James Gunn's R-Rated 'Superman' Horror Movie Brightburn Lands on Peacock

There was once a take on Superman, famously titled Red Son, which reimagined Kal-El landing in the Soviet Union instead of Kansas. It went in a very interesting direction, but what would happen if the superpowered alien child who crashes onto a rural American farm grows up and decides that helping people sounds considerably less interesting than murdering them? That is the particularly nasty question that's at the heart of James Gunn's forgotten superhero-horror mashup that he oversaw years before he took on the Man of Steel for himself.

Brightburn, the horror-tinged take on the myth and the legend of Superman, has now officially found a new streaming home, having landed on Peacock in the United States on October 1. So that's pretty good timing for those of us out there looking for something slightly more homicidal than Gunn's current DC Universe.

After a difficult struggle with infertility, Tori's (Elizabeth Banks) dreams of motherhood come true with the arrival of a mysterious baby boy. Brandon appears to be everything Tori and her husband Kyle (David Denman) ever wanted: bright, talented, curious about the world. But as Brandon nears puberty, a powerful darkness seems to manifest within him, and Tori becomes consumed by terrible doubts about her son. Once Brandon begins to act on his twisted urges, those closest to him find themselves in grave danger, as the miracle child transforms into a vicious predator unleashed on an unsuspecting Kansas town.

Jackson A. Dunn (Avengers: Endgame) stars as Brandon Breyer, with the cast also including Matt Jones (Breaking Bad) as Noah McNichol, Meredith Hagner (Search Party) as Merilee McNichol, Emmie Hunter (Your Honor) as Caitlyn Connor, Becky Wahlstrom (Star Trek: Enterprise) as Erica Connor, and Gregory Alan Williams (Remember the Titans) as Sheriff Deever.

How Good Is 'Brightburn'?

Critics were split over whether turning Superman's origin story into a slasher movie was enough to sustain an entire feature. Brightburn currently holds a 57% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score sits at 67%. Produced on a modest budget reportedly between $6 million and $12 million, Brightburn earned approximately $33 million worldwide. That wasn't blockbuster territory, but its comparatively tiny cost made the superhero horror hybrid a profitable proposition.

Brightburn began streaming on Peacock in the United States on October 1.