Review of Horns (2013) by Nathan M — 12 Jan 2015

I'm rather shocked this movie was as widely-panned as it was. Sure, there are some issues towards the end, meaning that it goes on a little too long, but it's such a stylish horror-comedy that it was nearly impossible for me not to love it. Director Alexandre Aja seems to know exactly what kind of film he wanted to make. I've heard that many people didn't enjoy the tonal shifts in this film, but I think he handled them perfectly. I loved the visual flourishes throughout, and, although I didn't read the novel, this film seems to really bring a fantastical world to life in a realistic way.

Daniel Radcliffe leads a pretty strong cast with a pretty wonderful performance. This is a guy who continually proves that he's more than just Harry Potter, and Horns will help cement this for him. His role as the tortured boyfriend who is the number one suspect for the murder of his girlfriend, is pretty great and you really care for him. Especially when the supernatural elements of the film come into place, because he seems to really be struggling with everything he learns.

This is the kind of horror comedy that I want to see. It's not really a scary film, but it plays with so many tropes of the franchise in a way that doesn't feel like parody. Horns is made by people who love what the horror genre brings to filmmaking, and not only wants to pay homage but wants to push things forward. It could have benefited from some script editing, and from consolidating some of the ideas that Aja wanted to delve into. But on the whole, Horns is a really enjoyable horror comedy.