Horns is an adaptation of a Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son) book, which I have not read yet. Ig, a young man played by Daniel Radcliffe is the town’s hated pariah after he is suspected of murdering Merrin, his beloved girlfriend played by Juno Temple. One morning, he awakens from a drunken stupor with horns on his head with even more unexpected results. He decides to find out who killed his girlfriend. As the story unfolds, Horns has a parallel narrative that shows the day he met his girlfriend until the day that she is killed.
Horns is an undeniably beautiful and lush movie to watch. Horns really embraced the Edenic imagery. Unfortunately the mixed visual Biblical metaphors in Horns were dissonant. Is Ig Adam or Lucifer/Satan? Apparently Horns does not make us choose, but it takes a neat concept then abandons any internal logic in the story, which I found frustrating. Horns may not be a comic book adaptation, but when creating an anti-hero with powers in a real world situation, the story needs to have an internal logical framework that is either already known to the audience or unfolds and is explained clearly to the audience. I don’t care how he got his powers nor do I need them explained to me, but I do not think that the filmmakers knew.
Horns’ parallel narrative structure is effective, but the flashbacks are more interesting than the present story though the present story has its charms when it initially establishes what one of Ig’s powers then runs with it. The shocking scene with his parents is devastating, but it loses its punch with every new participant though it is necessary to move the story forward. Some powers get tacked on too late, and other powers should have been foreshadowed earlier. Some powers seem flashy, but not particularly useful, especially considering the denouement.
When one character appears, I suspected that person was the murderer. After one early flashback, I was certain, which took the narrative tension out of the present story and made me feel like Horns was dragging. Horns did manage to shock me again near the end of the movie during one flashback when I began to wonder if Ig was a reliable narrator.
There is some controversy about Merrin’s murder scene. I thought it was well done, but trigger warning because brief and not graphic (sexual) violence. By her screaming, “It is me,” I feel like it is the one time in the entire movie where even looking through the eyes of a demented psycho, the audience sees the unidealized, real Merrin who is just living her life and dealing with a crapload of problems, but these guys keep tossing their agendas on her, benignly or malignantly, and worrying about she will fulfill their desires. Meanwhile she just wants to live and is the saddest character in Horns because she is never seen as a real person.
If you are a huge Daniel Radcliffe fan, Horns is one of the better movies that he appears in since Harry Potter (never see The Woman in Black). Because I saw Juno Temple in Killer Jo and Cracks, I initially thought it could be a Gone Girl scenario (which I haven’t seen), but I was mistaken. Kelli Garner is unrecognizable, but kills at stealing scenes. I wanted more James Remar and Kathleen Quinlan because they are fabulous, but it was not necessary for the story line. I feel like Heather Graham was too famous for her role. I am a huge David Morse fan.
Horns is a well-crafted visual masterpiece, but the story drags and loses tension. If you don’t mind and adore someone in the cast, check out Horns, but it is not required viewing for fans of anti-heroes with powers.