While Dorothy was getting her knickers in a twister from Kansas to Oz, Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) might have passed her on the way down. For he proved a literal blessing from above for Tori and Kyle Breyer (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman), a young couple with fertility issues whose prayers for a child were answered when a UFO sporting said doe-eyed babe crash-landed in their backyard.

After hiding the metallic wreck in a locked cellar under their barn, they told the world and his or her gender-neutral partner that they had adopted. And for the next decade, they were as happy as a pig in the proverbial. That is, until puberty struck like a bolt of lighting and electrified their self-described “special” and “superior” son into a caped villain hell-bent to “take the world”.

The premise by the screenwriting cousins Brian and Mark Gunn is interesting, and the charged domesticity of the opening together with the solidity of the lead performances (particularly Jackson A. Dunn) pique interest, but for a 15-rated movie the promised “strong gory injury detail” under the direction of David Yarovesky isn’t graphic or explosive enough to quicken the pulse.

“Sometimes when bad things happen to people,” says Brandon, “it’s for a good reason.” But the crimes for which his victims are punished are petty verging on negligible: a taunt in the classroom, a push in the playground, a threat to speak to his parents. More Grange Hill than Strange Hill.

Still, there’s enough to hold interest. The tension gradually mounts. The fleeting spurts of blood are squirmingly gratifying. And the promise of a more action-packed sequel beckons.

Director: David Yarovesky
Writers: Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn
Stars: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn
Peter Callaghan
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