Dave Cliffe’s: Horns

Published October 17, 2014 | By Folklore

“It takes a man to make a devil”, said American Congregationalist, Henry Ward Beecher. Which I think is quite fitting for Daniel Radcliffe’s venture into post-Potter territory, in that he is finally showing his true range of abilities as a maturing actor, but also in that it is rather apt for his character’s befallen trajectory, called ‘Ig’ (imp-like hey?!) in Alexandre Aja’s new fantasy horror, Horns.

Set in what seems to be a town on the America/Canadian border (the vistas of mountain forests and lakes are an awesome backdrop, reminded me actually of Twin Peaks), the story begins with Ig, the number one suspect for the rape and murder of his childhood sweetheart, Merrin, played by Juno Temple. Waking up after a hard night on the medicine, Ig awakens to find horns growing out of his forehead, which he then soon realises that he has adopted the powers of making people confess their sins, but also give in to their ineffable impulses. With his new found powers, Ig decides to use them to help him uncover the truth behind his girlfriend’s death, moreover, seek revenge for those who committed these heinous crimes.

It’s refreshing to see some modern teenage movie superstars, such as Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson, mature out of their mega franchises, into more dynamic and effective actors. Now, I believe that the reason behind why these A-list teen heartthrobs have become more competent and skilful with their profession is that of their choice of directors to work with. Now, Pattinson has done rather well working alongside David Michod for The Rover 2014 (see my review) and for working twice with horror-body legend David Cronenberg, both for Cosmopolis (2012) and his latest work Maps to the Stars (2014), which I also recently saw and was quite impressed by. And now, it seems that Radcliffe is following suite, working alongside, in this case, modern horror maestro, Alexandre Aja. Now, although I had not read Joe Hill’s hit novel prior to viewing the film, I was eagerly anticipating what I was going to see, as I was interested to see what Aja could get out of Radcliffe, as I am a huge fan of his brutal sophomore feature, Haute Tension aka Switchblade Romance (2003)- for me, one of the best modern horror films. So, with Aja’s visceral and gory take on storytelling, Hill’s bestselling novel and Radcliffe’s newfound approach, I was looking forward to something special. So, did it meet my expectations?

Radcliffe strongly portrays a tortured and misunderstood soul with nuance and conviction; for me, his finest film performance yet.

It was about 30 minutes into Horns that I realised my expectations of the narrative and tone of the film where a little different from what I had imagined, however, this did not affect my appreciation for the film, it just went in a different tonal direction (the film’s tones have been an issue for some, but it didn’t affect my viewing experience). Based on the initial reading of the premise and the expectations of Aja’s approach to horror, I was expecting something a lot more nihilistic and disquieting in execution; blood and guts, shock and horror, you know, the usual horror fair. But what I found was a film with moments of tenderness and sensibility, along with some genuinely funny scenes. Yes, the film has some shocking moments of violence and horror, but often these are contextualised in either a humorous or compassionate way, and although I at first wished that it had taken a more brutal and shocking approach (come on it’s the devil!), I soon came to invest in and relish the mysterious story, the comedic moments and the characters involved.

Now, the character of Ig is a great new modern take on the devil with horns in film; Radcliffe strongly portrays a tortured and misunderstood soul with nuance and conviction; for me, his finest film performance yet. Even his accent isn’t too bad. Aja’s direction is ambitious, assured and seamless, as he is able to get the most out of his actors’ performance, but also presents a film with such visual flare; captivating in some scenes, menacing in others. Aja also shows how he is able to balance the darkness of the evil with scenes of hilarity and warmth, without being too saccharine in output. Where I do feel Aja could have been more prominent in his direction was that he could have been a little more edgy and bloodthirsty in scenes of horror; for some this may not apply, but often, Aja is at his creative best when pushing the boundaries of gruesomeness. Paradoxically, on reflection, if Aja had taken more of a shocking approach to the material, then it may not have had the balance of horror, comedy and romance; gore-heavy horror may dissolved the nature and effect of the romance and empathy for key characters in the story. Some have argued that tonally, the film is not consistent enough, as it is muddled in its delivery, and that the mystery isn’t captivating enough. For me, I did not find this an issue, as the characters and their performances, along with some great set-pieces, hooked me in.

Okay, the film contains the usual sub-genre tropes of the devil-on-earth scenario, such as the 666 symbolism, the hellish-red lighting and props, such as the devil’s fork, however, this did not affect my viewing experience; such tropes were visual references, but also served a purpose in the story. Additionally, some have stated that the last twenty minutes or so of the film are a little messy, which okay this may be true, as the first hour or so is more tightly-executed. But for me, the film’s USPs are the moments when Ig flexes his devilish persuasive ways on characters in the film; they are wicked and funny in execution- I just wish there had been more of these scenes.

Yes, for many-a-viewer, suspension of disbelief is needed to really enjoy the film (Why does he have horns? Why the powers?), but this should not be an issue, as the film is very much like a distorted Grimm fable- it is the themes and ideas that are at the forefront.
It could be argued that the film could have worked just as a romantic mystery dramedy on its own, and without the horror elements, which may have been just as affective; however, it may not have been as memorable or as idiosyncratic in style and approach. Aja may have tried to juggle too many genres at once, but he must be praised for his ambitious approach. For me, the film can be enjoyed in two ways; if you are a horror fan, there is enough twisted humour and darkness to captivate you, while for others there is a dramatic mystery to enjoy. But for those who are like me, who like to see a refreshing take on a popular sub-genre, I was both pleasantly surprised and entertained by the devil’s antics in this case.