Movie Review – Horns

One morning Ig discovers horns protruding from his head that give him supernatural abilities. When Ig comes into contact with people, they reveal their darkest secrets and truths. As Ig embraces his deformation, he becomes more powerful and uses his ability to uncover the person responsible for killing his girlfriend, Merrin (Juno Temple).

When dissected, Horns is a mixed-bag of genres ranging from dramatic themes to dark comedy to full-on horror. The first act establishes, with convincing effect, Ig’s downward spiral from devoted companion to angry grief-stricken suspect. Rife with expository flashbacks, viewers get a glimpse into true love, friendship, jealousy and youthful recklessness. Radcliffe has matured immensely from an innocent teen wizard to Ig’s demonic caricature. The movie shines in its use of dark comedy. Ig’s powers allow him to control the minds of everyone around him, a convenient luxury for investigating the death of his lady friend. The most amusing scenes deal with the town police squad, but I won’t spoil the scene here. The least satisfying and somewhat outrageous elements deal in horror. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of the genre and Horns didn’t provide enough shock and awe to sway that opinion.

Horns isn’t breaking any new ground in any of the multiple genre’s it attempts to satisfy, but Radcliffe’s performance is is enjoyable enough to recommend the film.