The Horror Show
Horns
by Alexandre Aja
Based on the novel by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son) Horns is a strange, yet delightful film full of dark humor, betrayal, and murder.
It all starts when the beautiful and innocent Merrin (Juno Temple) is murdered, and everyone seems to think her long-time boyfriend Ig (Daniel Radcliffe) is to blame. From the get-go you know in your heart that there is no way Ig could have murdered his one true love in cold blood, and so the movie takes us on an adventure, flashing back and forth from past to present, revealing minor details of the character’s lives that could quite possibly put anyone in the killer’s shoes.
There are a lot of biblical references in Horns and it’s no secret that Merrin and her father are both deeply spiritual, as is Ig. From “Eve’s Diner” to each character’s different license plate numbers, it was a nice touch to see the different biblical “easter eggs” hidden throughout the film.
Ig wakes up the morning (after a drunken, wild night with a childhood friend) with horns on his head. Everyone can see the horns, but no one is shocked by them as Ig is. One by one, each person Ig interacts with begins confessing their darkest thoughts to him, leading Ig to the realization that the horns are in fact a blessing, and so he sets off to find Merrin’s real murderer.
The confessions are often laugh-out-loud hilarious and the acting by everyone in this film was fantastic. The film was a bit long (a full two hours) but once you hit the end you accept that every minute of the film was necessary in order to get the full picture and truly understand. This is the first film I have seen Daniel Radcliffe in since he’s broken away from being simply known as “Harry Potter”. I think he did a phenomenal job portraying a distressed American adult. (Ya know, since everyone knows him as the young, British wizard.)
If you’re worried that there might not be enough horror or gore in the film, fret no longer. Once you get into the real meat and potatoes of the plot and the story starts to unwind, there will be plenty of betrayal, plenty of horror, and plenty of gore in such a small portion, that it will make up for all the times that there weren’t. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, there are the comedic moments that make the film worthwhile.
Horns is definitely one of those films you’ll want to pay attention to while you watch or you might miss an important detail or piece of the puzzle causing you to miss the whole point of the film. If you like your horror movies to make you laugh and make you think, then I’d definitely recommend Horns for you.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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