TRAILER: James Gunn's 'BrightBurn' is a take on Raising a Superhero in America

The trend of EVIL BOYS in Hollywood could be a reflection of fear raising a TRUMP era CHILD. With films like, The Prodigy, The Hole in the Ground, The Golem and now ‘BrightBurn‘, all movies about uncontrollable children in our own homes, our own communities. Most of these films revolve around a premise of a white Mother’s denial of her male child’s behavior. With lines of “Mommy, will you always love me? No matter what I do?” from The Prodigy or “He’s just a little boy there is no evil in him,” The Golem. “It’s not your boy.” from The Hole in the Ground and “Whatever you’ve done, I know there’s good inside you” from Elizabeth Banks character in BrightBurn. What do these lines say to the target viewers of these times? Recently, Southern Poverty Law Center put out a report saying white male youth are the driving force of the growth of hate groups in the United States. This could be a concern and reflect these mothers fears of raising a white male child in this day and age.

Brightburn (2019)

In this installation of BrightBurn it turns out to be a villain origin story from producer, James Gunn and director, David Yarovesky. The preview has lots more emphasis on Mrs. Breyer, Elizabeth Banks character’s denial of raising a villain. The trailer voices Mrs. Breyer concerns about her adopted son’s treatment “I know its been difficult for you lately, that you feel different from other kids.” Followed by the community questions her motherhood, “I’m his real mother.” Then a loved one does the same thing and she gets on a defensive mode, “I will never turn against our son.” Leading up to blind motherly love, “Whatever you’ve done, I know there’s good inside you.” This is kind of the same formula with the other films.

I thought the trailer was scary and clever in the way they combine the superhero and horror genre. The fact of an uncontrollable child terrifies me, add super powers and you have the ultimate monster.

Brightburn (2019)

Synopsis: “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? In this horrific take on the classic superhero trope, a couple (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) adopts a baby who came from the stars. While they attempt to raise the boy (Jackson A. Dunn) to use his powers for good, an evil begins to grow inside that he unleashes.”