Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to watch this film so soon after watching Gone Girl considering how similar they are at the start: Both films revolve around men who’s significant others are either dead or believed dead and they know they didn’t do it and are trying to find out the truth. Even though it is there the similarities end, there is enough the same about the beginnings of the two films that the beginning of Horns just feels silly.
Ig (Daniel Radcliffe) is a wreck of a man after his girlfriend is murdered and everyone thinks he did it. As if that weren’t bad enough a few days later Ig starts growing horns out of his forehead. However, everything has a silver lining and now that Ig has these horns everyone he comes in contact with tells him not only the truth, but their deepest darkest secrets and desires. So Ig decides this new found ability to track down the real killer and clear his name.
From the novel of the same name by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King) this is a very strange movie, especially when people start reacting so drastically to Ig’s horns. At first it’s very confusing when this girl asks if she can eat all his donuts, but soon when a doctor starts having sex with his nurse instead cutting the horns off it becomes very apparent what is going on.
Radcliffe is okay in this movie. He is working an American accent here and he does a pretty solid job of it. At first her very much sounds like a British person doing an American accent, then either he improves or you just get used to it. Either way it stops being so obvious and you accept his accent for what it is.
There is a certain level of dark humor to the film that is amusing. It’s not overused, but it’s just there enough to keep the mood light and remind you how bizarre a world these characters exist in. That said it’s still a very dark movie with some very disturbing sequences.
I haven’t read the book, so I can’t compare the film to its source material, but beyond it’s strangeness, this is a pretty interesting film. It’s definitely a unique film, unlike just about anything you’ve seen before. By no means is it an amazing film, or even a great one, but it’s very enjoyable if you can get into this world that Joe Hill has created.
The film is presented in 2.39:1 widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 DTSHD-MA. surround sound. This is a pretty solid looking movie and the sound is great.
You get an The Making of Horns: (19 min.) Not a bad making of, but it made me think that everyone involved took this film way to seriously.
It’s strange seeing Harry Potter have sex and cuss, but Daniel Radcliffe is getting older and he’s going to be doing more of that in coming years so I guess we’ve got to get used to it. That said, this is still a pretty interesting movie. It starts out a little slow and awkward, but if you can get past that then you’ll most likely enjoy it.
Anchor Bay presents Horns. Written by: Keith Bunin. Directed by: Alexandre Aja. Based on the novel “Horns” by Joe Hill. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Max Minghella, Joe Anderson, David Morse and Heather Graham. Running time: 120 min. Rating: R. Released: January 6, 2015.
