Review: Horns
When his girlfriend Merrin is found murdered, Ignatius Perrish becomes Suspect No. 1 in the eyes of everyone in the community of Gideon Bay, including his own family. But that soon becomes the least of his problems in Horns.
Stricken by grief and fueled by anger over the fact that no one believes he didn't do it, Ig throws in the towel mentally, turning to alcohol and one-night stands to blunt his emotional pain. Everyone thinks I'm the devil, so I might as well act the part, becomes his personal mantra in a literal sense.
One morning after a particularly raucous bender, Ig wakes up with a throbbing pain in his head. But it's not the after-effects of booze that's making his head ache; rather, he looks in the mirror to discover the onset of horns beginning to break through the flesh on his temple.
Ig's horns serve as a sort of visual truth serum for the people he comes into contact with. People in his presence are compelled to confess to Ig their deepest, most private fears and lamentations, which result in some sincerely funny - and sad - encounters.
After getting over the initial shock of his new-found power, Ig decides to use his gift (or curse) for good to figure out who really killed Merrin. Story-wise, director Alexandre Aja's (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes remake) film adaption of Joe Hill's entertaining novel is largely faithful to the source material. But the film version feels more like a black comedy than the novel, which possesses a darker, more serious tone in my eyes despite the absurdity of Ig's situation.
The film's comedic tone works, thanks in large part to Daniel Radcliffe, who brings an earnest and hopeful sensibility to his portrayal of Ig. In the novel, Ig had a more brooding quality to him.
The screen version also takes on a more fantastical hue than the novel due to its beautiful cinematography, which uses the rich, earthy colors of the Pacific Northwest setting to its advantage.
But while Horns gets many things right, it also has its weak spots. Aside from Ig, few of the supporting characters stand out in the film. And the film's flashback scenes that tell story of Merrin and Ig's relationship veer at times into Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory.
Overall, Aja's directing and Radcliffe's acting give fans of Hill's novel enough reason to check out the film, which also offers enough heart to rope in those new to the story.
Rating: R
Year: 2014
Running time: 123 minutes
Score: 3/5
Horns is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video and iTunes. It will be released in theaters on Oct. 31.













