a "Justice League" but with slasher killers' versions, I imagine Brightburn will be the strongest member. (Due to the tendency to make Superman's expy the most powerful member of the team, even if it is not 100% true with the original)

I just hope "Slasher Wonder Woman" isn't misandrististic, that might feel too stereotyped.

Edited by Luisdalas on Dec 26th 2023 at 1:18:20 AM

A Crime Syndicate ripoff written and made with AI?

That is so many layers of unoriginal it's almost funny.

The AI behind the scenes is gonna be scarier than the actual movie lmao

To clarify my earlier post, the Crime Syndicate is basically a DC supervillain team who were an evil mirror universe version of the Justice League. Meaning they were in-universe derivative characters.

The whole premise of this Brightburn sequel seems an awful lot like they're basically making a Crime Syndicate origin story but without using the actual trademarked characters so they don't have to pay any licensing fees.

And it's going to be made with AI.

This whole project reeks of unoriginality.

Oh yeah, this sets precedent, but if the movie flops, I imagine A.I. would get slowed down a bit.

If they actually are going to use AI and Web3 heavily, I legit hope it's what makes people realize they're very bad tools for making movies and shows.

What examples of movies being written by AI do we have?

And Brightburn 2 turns out bad, let's say. How much can we blame on the AI and how much can we blame on the overall production?

Edited by FOFD on Dec 29th 2023 at 3:11:26 PM

50/50 Split sound fair?