After graduating from the magical confines of Harry Potter, it would have been easy for Daniel Radcliffe to simply sit back and continue to do what's familiar. Instead we've seen quite the unpredictable streak; embracing his dark side in the Gothic horror The Woman in Black, playing Beat Generation writer Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, and even venturing into traditional rom-com territory in What If. Horns brings Radcliffe back into the realm of the supernatural, but also into territory he's never tread: film noir, dark comedy, and Greek tragedy.
Directed by Alexandre Aja based on the devilishly fun novel by Joe Hill,
Horns is a gear shift not only for Radcliffe, but for the filmmaker as well. Aja
has mostly kept busy in the horror genre, but has never really planted a flag
in a specific style. So a psychotically tense film like High Tension
feels nothing like the goofy, exploitative Piranha, which doesn't come
close to resembling The Hills Have Eyes. His diverse ability makes Aja
perhaps the most obvious choice to handle an odd mix of tones, although the
results are a little bit messy in execution.
Radcliffe is Ig Parrish, the suspect in the rape and murder of his
girlfriend Merrin, played by Juno Temple in yet another role that finds her as
the surreal object of desire. The small-town residents all hate Ig with a
passion and believe he's gotten away with the crime; even the local media has
him pegged as the killer. But Ig insists he's innocent, drowning himself in
alcohol and vowing to avenger Merrin's death by finding the true killer by any
means necessary. And as if his prayers had been answered, the following morning
sees him waking up with two magical horns sprouting from his head that force
others to confess their deepest, darkest sins. Here is where Aja seems most
comfortable, indulging in the bizarre and comical side of Ig's investigation
into his newfound powers. Basically, Ig brings out the worst in everybody. A
hateful bartender wants to burn his own bar to the ground; a pair of cops
reveal their deep passion for one another; and a gaggle of news reporters break
out into a pier six brawl just to get a scoop. Even Ig's twitchy musician
brother (Joe Anderson) is susceptible, but his altruistic childhood friend Lee
(Max Minghella) is strangely immune. The townsfolk's deep-rooted
revelations only get weirder by the encounter, and soon Ig has thrown
everything and everyone into chaos. Perhaps it's due to our affinity for
Radcliffe, but Ig remains a sympathetic character despite his clear enjoyment
of the damage he's causing. Or more likely it's because the people he meets are
so depraved. Heather Graham is terrific as a fame-whoring waitress who lied to
the cops about Ig just so she could get on the news. These people deserve
whatever they get, but does Ig deserve to give it to them? The screenplay by
Keith Bunin teases but barely considers Ig's use of his satanic gifts.
It's as Aja transitions into serious mode that things get a little messy.
Through Ig's drunken flashbacks we're treated to what amounts to a whimsical,
nostalgic romance, and while it's beautifully shot it doesn't conform to the
dark tidings of the present. As Ig learns more and begins closing in on the
suspect, he understandably grows more demonic with rage, and the film begins to
embrace its horror aspects fully. But it can't completely escape the silliness
of what came before, except during the truly heartbreaking scenes with Merrin's
distraught father (David Morse), who believes his daughter was murdered by the
man she loved. Plenty of sinister revelations are to come, and numerous
red herrings are thrown out, but other than Ig few of the suspects are
interesting enough to be compelling. That's not a knock on the performances,
which are solid all around. This is Radcliffe's show, though, and it's
genuinely fun to watch him in something this weird that is clearly aiming for
mature audiences. Not only does he drop a lot of F-bombs, he does some truly
heinous things that are very un-Harry Potter. With his scruffy beard and sullen
eyes, Radcliffe looks like a man who has lost love only to find sadness and
rage, and it's a tragic side to the actor that we've rarely had a chance to
see. He's great here, but these Horns just aren't as sharp as they could have been.
Rating: 3 out of 5
For more, check out my interview with Alexandre Aja here! Horns is available now On Demand!
