Director: Alexandre Aja
Cast: Juno Temple, Daniel Radcliffe, Max Minghella, Heather Graham
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 120 minutes
Synopsis: In the aftermath of his girlfriend’s mysterious death, a young man named Ig (Daniel Radcliffe), awakens to find strange horns sprouting from his temples. Naturally, the locals see this as a sign of his guilt and reason that the Devil has claimed him. But there’s an intriguing side effect.
Upon initial inspection, HORNS may seem like a slightly off-kilter career choice for the former boy wizard Daniel Radcliffe. After spending ten years in Hogwarts with his fellow witches and wizards, many Potter fans would no doubt be delighted to see the British actor take on a far more family-friendly role. However, it is with great relief that I can say…Mr Radcliffe has most certainly shed his invisibility cloak for good with this deliciously twisted fantasy horror. Of course, it does take a little while to get used to his slightly strange American accent, but after a few minutes it becomes very easy to forget that the talented star was even born on our very own native soil.
HORNS is based on the gothic crime thriller of the same name written by Joe Hill. Although, I will admit that I have no prior knowledge of the cult-favourite novel, however Alexandre Aja’s big screen adaptation is definitely one of the most darkly amusing films you will watch this year. The French director of THE HILLS HAVE EYES and PIRANHA 3D brings a uniquely striking visual style to the film, which blends perfectly with Keith Bunin’s quite frankly disturbing screenplay. Having said that, HORNS is also quite hilarious at various points throughout the film’s extensive two hour run time. Despite this however, there are more than a few scenes that may confuse and/or disturb many viewers not expecting to witness multiple scenes of a graphic sexual nature, as well as some brutal violence towards the film’s climax.
One thing that should also be pointed out, is that HORNS does struggle immensely with the different genres it has classed itself under. It is possible that Bunin and Aja may have bitten off more than they could chew in terms of the narrative, themes and symbolism throughout the film. After all, it is very rare that any film can juggle four different genres at once, which results in some quite jarring switches in tone from comedy, to romantic drama, to gothic horror within a mere few minutes. This is something that is not always as effective as it is likely intended to be. Which means that, HORNS could have easily sliced off twenty minutes of its extremely long running time (leaving out some of the more unnecessary plot points), but you have to admire the ambition that went into the final product. Oddly enough, the film actually ends up representing a slightly more twisted, supernatural version of David Fincher’s GONE GIRL in many ways, which is certainly not a bad thing.
With all the dark horror’s flaws however, it should be stated now that there is a lot to love about HORNS. There are some fantastic scenes that demonstrate Radcliffe’s brilliant acting, alongside Aja’s keen eye for unique and engaging biblical imagery. One sequence in particular that comes to mind is the highly advertised scene in which Ig asks a group of reporters to fight for an interview with himself. I can firmly say that, the trailers certainly do not do this brilliant scene justice, and in fact, it is even more twisted up in the actual film than the promotional material would suggest. To top it off, the strangely entertaining sequence of mad violence is accompanied by Marilyn Manson’s beautifully heavy rendition of ‘Personal Jesus’, which is more than enough to justify the ticket price in my mind.
It also seems that, if Radcliffe’s superb, radically-transformed image wasn’t enough, Juno Temple (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, MALEFICENT) has finally found the breakout role she so desperately deserves. Temple portrays the shy, innocent and mysterious Merrin effortlessly in the film, and even manages to deliver some truly heart-breaking dialogue at the conclusion of the third act when the big twist is revealed.
Overall, HORNS is by no means perfect, but it is an incredibly unique black comedy that will disturb, entertain, surprise and engage audiences across the globe. The gloriously dark and ridiculously sexually-charged drama, will also shed an interesting light on human nature and the burden of desire…something humanity seems to forget sometimes. On another note, Alexandre Aja should really be directing more with his great sense of unique and shocking visual imagery and style a firm highlight.
[usr=3] HORNS is out now in the UK.
