Horns (film)

Last updated

Horns
Horns Official Movie Poster.jpg
Teaser poster
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Screenplay by Keith Bunin
Based on Horns
by Joe Hill
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Frederick Elmes
Edited byBaxter
Music by Robin Coudert
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 6, 2013 (2013-09-06)(TIFF)
  • October 6, 2014 (2014-10-06)
Running time
120 minutes [2]
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.9 million [3]

Horns is a 2013 dark fantasy mystery comedy horror film directed by Alexandre Aja from a screenplay written by Keith Bunin, based on the 2010 novel by Joe Hill. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as a young man falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend, who uses his newly discovered paranormal abilities to uncover the real killer.

Contents

Horns premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on October 31, 2014, to mixed reviews.

Plot

Ignatius "Ig" Perrish is the prime suspect when his girlfriend, Merrin Williams, is raped and murdered. Despite his declarations of innocence, he is shunned by the community. He visits his parents and brother, Terry, to hide from the press. After a vigil led by Merrin's father, who believes Ig to be guilty, Ig gets drunk, urinates on Merrin's memorial, and has a one-night stand with a friend. The next morning, he wakes up with a pair of horns protruding from his head. The horns have special powers that force people to tell Ig their darkest secrets and desires; at Ig's bidding, they act upon them.

While seeing his doctor about having the horns removed, Ig, under anesthesia, dreams of his childhood, when he first met Merrin. After noticing Merrin drop and break her necklace in church, a young Ig and his friends play with cherry bombs. Ig risks a dangerous dare to win a cherry bomb and nearly drowns, but is saved by Lee Tourneau, his childhood friend, who is now a lawyer. After learning that Lee has fixed Merrin's broken necklace, he gives the cherry bomb that he won to Lee in exchange for the necklace so that he can be the one to return it to Merrin. Lee loses two fingers when the cherry bomb goes off accidentally in his hand. Ig and Merrin bond over the fixed necklace and fall in love, frequenting a treehouse in the woods together.

Ig visits his parents and, under the horns' power, his mother reveals that she does not want him as her son and asks him to leave. His father tells him he is worthless without Merrin and his friend helps him burn down the lab where DNA tests were being conducted. As Ig heads to a bar, in the parking lot he goads the reporters into a brawl. He tries to find evidence proving that he did not kill Merrin from people in the bar. Several people confess their deepest and darkest secrets and the owner-bartender burns down the building to collect the insurance.

From one confession, Ig learns a new witness in the case is a waitress at the diner where Merrin broke up with him the night she died. Ig finds her and discovers she has been fabricating her stories to become famous. When Ig talks to Terry, he learns that Terry drove Merrin from the diner the night she died. When he touches Terry, Ig sees what happened that night: Merrin left the car en route to her home and ran into the woods. Terry passed out in the car and woke up the next morning with a bloody rock in his hand, finding Merrin dead under the treehouse. Afraid that he would be implicated, he fled. Infuriated, Ig assaults Terry until he is arrested by Officer Eric Hannity, who is another childhood friend. The next morning, Ig is released from jail with Lee's help. Ig notices Lee wearing Merrin's cross necklace and questions him about it. Lee insists there are things about him and Merrin that Ig never knew.

Later that night, Ig realizes snakes are following him wherever he goes and he uses them to exact vengeance against the waitress. Additionally, he gets Eric to act on his feelings for his police partner (who reciprocates his feelings) and forces Terry to overdose on drugs, causing Terry to be tormented by memories of Merrin's death. Ig meets Lee by the docks and pulls off Merrin's necklace. He realizes Lee was unable to see the horns because he was wearing the necklace. Exposed to the horns, Lee falls under their influence and admits to killing Merrin. In flashbacks, Lee was also in love with Merrin and was deeply jealous of Ig throughout their childhood. Lee followed Merrin into the woods, thinking that Merrin had been sending him signals for a long time and that she had broken up with Ig to be with him. When Merrin insisted that she loved Ig more than anyone in the world, Lee raped her in a jealous rage and killed her with a rock, stole her necklace, and planted the bloody rock on Terry. In the ensuing confrontation, Lee overpowers Ig and lights him on fire in his car, causing Ig to drive into the bay. Lee claims that Ig confessed to the crime and committed suicide. The horns allow Ig to survive, though horrifically burned and disfigured.

