Originally announced as an “untitled James Gunn horror project,” shrouded in mystery, and then finding itself caught in the crosshairs of the filmmaker’s controversial firing from the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” by Disney (since re-hired), the dark, deconstructive superhero film, “Brightburn” has been through the wringer on its way to the screen. Actually directed by frequent Gunn family collaborator David Yarovesky (“The Hive”), it’s a shame all this baggage hangs over “Brightburn” because 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.

Written by Gunn’s brother, Brian Gunn, and cousin, Mark Gunn, ”Brightburn” delivers an old school pitch-black comedy-horror film—yes, heavily indebted to the James Gunn style— and simultaneously, a welcome “fuck you” to the superhero genre, the American way, and the twisted politics of the Hollywood blockbuster machine. The goriest mainstream horror film of the past two years (sorry, “Halloween,” deepest sympathies, “Suspiria,” take a seat, “Hereditary“), “Brightburn” maximizes its $7 million budget’s full potential, equally exhibiting authentic chills and reluctant laughs, to craft a new philosophy apropos of the tired, black and white moral constructs of the superhero genre.

Read the rest of the review at The Playlist.