Cornes

Well this was pretty good, although it wasn't quite what I expected. It's not a horror movie, for those going into it expecting it to be. The backbone of it is a murder mystery but there are supernatural elements added to it, as well as a good bit of humor. The mystery part isn't the greatest. I figured out who the killer was immediately with little effort. I can only imagine most other viewers will, as well. But the other stuff with the horns and the way they make people act provides for some nice dark comedy. I was impressed with Daniel Radcliffe, although he needs to keep working on his accent. His pronunciation is a little too pointed at times. Juno Temple is always great to watch. Wish she was in this more. The rest of the cast is solid. Nice to see Heather Graham in a small but fun role. It's a good movie. It's not without flaws but it is pretty original and not pretentious, which is a rarity these days. Goes on a little longer than necessary but I was never bored. I liked the ending, too.

The titles says it all. The first half of the movie was great, the second half was less good and the last 15 minutes were terribly bad, so bad actually that it if you'd watch it with friends it could be entertaining again. Thus, I'm torn with my rating. If they'd made the second half of the movie as good as the first half, it would've been easily a 8. However, with that ending, I get why people rated it a 5 or 6.

Daniel Radcliffe has come a long way since his stint as a wizard, and "Horns" is a great vehicle for him to continue to grow as an actor and expand his presence to those in the audience who gave the little Potter-head a miss.

Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, has crafted a tale here I can honestly say as far as I know, has never been done, and that's always a good start. The concept is fun, full of surprises, and never dulls.

The problem I am finding with great premises is that it's very hard to fully utilise them, to drain them for everything they are worth, and that is where Horns loses ratings; it could have pushed the boundaries in the fun department just a little bit more, but then, in hindsight, doing that risks spoiling some of the darker elements littered throughout the narrative.

It is a violent film at times, but if you can grow some horns and stomach a few graphic scenes, then you may enjoy it.

In a small town, Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) is accused by the inhabitants of killing his sweetheart Merrin Williams (Juno Temple). Even his parents believe that he is guilty and only his childhood friend and lawyer Lee Tourneau (Max Minghella) believes Ig is telling the truth. Out of blue, Ig sees horns sprouting on his forehead, but soon he finds that the horns are a blessing since people confess their sins and inner dark desires to him. Ig uses the horns to discover who the killer of his beloved girlfriend is.

"Horns" is a weird and mesmerizing movie that entwines several genres. The plot is unique and anything can happen in this original story. The conclusion could be better but does not totally disappoint. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Amaldiçoado" ("Cursed")

Note: On 06 July 2023, I saw this film again.

Horns is the latest film from Alexandre Aja, the French director responsible for such films as High Tension and the Maniac remake. He also made a very memorable remake of The Hills Have Eyes, which demonstrates that this guy really knows his stuff. Unfortunately along with the good he has also served up some mediocre stuff as well. Although Horns isn't a bad film, it is still well below what this guy is capable of. My problem with Horns lies in the characters! Their interactions with each other never really felt authentic and really took me out of the emotion that the film needed for it to carry. Therefore, as a result of lack of sympathy, the moments where the main character and his love come on screen, i was constantly looking at how much time was left in the movie. Having said this, the movie doesn't come without positives. I thought it was very funny in places and there is a moment of gore, but fans of Alexandre Aja, expecting a blood bath, will be disappointed. Lack of gore wouldn't have been a problem if the story worked on an emotional level, but sadly it didn't. Overall, Horns is very creative, but it lacked the interest it needed to succeed!