Review of Horns (2013) by Manny C — 09 Nov 2014

Here's one that had loads of potential, that could have been a terrific mind-bender perfect for Halloween. Well, it isn't. French director Alexandre Aja (High Tension) allows his jones for cheap horror overshadow a spectacular visual style that deserves more attention.

The setting is a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest, where Daniel Radcliffe plays Ig Perrish, a local boy that everyone thinks murdered his girlfriend, Merrin (Juno Temple). Ig is prone to blackouts and hopes like hell he didn't do it, but it doesn't help that he literally grows horns and looks like a devil. Even more, those horns make everyone who comes into contact with Ig spill their deepest, darkest secrets.

Adapted from the novel by Joe Hill, Horns props Ig up as a fallen angel who brings out the worst in others, save for his lawyer and childhood friend Lee (Max Minghella). The problem is that you can see where the movie's going long before its finished. Radcliffe is all too eager to go beyond the black comedy and dig into something stranger but Aja is having none of it. Shot by master cinematographer Frederick Elmes (Blue Velvet), Horns is seething with style, but little else. Pity.