Merrin's father, who now believes that Ig is innocent, gives him the key to Merrin's lockbox. When Ig puts on Merrin's cross, his body is restored and the horns disappear. In the lockbox, he finds a note from Merrin explaining that she knew Ig was going to propose, but she was dying of cancer and did not want him to suffer, so she pushed him away under the pretense of loving someone else.

Ig confronts Lee and leads him into the woods where Merrin was killed. Eric and Terry arrive to arrest Lee. Lee confesses to the murder, but then gleefully kills Eric and injures Terry. Ig tears off the necklace, sprouting a pair of wings and bursting into flame, transforming into a demonic monster. Despite Lee fatally wounding him, Ig impales Lee on one of his horns and telepathically forces a snake down Lee's throat, killing him. Saying that his vengeance was all-consuming, Ig dies from his injuries and his smoldering corpse turns to hardened ash, and he appears to be reunited with Merrin in the afterlife.

Cast

Shia LaBeouf was originally set to play Ig but was later replaced with Radcliffe. [9] [10]

The band seen backing up Joe Anderson's character on lead trumpet is The Brass Action from Vancouver, British Columbia. The scene features the band's song, "The Devil Down Below". [11]

Production

Radcliffe at a panel for the film at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014 Daniel Radcliffe (14781352305).jpg
Radcliffe at a panel for the film at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014

Explaining his initial interest in the project, Alexandre Aja said "After reading Joe Hill's cult book, I couldn't resist temptation to dive into the devilish underworld and reinvent a universal myth." [12]

Principal photography started late September 2012, in British Columbia. [13] [14] The filming took place in Vancouver, Mission, Surrey and Squamish, [15] [16] completing shooting in December 2012. [15] [17]

Release

The world premiere was held at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. [18] The film was released in North America and the United Kingdom on October 31, 2014; [19] [20] however, the movie was also made available via digital download on iTunes as of October 6, 2014. [21]

The film's North American distribution rights were acquired by Dimension Films and RADiUS-TWC. [22] Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film on January 13, 2015, on DVD and Blu-ray. [23]

Reception

Box office

Horns grossed a total of $3,875,442 worldwide in 31 days of release. [3]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 123 critics' reviews have given Horns a positive review, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus says "Horns is a bit of a tonal jumble, but it offers enough thoughtful horror-comedy—and strong work from Daniel Radcliffe—to hook genre enthusiasts." [24] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [25]

Joe Hill, who wrote the novel the film is based on, praised Radcliffe's performance, calling it a "wrenching, vulnerable, emotionally naked performance that isn't like anything he's ever done on screen before. He is such a wonderful Ig Perrish". [26] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review of the film, remarking, "While this all begins as a kind of supernatural black comedy ... the tone grows darker with each revelation". [27]

The Guardian scored the film two out of five stars, calling it "a Dogma -style mash-up of grim comedy and religious satire". [28] Eric Kohn of IndieWire wrote, "Predominantly a failure of tone, "Horns" has plenty of admirable traits and yet dooms itself from the outset. It's an admirable conceit stuffed into far less subtle material." [29] Peter Debruge of Variety sensed that the film "benefits from the helmer's twisted sensibility, but suffers from a case of overall silliness." [30] Jonathan Weichsel of MoreHorror.com stated that "The cast is all around terrific, especially Daniel Radcliffe who is nothing short of phenomenal, and the set pieces are entertaining in that wild, over the top way that only horror can pull off effectively." [31]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Exorcist</i> (novel) 1971 book by William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel written by American writer William Peter Blatty and published by Harper & Row. The book details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. The novel was the basis of a highly successful Oscar-winning film adaptation released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty, for which he won an Academy Award. More movies and books were eventually added to The Exorcist franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Radcliffe</span> English actor (born 1989)

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor. He rose to fame at age 12 when he began portraying Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series. Radcliffe plays Potter in all eight films in the series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Grint</span> English actor (born 1988)

Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint is an English actor. He rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays and his local theatre group. Grint portrayed Weasley in all eight films in the series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). Since then, he has continued his work on film, television, and theatre.

Merrin Melissa Dungey is an American film and television actress, known for her roles on the television series The King of Queens, Alias, Malcolm in the Middle, Summerland, Conviction, The Resident and The Fix. She also appeared as Ursula on Once Upon a Time. From 2022 to 2023, Dungey played series regular Kam in Shining Vale.

