Entertaining and at times even silly, Horns is a fun blend of comedy, horror, and fantasy. It’s also quite edgy and visually impactful. I mean, seeing Daniel Radcliffe grow horns is something that stays with you. So, yes, I guess we have to talk about Mr. Potter a bit. First of all, I have to say that by now he proved that he’s one of the greats and not just a one-hit-wonder. One franchise wonder, to be more precise. And although this is also a fantasy movie, it’s quite darker than Harry Potter and as such allowed Daniel to show a much wider range of emotions. And finally, the trick Mr. Potter is not minding that it hurts.
Horns is also a mystery movie as we keep wondering what the fuck happened and who’s the murderer. It’s based on a novel of the same name written by Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son. So, you know the story is going to be quite good. The director is Alexandre Aja who after his breakout movie Haute Tension specialized in this commercially entertaining with a dark side sub-genre. Piranha 3D, Crawl, and Mirrors were all very fun movies albeit offering nothing new. This is where Horns is different as it features quite an extraordinary story.
Ig Perrish is in a lot of trouble. He is hated, threatened, and stalked every day of his life because he’s the prime suspect in the murder and rape of poor Merrin Williams, his girlfriend. Ig claims that he didn’t do it, but people are very wicked creatures, something he’ll soon find out. It all started one morning when he woke up with horns growing out of his head. However, this is only the beginning of his problems.
Built around this one single concept, Horns successfully manages to create an engaging narrative. Oddly enough, just a couple of years later Mr. Radcliffe will find himself in another, quite similar movie. I’m talking about Guns Akimbo, more commonly known as that movie where a guy has guns bolted to his hands.
And you can feel the “Kingness” as the story inevitably goes back to a group of childhood friends growing up in a small town. The story is quite unpredictable and much funnier than I expected it to be. The special effects look amazing along with those fucking horns. So, if you’re looking for something different, check out Horns, it’s definitely worth watching.
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writers: Keith Bunin, Joe Hill
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Max Minghella, Juno Temple, James Remar, Heather Graham, David Morse
Fun Facts: The tattoo seen on Ig’s arm reads “awake arise or be forever fall’n,” which is a direct quote from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” in which Satan falls from Heaven.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1528071/
