What if Kal-El followed a different path and failed to become the defender of truth, justice and the American way? What if he used his enormous powers for darker means?

This becomes the basic premise of Brightburn, a 2019 mix of horror and superhero elements. Kyle (David Denman) and Tori Breyer (Elizabeth Banks) fail to conceive a baby on their own, but one day an infant literally falls from the skies.

They discover a spacecraft in the woods and rescue a baby from it. They adopt the boy and name him Brandon.

As Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) hits his 12th birthday, he experiences changes above and beyond those usually attached to puberty. Brandon realizes that he possesses enormous powers such as super-strength, flight and heat vision.

Generally disliked at school, Brandon uses his newfound abilities for his own vindictive means. This creates a rift in his family, as Kyle and Tori struggle to determine how to deal with their son’s menace.

At its core, the “Bad Superman” concept sounds intriguing, and Brightburn explores it fairly well. The narrative does falter in one way, though, as it fails to sufficiently explore why Brandon becomes so resolutely nasty.

Sure, we see some of the bullying he receives from the other kids, but not to the degree that would seem to make him so malevolent. Also, we hear a hint that Brandon may’ve been sent to Earth as part of a potential invading alien presence, but again, the film doesn’t explore this in a substantial manner.

This becomes the movie’s biggest flaw, as it’s just not especially clear why Brandon goes from an apparently normal, nice kid to a supervillain in no time flat. Again, we can make assumptions related to the probable reason Brandon ended up in Kansas in the first place, but the film leaves this more vague than I might like.

If you can get past the lack of strong exposition, Brightburn becomes more satisfying, and its refusal to pull punches helps. No one sensitive to graphic violence should watch this film, as it possesses some pretty gruesome scenes. Though these don’t appear frequently, they seem destined to inspire much squirming in seats.

Beyond the ugliness of the violent, Brightburn gets credit because it doesn’t soften Brandon. Most movies would try to have it both ways and let us see remaining glimpses of goodness inside Brandon.

Nope. Once Brandon goes bad, he stays bad, and any indications otherwise exist as fake-outs the boy uses to achieve his ends.

A strong performance from Dunn does a lot to make the material succeed. He avoids the usual “Hollywood kid” emoting and gives Brandon a real sense of darkness without obvious attempts to oversell the material. Dunn offers the main reason the film works, as his unsettling take on the role brings impact to the tale.

At times Brightburn feels like a set-up for a sequel, as it occasionally seems to care more about future chapters than the story in question. Nonetheless, the movie manages to create a dark look at the subject matter than succeeds more than it falters.

Brightburn appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a strong visual presentation.

Sharpness always satisfied. Nary a sliver of softness interfered with the image, as it seemed concise and accurate.

No issues with jagged edges materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. In addition, the movie lacked any print flaws.

Like most modern action movies, Brightburn favored a mix of ambers and blues. These seemed uncreative but the disc brought them out as intended.

Blacks seemed dark and dense, while shadows mostly looked smooth and clear, though a few nighttime shots could feel a bit opaque. Overall, this was a positive presentation.

Along similar lines, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack fared well, as it brought us a vivid sonic impression. Of course, the film’s action scenes worked best, as the mix used the various channels to involve us in the material.

Quieter scenes boasted a nice sense of environment as well, and music added solid stereo presence to the music. The soundscape kicked into gear often and formed a seamless package.

Audio quality followed suit, with speech that appeared concise and distinctive. Music sounded full and lush as well.

As expected, effects became the most prominent aspect of the mix, and those elements seemed accurate and dynamic, with taut low-end when appropriate. This became a satisfying soundtrack for an action film.

A few extras accompany the movie, and we open with an audio commentary from director David Yarovesky, cinematographer Michael Dallatorre and costume designer Autumn Steed Yarovesky. All three sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes and visual design, effects, music and related domains.

Expect a pretty rollicking chat, as the three participants interact well. They cover the movie in a dynamic manner and make this a fun, informative reel.

With Nature Vs. Nurture, we get a five-minute, five-second featurette with notes from producer James Gunn, executive producer Simon Hatt, and actors David Denman, Elizabeth Banks, and Jackson A. Dunn.

“Nature” offers some character and story basics. It feels pretty superficial, so don’t expect much from it.

Hero-Horror runs four minutes, 46 seconds and features Yarovesky, Gunn, Banks, Hatt, Denman, and Dunn. It touches on cast and performances but it remains fairly fluffy and insubstantial.

Under Quick Burns Social Vignettes, we get three short pieces: “Elizabeth Bank” (0:38), “James Gunn” (1:12) and “David Yarovesky” (0:56). Expect more general promotional material, though Yarovesky’s allusion to a potential sequel is mildly intriguing.

The disc opens with ads for Spider-Man: Far From Home, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, The Intruder, Men In Black: International, Searching and Escape Room. No trailer for Brightburn appears here.

An unusual spin on the standard superhero origin story, Brightburn creates a dark, compelling tale. With an ominous tone and strong performances, it becomes a winning effort. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture and audio along with a few bonus materials. Brightburn ends up as a worthwhile entry in the genre.