By Rodrigo Valverde/reporter
With the Harry Potter films over, movie fans can look forward to seeing the range Daniel Radcliffe has as he starts branching out into different projects.
Radcliffe stars in Alexandre Aja’s latest film, Horns, a dark fantasy thriller based on Joe Hill’s novel of the same name. Aja is known for directing horror movies, and this movie definitely has elements of horror in it but not enough to be put in that specific genre.
The film follows Radcliffe’s character Ignatius “Ig” Perrish who is accused of raping and murdering his longtime girlfriend Merrin, played by Juno Temple. With Ig trying to prove his innocence, he’s finding it difficult to do so with news reporters blaming him because he was supposedly the last person with Merrin.
Shortly after Merrin’s death, Ig wakes up one morning with horns growing out of his forehead, granting him supernatural powers that make people reveal things about themselves that they would otherwise keep to themselves. For example, Ig’s parents reveal they are disappointed and that they wish he wasn’t their son. He eventually embraces his new powers and tries to find out who murdered Merrin.
The film intrigues the audience in the beginning because the premise is interesting. But the film has tonal shifts throughout where it gets comical, dark and even dramatic. Then by the time the last 30 minutes come around and everything starts to unravel and becomes clear, the film gets silly and loses the audience.
Flashback scenes serve as character development and work well, but how and why Ig got his horns in the first place is never explained. But some scenes serve no purpose to the story.
The best part of the movie, by far, is the acting. Radcliffe gives a strong performance that will make audience members forget he was ever Harry Potter. Temple and the rest of the supporting cast are also solid in this film, keeping it relatively entertaining to watch.
Overall, many aspects of the film will keep viewers invested, but it’s not one they will remember for a long time.
Horns is playing in limited release. It’s not worth the full price of admission, but it is one that would be worthwhile as a rental or a wait for a Netflix or cable release.
