Horns

Well this was pretty good, although it wasn't quite what I expected. It's not a horror movie, for those going into it expecting it to be. The backbone of it is a murder mystery but there are supernatural elements added to it, as well as a good bit of humor. The mystery part isn't the greatest. I figured out who the killer was immediately with little effort. I can only imagine most other viewers will, as well. But the other stuff with the horns and the way they make people act provides for some nice dark comedy. I was impressed with Daniel Radcliffe, although he needs to keep working on his accent. His pronunciation is a little too pointed at times. Juno Temple is always great to watch. Wish she was in this more. The rest of the cast is solid. Nice to see Heather Graham in a small but fun role. It's a good movie. It's not without flaws but it is pretty original and not pretentious, which is a rarity these days. Goes on a little longer than necessary but I was never bored. I liked the ending, too.

Horns is the latest film from Alexandre Aja, the French director responsible for such films as High Tension and the Maniac remake. He also made a very memorable remake of The Hills Have Eyes, which demonstrates that this guy really knows his stuff. Unfortunately along with the good he has also served up some mediocre stuff as well. Although Horns isn't a bad film, it is still well below what this guy is capable of. My problem with Horns lies in the characters! Their interactions with each other never really felt authentic and really took me out of the emotion that the film needed for it to carry. Therefore, as a result of lack of sympathy, the moments where the main character and his love come on screen, i was constantly looking at how much time was left in the movie. Having said this, the movie doesn't come without positives. I thought it was very funny in places and there is a moment of gore, but fans of Alexandre Aja, expecting a blood bath, will be disappointed. Lack of gore wouldn't have been a problem if the story worked on an emotional level, but sadly it didn't. Overall, Horns is very creative, but it lacked the interest it needed to succeed!

I think Daniel Radcliffe has damaged his career, he IS Harry Potter he took a role made it his own and it is now very difficult to see him as anything else.

When I heard about this R rated title of his I had little interest but knew one day I'd get around to it. What I didn't realise was just how much I was going to enjoy it.

Horns is nothing particularly special, but it has it's merits and I can confidently say I walked away satisfied with what I had watched.

With a fantastic cast, a gripping storyline and a really quite neat ending I'm not entirely convinced Radcliffe will break free of the Potter curse but this was a good start.

The Good:

Excellent story

Juno Temple

David Morse

The Bad:

The "Potter" curse was certainly present

Things I learnt from this movie:

Where Is My Mind? is officially on every movies soundtrack

Juno Temple is allergic to clothing

I'm a sucker for originality and for movies that try do something different. I get sick and tired of seeing the same thing over and over again and wish more filmmakers would take a chance instead doing the same old things. "Horns" is probably one of the most original movies I have ever seen and I loved that about it. It combines so many different movie genres into one fun, crazy, heart felt story that unfortunately is not going to be for everyone.

Right off the bat I could tell I was going to enjoy this. It starts off as what looks to be your run of the mill thriller flick then quickly spirals into some incredibly out there. Once the Horns are introduced things just take a shift into the bizarre, and I loved that. There are some truly hilarious and insane scenes. The film does a nice job of being cleverly light and rather dark at the same time.

The acting was excellent. Daniel Ratcliffe does a great job of being American, it was weird to hear him without the accent at first but he does such a good job that I eventually completely forgot that he was even British. The rest of the supporting cast did a great job, all the characters were extremely interesting and well written so that may have had something to do with it.

Overall I really enjoyed this. It definitely isn't for everybody and has a pretty long run time of 2 hours so I could see people getting bored with it if it isn't exactly there thing. But if you want to see something that you haven't seen before, something that tries to be original but not too overly artsy, something with heart then I suggest giving this a try.

8/10

In a small town, Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) is accused by the inhabitants of killing his sweetheart Merrin Williams (Juno Temple). Even his parents believe that he is guilty and only his childhood friend and lawyer Lee Tourneau (Max Minghella) believes Ig is telling the truth. Out of blue, Ig sees horns sprouting on his forehead, but soon he finds that the horns are a blessing since people confess their sins and inner dark desires to him. Ig uses the horns to discover who the killer of his beloved girlfriend is.

"Horns" is a weird and mesmerizing movie that entwines several genres. The plot is unique and anything can happen in this original story. The conclusion could be better but does not totally disappoint. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Amaldiçoado" ("Cursed")

Note: On 06 July 2023, I saw this film again.