James Gunn's Horror Movie Take On Superman Is A Hidden Gem On Netflix

"Truth, Justice, and the American Way" was once nearly as recognizable as "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The latter is, of course, from the Declaration of Independence, whereas the former motto belongs to Superman. You're probably familiar with the DC hero's origin story, too. As a baby, an alien named Kal-El was sent from Krypton to Earth, where he crash-lands in a field belonging to Ma and Pa Kent. They raise him as a good old American boy, and he grows up to be a benevolent superhero who repeatedly saves the world.

However, in the 2019 film "Brightburn" (which is streaming on Netflix), producer James Gunn wondered what would've happened if Superman had a different upbringing or didn't have a pure soul. While the director of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films helped shape the story, we should note that the movie was technically directed by David Yarovesky from a script by Brian and Mark Gunn — James' brother and cousin, respectively.

It's about an alien (Jackson Dunn) who gets named "Brandon" by the adoptive parents (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman) who find his spaceship. As Brandon grows up, however, his parents realize that there's something rotten going on. This kid, they fear, isn't going to grow up to save the world. Instead, he might just destroy it. "Brightburn" is a wild ride for fans of Gunn. It's scary, weird, and, most of all, cruel, making it a hidden horror gem worth watching. In fact, it's one of the best superhero movies with horror elements.

When James Gunn worked on crafting "Brightburn," he had a lot of opinions about how the supervillainous alien child's mask should look. Ultimately, as Brandon gives in to his evil nature — or was it nurture? — he dons a red knit mask with shoelaces up the front. It's an unsettling image, which is exactly what Gunn and his filmmaking team were going for. "I just gave so many notes on that mask, trying to create a really truly iconic horror movie character in the same way that Freddy Krueger is, or in the same way that Leatherface is, or in the same way that Jason is," the producer told Entertainment Weekly. "[We were] trying to create something with that same sort of feel that is instantly scary [and] plays with the superhero-ness of it all but at the same time is most definitely rooted in horror."

Brightburn's mask may be instantly scary and also playful, but it unfortunately didn't wind up being particularly iconic. While the movie is more fun than a lot of people gave it credit for, "Brightburn" has an underwhelming score of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie thankfully avoided bombing at the box office alongside other 2019 films like "Booksmart," but it wasn't exactly a smash-hit blockbuster, either. Instead, "Brightburn" now has a reputation as a cult favorite. We imagine Gunn is probably okay with that; several of his other films fall into the same category, including "Slither."

It's interesting to look back on "Brightburn" now, given how things worked out for the film's producer. James Gunn is now guiding the timeline of the DC Universe, meaning he's in charge of the very character he once subverted. Furthermore, Gunn himself directed 2025's "Superman," a film that explores a new, hopeful vision of the iconic alien. "Brightburn" is extremely pessimistic, a sort of funhouse-mirror version of the Superman story Gunn would go on to tell. "Superman" is a fundamentally optimistic film, an earnest movie that truly believes in the power of humanity to help one another. Still, there are some interesting parallels between the two films.

Gunn altered Kal-El's origin story in his DCU film, imagining a version of Superman who learns that his parents actually sent him to rule over Earth, not to save it. It's an interesting reflection of an America that is still reckoning with the sins of its past. How can we claim to stand for "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" if we're not being honest about what our forefathers did to the people who were here before us? While Gunn's Superman strives to find a way through that origin story, Brightburn decides to lean into it. Taken together, the two films offer a fork-in-the-road vision of the United States. Which example will we follow?