Writer, director and producer James Gunn, who brought audiences the first two blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy films, now produces Columbia Pictures’ new horror thriller felt Brightburn: Son of Evil.

Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) in Screen Gems’ BRIGHTBURN.

In Brightburn: Son of Evil, a child from another world crash-lands on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister.

“I love this movie because it is an entirely new take on the superhero genre,” Gunn says. “It is something we have never seen before. It’s coming at the superhero movie from a pure horror angle. It’s also a more honest way of coming at the superhero myth because there’s something terrifying about the idea of a super-powered alien that would come to Earth. Tori thinks her son is going to bring glory to the world and help us, but that’s not necessarily the case. In every way we watch this movie, he is a ghost, he’s a demon child, and we treated the movie exactly like that.”

Adds producer Simon Hatt: “Taking superhero movies into the horror genre was something that hadn’t been done before and something that people wanted to see. We as a group have had a ton of experience with superhero movies. What we’re doing here is taking a movie that has superhero DNA and merging that with the horror genre—bodies hanging from walls, bloody guts everywhere. There’s so much fun to be had in being scared. That’s why the genre continues to be as popular as it is.”

Directing Brightburn: Son of Evil is David Yarovesky who had stepped behind the camera to direct with Gunn the “Guardians of the Galaxy: Inferno” music video send-up featuring David Hasselhoff, and his credits also included the creepy sci-fi horror thriller The Hive about a man with no memory who must recall his past before succumbing to a deadly parasite.

“He has a real sense for horror, for the musicality of horror, how the beats work, how you set up a jump scare, how you get people frightened while they’re watching the scene,” James Gunn says of Yarovesky. “It’s fantastic watching him work. I’ve always known Dave as an incredibly insightful smart guy who also does his homework. He probably watched a thousand horror movies before this. He can take them apart and piece them back together in a way. He knows logically what he’s doing.”

TOKYO, JAPAN – DECEMBER 18: Film director James Gunn is seen upon arrival at Haneda Airport on December 18, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jun Sato/GC Images)

“I, like many people, grew up watching superhero movies and fantasizing about what it would be like to have super powers,” Yarovesky says. “When I imagined it, it was always so much darker than what I see in movies. I wanted to make something that was closer to my heart. I wanted to go all in on scary.”

In Philippine cinemas May 29, Brightburn: Son of Evil is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

About Brightburn: Son of Evil

What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister?

After a difficult struggle with fertility, Tori Breyer’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 (Jackson A. Dunn) nears puberty, a powerful darkness manifests 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 a sleepy Kansas town.

With Brightburn: Son of Evil, producer James Gunn, the visionary filmmaker behind Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither, presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.

An unforgettable, R-rated origin story unlike any ever seen before, Screen Gems’ Brightburn: Son of Evil stars acclaimed actress and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect 2), David Denman (The Office), Jackson A. Dunn (Shameless), Matt Jones (Mom, NCIS) and Meredith Hagner (Younger). The film is directed by David Yarovesky (The Hive) and written by Brian Gunn & Mark Gunn (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island).