<i>The Exorcist</i> 1973 film by William Friedkin

The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Linda Blair, and follows the demonic possession of a young girl and the attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Ashmore</span> Canadian actor (born 1979)

Shawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Bobby Drake / Iceman in the X-Men film series, Jake in the television series Animorphs, Agent Mike Weston in the television drama series The Following, Eric in the horror film The Ruins, Sam Spencer in the ABC series Conviction, Wesley Evers in the ABC series The Rookie, and Lamplighter in the Amazon Prime Video superhero series The Boys. Ashmore also plays the main character, Jack Joyce, in the 2016 video game Quantum Break, as well as Conrad in 2019's Man of Medan. For the portrayal of Terry Fox in the film Terry, Ashmore received a Gemini Award nomination. He is the identical twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelli Garner</span> American actress (born 1984)

Kelli Brianne Garner is an American actress who has appeared in a variety of independent and mainstream films, television, and theater.

<i>Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist</i> 2005 film by Paul Schrader

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 American supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader and written by William Wisher Jr. and Caleb Carr. The film serves as an alternative prequel to The Exorcist (1973) and is the fifth installment in The Exorcist series. It was intended to be the official prequel to The Exorcist before it was retooled into Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), as Morgan Creek Productions executives feared the already completed film would be unsuccessful. The film stars Stellan Skarsgård, Clara Bellar, Gabriel Mann and Billy Crawford.

<i>Maniac</i> (1980 film) 1980 American horror film by William Lustig

Maniac is a 1980 American psychological slasher film directed by William Lustig and written by C. A. Rosenberg and Joe Spinell. It stars Spinell as Frank Zito, an Italian-American serial killer residing in New York City who murders and scalps young women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Anderson (actor)</span> English actor and singer (born 1982)

Joe Anderson is an English film actor and singer best known for his work in Across the Universe, Becoming Jane, Control, The Ruins, The Crazies, Horns and as Alistair in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) and Asa Farrell in the WGN America drama series Outsiders. He also played Joseph in The Reckoning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Aja</span> French filmmaker (born 1978)

Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension. He has also directed the films The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Mirrors (2008), Piranha 3D (2010), Horns (2013) and Crawl (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hill (writer)</span> American writer (born 1972)

Joseph Hillström King, better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American writer. His work includes the novels Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013), and The Fireman (2016); the short story collections 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and Strange Weather (2017); and the comic book series Locke & Key (2008–2013). He has won awards including Bram Stoker Awards, British Fantasy Awards, and an Eisner Award.

<i>Horns</i> (novel) 2010 dark fantasy novel by Joe Hill

Horns is a 2010 dark fantasy novel by Joe Hill and is the author's second published novel. The novel also incorporates elements of contemporary fantasy, crime fiction, and Gothic fiction. It employs the third-person omniscient, nonlinear narrative in telling the story of Ig Perrish, who—in the aftermath of his girlfriend Merrin Williams' mysterious rape and murder—awakes one morning to find horns growing from his head and diabolical powers at his command. The novel consists of fifty chapters grouped into five sections of ten chapters each, named as follows: "Hell", "Cherry", "The Fire Sermon", "The Fixer", and "The Gospel According to Mick and Keith".

<i>The Loved Ones</i> (film) 2009 Australian horror film

The Loved Ones is a 2009 Australian horror film written and directed by Sean Byrne in his feature directorial debut. It stars Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, Victoria Thaine, Jessica McNamee, Richard Wilson, and John Brumpton. The film follows a teenage boy who finds himself at the mercy of a classmate's demented party after he declines her offer to attend the school dance.

<i>The Woman in Black</i> (2012 film) Film by James Watkins

The Woman in Black is a 2012 gothic supernatural horror film directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Jane Goldman. It is the second adaptation of Susan Hill's 1983 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1989. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Sophie Stuckey, and Liz White. The plot, set in early 20th-century England, follows a young recently widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorising the locals.

Joey McFarland is an American film producer and the founder of McFarland Entertainment, a content development and production company for both film and television. He was previously vice chairman of Red Granite Pictures.

The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. The genre focuses on characters' life-or-death struggles, often set against perilous circumstances. Survival films explore the human will to live, individual motivations, and personal desires, prompting audiences to reflect on broader aspects of humanity and personal values. They balance realism and believability with slow-burning suspense to maintain a sense of urgency. While some survival films may have epic scopes and lengthy running times, their effectiveness lies in creating an atmosphere where every moment poses a passive threat to the protagonist's existence.

<i>The F Word</i> (2013 film) Film by Michael Dowse

The F Word is a 2013 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Dowse from a screenplay by Elan Mastai, based on the play Toothpaste and Cigars by TJ Dawe and Michael Rinaldi, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Megan Park, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, and Rafe Spall. It focuses on two young people who meet for the first time and, since she has a boyfriend, decide to be "friends."

