Brightburn

Name: Brightburn
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: May 24, 2019
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 45
Cast: Abraham Clinkscales, Becky Wahlstrom, Christian Finlayson, David Denman, Elizabeth Banks

2019

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critics

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

See All

6.8

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.8	Your Score
6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Brightburn

Movie Details & Credits

Screen Gems | Release Date: May 24, 2019

Starring: Abraham Clinkscales, Becky Wahlstrom, Christian Finlayson, David Denman, Elizabeth Banks, Elizabeth Becka, Emmie Hunter, Gregory Alan Williams, Jackson A. Dunn, Jennifer Holland, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner, Stephen Blackehart, Steve Agee

Summary: What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister?

Director: David Yarovesky

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 91 min

See All Details and Credits

Awards & Rankings

60	#60 Most Discussed Movie of 2019

Watch Now

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

The Playlist - Alex Arabian

May 22, 2019

The film is a gem, especially for anyone yearning for a superhero film that gleefully torches the familiar “good versus evil” formula and introduces far more sinister sensibilities. Read full review

We Got This Covered - Matt Donato

May 24, 2019

Brightburn doesn't ask if you want blood, but you've damn-well got it in this nastily gruesome superhero hack-n-slash that's a nightmare for parents everywhere. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Richard Whittaker

May 24, 2019

It may be an elevator pitch stretched to 90 minutes, and never aspires to more than that, but it's a fine and distinct funhouse ride designed to elicit cackles, then be forgotten about by the next ride. Read full review

Consequence of Sound - Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

May 22, 2019

It’s a nasty piece of work, and one that at the very least stands as an active interruption of the escapist, family-friendly superhero fare currently dominating the industry. Read full review

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

May 23, 2019

It’s “The Bad Seed meets The Omen,” and it’s predictable, plodding and dim-witted every step of the way. To be fair, if you like watching someone pull a shard of glass out of her eyeball, you won’t be disappointed. But there’s a difference between gory and scary that this movie doesn’t seem to grasp. Read full review

Chicago Sun-Times - Richard Roeper

May 23, 2019

Clever trappings aside, Brightburn is filmed mostly as a horror movie, with the monster lurking just around the corner or pounding on the door as the dopey victims behave just like all the other dopey victims in forgettable slasher films. Read full review

Slant Magazine - Ed Gonzalez

May 22, 2019

The way the film shuttles through its 90 minutes, it’s as if it’s been stripped of its most crucial narrative parts. Read full review

SEE ALL 29 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

BathSaltZombii

May 24, 2019

A completely satisfying movie. It met all my expectations but did not exceed them. It's pretty much the story of Superman but if him hitting puberty went wrong.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Dangermouse007

May 24, 2019

As a comic book fan and a horror movie buff, this movie nailed it for me !
I will definitely be watching Brightburn multiple times in the future.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

joeyabuki

May 23, 2019

A really scary movie. I loved it. How they manage the tension is EXCELLENT. Having this child on earth must be very scary. The plot is "what if Superman was bad". Warner and DC Comics have nothing to do with this project, they just based on that character to create this one. If you do notA really scary movie. I loved it. How they manage the tension is EXCELLENT. Having this child on earth must be very scary. The plot is "what if Superman was bad". Warner and DC Comics have nothing to do with this project, they just based on that character to create this one. If you do not know anything about Sups mythology it will seem like a good movie, but if you know even the actors who have played it and much more you will understand every tribute. 100% recommended.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Chancethrash

May 24, 2019

A nice, well acted super villain/horror flim that pulls off some nice visual kills.
Still can't believe this was pulled off with such a small budget. All future film makers should look see this to see how well they stretched the budget.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

ABR

May 24, 2019

The best super hero movie I've seen in this year. At last something fresh and interesting. All these Marvel's and Disney's should be cut on the budget to start think their stories, instead of making conveyor trash.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

HazzaGalla

May 24, 2019

Such an ineptly written and insulting film, they had a good concept but wrote the most shallow, uninspired, predictable crap I’ve seen in a while.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

amheretojudge

May 24, 2019

It burns, it literally, does, at least they have got that part right, this question reaping tale gets a questionable look. Brightburn Yarovesky is a practical filmmaker. His methods might fabricate the commercial cinema with a character driven approach but he actually craves for cheap shots.It burns, it literally, does, at least they have got that part right, this question reaping tale gets a questionable look. Brightburn Yarovesky is a practical filmmaker. His methods might fabricate the commercial cinema with a character driven approach but he actually craves for cheap shots. And I wish I could say that with it comes cheap thrills, but with not a single ounce of horrifying moment in the film, I would be shooting in the dark. I mean aside of the fact that the time won't pass by easily, plus it is not easy on the eyes too, with head scratching visuals to poor vfx, this is as low a horror could go. I wouldn't blame the director, David Yarovesky but the writers Gunn brothers who are just throwing stuff out and about in the storyline and claims it to be an arc or the pivotal point. The film is more "Where is it going?" then it is "How is it going" now, frankly that's not much of an issue, if there lies a spectacle to behold in the horizon. But just like those hide and seek game that Elizabeth Banks plays, it builds up the tension a lot only to disappoint you with a 12 year old hiding in a barn. The content itself doesn't have potential especially not the way it is treated. What amps you up for the world is curiosity that we have and it is not something the film earns along the way, if anything it sobers up from whatever interest we might have had before going into this loud farm. The dinner table conversation from which the idea was given birth too, stays right up there, alright, it may develop into a train of mockery. But, all of this was anticipated or at least was possible in a way, but what comes off as a shock is Banks as an overprotective mother, and yes her character is too dogmatic for her to account in her own opinions, but hey, it's Brightburn, even the Sheriff in this town is questionable.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

SEE ALL 7 REVIEWS