TIFF 2013: Horns Review

Horns

Horns

Vanguard

Director: Alexandre Aja

Daniel Radcliffe delivers his best performance to date – and horror maestro Aja, his best film – with this devilishly entertaining dark comedy that seems pitched squarely at teenagers, but isn’t afraid to be as gory, sexy, or disturbing as possible.

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Framed for the murder of his one true love, Ignatius (Radcliffe) lives his life on bail constantly ducking reporters and trying to find comfort in his best friend and legal counsel (Max Minghella) and his drug and booze addled musician brother (Joe Anderson). After drunkenly pissing on and stomping a statue of the Virgin Mary, Iggy sprouts horns in the middle of his forehead that allow him to see and hear the darkest thoughts and truths of bad people, a new skill that he exploits to find his girlfriend’s killer.

Deeply funny and often strangely touching and romantic, Horns runs more than a bit long at 123 minutes, but it doesn’t feel that lengthy. Aja (High Tension, Piranha 3D) works quite inventively within the horror comedy genre, but through the use of lengthy flashbacks designed to explain characters and inform, it’s deeper than one might expect. As for Radcliffe (sporting an American accent that only flagged once as far as I could tell), he’s perfect as the confident and forlorn hero.



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