BRIGHTBURN (2019) Blu-ray Review

Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 17
Total First Time Views: 8
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,351.84

Brightburn (2019) d. David Yarovesky (USA) (90 min) (1st viewing)

Shocking news: An inspired elevator pitch does not always result in a successful motion picture. Such is the case with the “What if Superman was evil?” concept behind this effort from the Gunn clan (James produces, while brother Brian and cousin Mark wrote the script) – what could have been an intriguing horror sidebar to our superhero-saturated landscape instead comes off as weak, lazy, and disappointing.

DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) Blu-ray review

Dawn of the Dead (2004) d. Snyder, Zack (USA) (3rd viewing) 110 min

“The world is in danger when a mysterious virus turns people into mindless, flesh-eating zombies. In a mall in the heartland, a handful of survivors wage a desperate, last-stand battle to stay alive ... and human!”

Sound familiar? To be fair, when Snyder’s remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 classic was first announced, the landscape was not cluttered with undead onscreen shamblers everywhere. In fact, with the exception of 28 Days Later and Resident Evil (both 2002), zombies were kind of, well, dead. But with the success of this worthwhile reboot, which in turn sparked Romero’s own return to the fray (for better or worse) with Land of the Dead later the following year, the stage was set for all manner of rotters, microbudget to blockbuster, and the face of horror would never be the same.