It’s been three years since the Harry Potter franchise ended with Deathly Hallows Part 2. Since then, Daniel Radcliffe has done a lot of theatrical work while remaining very choosy on which films he appears in; obviously quality is more important to him than quantity. It’s been a while since he’s done anything as big a scale as Horns, with the international successful Woman in Black in 2012 being his last multi-million dollar movie. All things considered, I think Horns was well worth the wait and proves why Daniel is still a big draw in Hollywood. Here’s my review.
Horns is written by Keith Bunin, based on the novel by Joe Hill. Horns is directed by Alexandre Aja, most known for High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes remake, and Piranha 3D. Horns is one of the few opportunities he’s had to show his softer side, and it works just as well here as his horror movies. Cast members who appear alongside Daniel Radcliffe include Max Minghella (“The Mindy Project”), Joe Anderson (“The River”), Juno Temple (Maleficent), Kelli Garner (“Pan Am”), James Remar (“Dexter”), Kathleen Quinlan (“Prison Break”), Heather Graham (“Scrubs”), David Morse (“Hack”), Nels Lennarson (Final Destination 3), and Michael Adamthwaite (“X-Men: Evolution”).
“The film follows Ig Perrish, the number one suspect for the violent rape and murder of his girlfriend, Merrin. Hungover from a night of hard drinking, Ig awakens one morning to find horns starting to grow from his own head and soon realizes their power drives people to confess their sins and give in to their most selfish and unspeakable impulses – an effective tool in his quest to discover the true circumstances of his late girlfriend’s tragedy and for exacting revenge on her killer.” – Google
The first thing I want to say is that Horns is well worth the price of purchase for its beautiful scenery alone. Endless forest paths, rolling hills and mountains, a small town tucked away in a retro state, and massive bays and rivers for fishing and lumbering. It’s homey, it’s tranquil, it’s paradise in the middle of no where…which makes it the perfect setting for a minor battle between good and evil. Of course, the natural beauty of the setting could not have been captured to perfection had it not been for the talented group of men and women working behind the scenes. I think I want to give particular acknowledgement to cinematographer Frederick Elmes, aerial DP Hans Bjerno, location scout Tim Moshansky, set decorator Shane Vieau. All of them were important pieces, along with director Alexandre Aja, that made up a very complete, scenic picture. Is there a category for this a the Oscars? I nominate Horns!
The next thing I want to address is the script from Keith Bunin, based on the novel by Joe Hill. Both adaptions of the Horns idea are so original, and take subtle steps into the realm of scifi, horror, comedy, romance, thriller, and drama. All combined, these elements make up one story that really ropes in the viewers. I’m generally not into movies that aren’t creature features, slashers, ghost stories, etc, but I didn’t mind watching Horns, which is more of a romance-thriller with sprinkles of scifi and drama. I think what I like most about the script/book is that it isn’t predictable in any shape of the word. During my viewing, I actually kind of related it to 1985’s Clue. Merrin’s murderer is kept a secret almost until the end of the movie, and as things progress from beginning to end, viewers get to see the events leading up to her rape and murder, all of which paint the characters in a new light and make you believe they played a part in her death. Yeah, that’s a good way to say it… Horns is like Clue meets The Fugitive meets The Wizard of Oz.
I loved the humanistic characteristics that are attached to the horns. As the horns grow bigger, their powers grow stronger. The horns cause people to admit their deepest, darkest secrets; act out desires that would imprison or impoverish them. They even cause Ig to have some sort of mind control, some traces of invulnerability, and complete control over all snakes. What I liked best about the horns, is that you couldn’t see them if you were a good person or protected by a spiritual force, and the horns did seem to have a defense mechanism if Ig ever tried to have them removed. Although they were inanimate to Ig, I think the viewers will see them as a lively, combative external antagonist…one that may be worse than Merrin’s killer. The other characters, every single one of them, are fantastic antagonists and protagonists, and more importantly they were showcased by impressive actors. Everyone delivered a defined, unique, and realistic performance. They were so toned down from how we are used to seeing them – same going for Alexandre Aja – that it was just a joy to watch them bring the story to life; really A grade acting chops on everyone.
This is easy for me. I’m going to give Horns a 9 out of 10. It would have been a 10 out of 10, but I felt that the last ten minutes kind of lost itself a little bit and started to verge on hokey. It was the perfect date movie, supernatraul-drama, romance-thriller wrapped in one up until that point. It’s a shame that this title isn’t getting a bigger release. It certainly deserves to be seen!
