Horns (2013) - Halloween Extravaganza Part 2!

Horns (2013) is not your average film. There is a lot of black humor to this horror/mystery about a man who has been accused by his entire small town of murdering his girlfriend. Things are so dire for our protagonist (played masterfully by Daniel Radcliffe) that he isn't even sure if he is innocent. But things really start getting interesting when he wakes up one morning to find that he has started to grow horns on his head. All of a sudden, his loved ones and neighbors start telling him about their deepest secrets and darkest desires...and asking his permission to do bad things.

Our hero has fallen from grace. His love made him an angel with happiness and purpose, but once she is gone, that angel falls. Now he gives in to sin by spending his days fall down drunk. It is when he decides to find out what really happened that he starts to find some purpose again. There are definitely quiet a few metaphors to this film, but they do not bog it down with pretentiousness.

Dan Radcliffe does an excellent job as our grief stricken anti-hero. There is no mistaking that Harry Potter has definitely left the building by now. And making this film even more special, it is helmed by Alexandre Aja who unleashed the amazing High Tension on the world in 2003 and followed it up with a well done remake of The Hills Have Eyes in 2006. Of course it all comes down to the source material and Joe Hill is one of the greatest names in modern horror fiction.

The only films that came to mind while watching Horns were Gone Girl (2014) and John Dies in the End (2012). All three movies are based on ground-breaking fiction that find unconventional ways to keep the audience on their toes. Coincidentally, I saw all of these without reading the books and am so happy that I did. In all honesty, Joe Hill is the only one of the three authors that I was already reading and I can say I have thoroughly enjoyed everything of his I have read. For those not in the know on this one, Hill's famous Dad is none other than horror icon Stephen King, but I have always loved Hill's ability to strike his own path, away from his father's footsteps. I will say though that when you see the behind the scenes docs on the Blu-Ray, it is hard to deny the resemblance.

So if you love quirky, oddball movies that have a bizarre sense of humor and a grim take on reality, I think you will enjoy Horns!

imdb listing for Horns

Horns Official Trailer