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Written by: Brian Gunn & Mark Gunn
Directed by: David Yarovesky
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
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?
Verdict
What if Super-man were evil? It's a great concept that's not fully developed. I wish the script did a better job of plotting this kid's descent into evil. It takes a few shortcuts that don't feel justified. This is less horror and more gore. Taking some time to create a better mood and more tension in scenes would help the horror aspect, but this movie moves too quickly to spend the time. There's no end goal other than smash stuff, which leaves the conclusion lacking.
It depends.
Review
The premise alone sold me. It's a less than subtle take on Superman. The soundtrack during the production credits indicates this will be in the horror genre.
The movie shows us couple Kyle and Tori hoping for a child, then skips ahead, leaving us to assume the origins of Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn). He's a book smart kid that's made fun of for it. Is this going to heel turn where he gets back at his bullies and it goes too far or he likes the power of revenge?
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| David Denman, Elizabeth Banks play Kyle, Tori |
It's a cool way for him to realize his powers, but I was surprised at how quickly he turns evil. Brandon doesn't seem the type, but maybe that's the point. Still his parents state the behavior is unlike him. It's quite the turn from normal kid to sociopath. That's my biggest gripe with this. Either the parents need to talk about some clues or this needs to better plan the heel turn. It could be his ship has awakened the violence in him. There could easily be a scene of the ship starting to glow and Brandon's eyes flipping open, awakened. The movie never sets him up as the violent type. This issue easily could have been fixed.
This has a few intense scenes as Brandon embraces his new powers, but this gets through them so quickly. It fails to drive the tension and fear these scenes deserve. It doesn't gives us enough time to wonder what will happen.
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| Jackson A. Dunn plays Brandon Breyer |
Aside from Brandon's behavioral switch, this is quite a bit more gross than it needs to be. Brandon goes berserk, and you'd think a kid this old would know to at least fake some empathy. All this does is quickly turn his parents against him. This movie takes some big shortcut. You could write off this kid's crimes as being young and stupid, but this script is under-cooked. I wish this had a little bit of conflict. Brandon should feel something for his parents just so we get a will he won't he feeling. The parents act blindsided by this emotional change, and I assume that's how I should feel.
The movie seems poised for a sequel because we don't get a solid conclusion. Brandon's powers are fully realized, but it's unclear of his goal. It seems like he just wants to destroy. The movie gives him the slimmest of motives but with no real path to that goal. It's a great idea that doesn't get delivered.
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