<i>Victor Frankenstein</i> (film) 2015 American science fantasy horror film by Paul McGuigan

Victor Frankenstein is a 2015 American science fantasy horror film based on contemporary adaptations of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. It is directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Max Landis and stars Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, and Charles Dance. The film was released by 20th Century Fox on November 25, 2015.

<i>Weird: The Al Yankovic Story</i> 2022 film by Eric Appel

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a 2022 American biographical musical parody film directed by Eric Appel, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Al Yankovic. The film is a satire on musical biopics and is loosely based on Yankovic's life and career as an accordionist and parody songwriter. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic, along with Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson in supporting roles.

References

  1. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (September 18, 2012). "VVS Films adds Spring Breakers, Horns to pipeline". Screen Daily . Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "HORNS (15)". British Board of Film Classification . September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Horns at Box Office Mojo
  4. ↑ Yaniz Jr., Robert (August 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe to Grow 'Horns' for Supernatural Thriller". screenrant.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Child, Ben (October 3, 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe takes his career by the Horns". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  6. ↑ Beard, Lanford (October 2, 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe reveals his devilish transformation in 'Horns' -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK". insidemovies.ew.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ Schwartz, Terri (October 3, 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe looks devious in first 'Horns' image". blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ Myall, Steve (October 4, 2012). "Horns of a dilemma: Daniel Radcliffe sprouts horns in new movie". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  9. ↑ Harris, Mark H. (July 17, 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe Replaces Shia LaBeouf in Horns". horror.about.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  10. ↑ Tucker, Alex (October 2, 2012). "First Look At Daniel Radcliffe in Alexandere Aja's Horns". tvfilmnews.co. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  11. ↑ Fryzuk, Tash (October 7, 2014). "Vancouver band being featured in Daniel Radcliffe movie". News1130.
  12. ↑ McNary, Dave (July 13, 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe to star in 'Horns'". Variety . Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  13. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (October 2, 2012). "Horns First Look Photo with Daniel Radcliffe". movieweb.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  14. ↑ Fischer, Russ (October 2, 2012). "Daniel Radcliffe Sports Horns in the First Image From… 'Horns'". slashfilm.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  15. 1 2 Stevens, M. (October 4, 2012). "Vancouver Film Update: "Horns", "Arrow", "Falling Skies", "Bates Motel"". sneakpeek.ca. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  16. ↑ Aun, Carol (November 8, 2012). "Radcliffe's new movie being filmed in Mission". missioncityrecord.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  17. ↑ West, Kelly (December 4, 2012). "Horns Movie Wraps Production, Set Video Shows Daniel Radcliffe's Mischievous Ig". cinemablend.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  18. ↑ Goldberg, Matt (July 30, 2013). "TIFF 2013 Vanguard Line-Up Announced; Includes Alexandre Aja's HORNS Starring Daniel Radcliffe". collider.com. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  19. ↑ West, Kelly (July 17, 2014). "Horns Poster Wants You To Embrace Your Demons". cinemablend.com. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  20. ↑ West, Kelly (April 10, 2014). "Daniel Radcliffe's Horns Gets Halloween UK Release, Joe Hill Updates On U.S. Release". cinemablend.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  21. ↑ "iTunes - Movies - Horns". iTunes.
  22. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (October 4, 2013). "Dimension and RADiUS-TWC to Release Alexandre Aja's HORNS Starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2014; New Image Unveiled". collider.com. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  23. ↑ Barton, Steve (October 4, 2013). "Horns – Win a Blu-ray and a Signed Poster". dreadcentral.com. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Horns". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Horns". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  26. ↑ Hill, Joe (September 5, 2013). "The Devil is in Toronto; I'm in Baltimore". joehillfiction.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  27. ↑ DeFore, John (September 10, 2013). "Horns: Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  28. ↑ Barnes, Henry (September 7, 2013). "Horns: Toronto 2013 - first look review". The Guardian . Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  29. ↑ Kohn, Eric (September 7, 2013). "Toronto Review: Daniel Radcliffe Plays Impressively Against Type, But Alexandre Aja's Dark Supernatural Dramedy 'Horns' Is Devilishly Uneven". IndieWire . Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  30. ↑ Debruge, Peter (September 14, 2013). "Toronto Film Review: 'Horns'". Variety . Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  31. ↑ Weichsel, Jonathan (October 11, 2013). "Horns 2013 review". MoreHorror. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.