So Your Kid Has Powers… Comparing Three Dark Superpowered Thrillers

Found Footage Friends: Chronicle

Josh Trank’s 2012 “superhero” film Chronicle is not only one of the best in the found footage genre but possibly one of the best superhero movies. Chronicle follows the lives of three teenage boys, a jock played by the terrific as always Michael B Jordan, a navel-gazing philosophy addict played by the charming Alex Russel, and a lonely nerd played frighteningly well by Dane DeHaan- the point of view for most of the movie. During a high-school party the three boys discover a mysterious hole in the ground and upon entering it, they start to gain powers of telekinesis. Found footage at first seems like an exceptionally strange choice for this sort of story but the way it’s framed works perfectly. Oftentimes characters will question the main character- DeHaan’s Andrew, about why he insists on recording everything but it’s a relatively transparent attempt to put a barrier between himself and the world that he feels so alien within. At the heart of this movie is the relationship between the three boys and this is where it’s at its best since their friendship feels very believable. Eventually, after they realize just how powerful these powers have made them, things begin to slowly but surely turn dark, however, this is best left as a surprise for any watching. Chronicle deserves far more credit than it gets today because although it made back ten times its budget and was well-liked at release, it’s fallen to the wayside in discussions of dark superhero movies, largely thanks to the next film on this roster.

What if Superman Didn’t Come Out Right: Brightburn

David Yarovesky’s Brightburn was released in 2019 and despite the hype that had built up for it, it didn’t do very well with critics or audiences. However, it’s still an interesting entry in the genre of malicious-super-powered children because it is shamelessly basing its main character on Superman. For those who don’t know: Superman’s origin is that he was sent in an escape pod as a baby away from his collapsing home planet and just happened to end up on Earth and grow to be a paragon of justice and good. However, this latter point is what Brightburn explores: what if Superman didn’t grow up to be a hero? Just like Superman, Brandon Breyer crash-landed in a pod as an infant on a farm where two kind-hearted parents took him in. Once Brandon turns twelve, he discovers his powers and it becomes clear that he has no intentions to use them to save the world from evil, rather he wishes to become that evil. What follows is a rather underwhelming thriller that is mainly enjoyable for superhero fans who have always wanted to see what kind of carnage Superman could cause if he wanted to. Where Brightburn truly falls short is in its characterization. Unlike Chronicle or the next film to be discussed, The Innocents, not only is Brandon deeply unrelatable but so are his parents and just about every character in the film, there is truly no emotional core to the film so when everyone starts dying, it doesn’t feel especially impactful. However, this is something The Innocents truly succeeds in.

Harrowing and Heartbreaking: The Innocents

Eskil Vogt’s The Innocents is one of the most impressive films to be released in the past few years for several reasons. Released in 2021, there wasn’t much mainstream attention put on this movie but it boasts a wildly gripping story, beautiful camera work, and some of the best child acting ever done. Strangely enough, another movie with amazing child acting is Jack Clayton’s The Innocents from 1961, an adaptation of The Turn of The Screw. However, despite bearing the same name, the plots are nothing alike. Vogt’s The Innocents follows four children in a Norwegian neighborhood who quickly become friends and discover that their new friend, Ben, has mild telekinesis powers. The main character Ida has a sister Anna who has non-verbal autism and powers as well, Anna befriends another girl named Aisha who can read people’s thoughts. What initially starts out as cute kids exploring their powers quickly turns into one of the most stressful and upsetting movies out there when Ben starts to show more and more darkness. There’s no doubt that part of what makes the stakes in The Innocents feel so high is the fact that it’s children being put in such a scary situation, however, instead of feeling like cheap shock value, each character is very well fleshed out and extremely well acted. Despite how dark the film gets, there are still countless moments of beauty in the scenery and the love between the main cast that keep from the experience feeling completely hopeless. As far as being a movie about powers, the abilities the children have are not explained too much, which is for the best, and they all feel very tangible- especially when used in some darker ways. Although for most of the movie, this doesn’t seem to be horror, there are some sequences that are absolutely terrifying and the third act of the movie will have viewers gripping their chairs with anxiety over what might happen next. It cannot be understated what a feat of cinema this is to not only have amazing child acting but to use that acting in a deeply engaging and effective story of love, hate, growth, and fear. 

So, Which Should You Watch?

If you’re a movie lover, of course, the answer is all three. However, it depends on what you’re looking for in a movie of this nature. Brightburn is undoubtedly the weakest of the three aforementioned movies but for those seeking a pure horror/thriller experience with plenty of gore and carnage then it will provide something new with its evil Superman set-up. For a more familiar teen hero origin experience, Chronicle should be your go-to option as its charismatic characters, fun powers, and unique presentation keep it feeling fresh even thirteen years later. Lastly, for those who want to test their nerves with a slightly more arthouse experience that will leave them trembling and thinking about the movie for days after it ends, The Innocents is near perfect. Overall, these films all provide very different experiences so you can’t go wrong checking out all three and seeing which dark story resonates with your taste in dark powers.