Horns Movie Review

Horns (2013)

Rent Horns on Amazon Video // Buy the novel
Written by: Keith Bunin (screenplay), Joe Hill (based on the novel by)
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Max Minghella
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to find strange horns sprouting from his forehead.

Verdict
It's a strange movie. While you can try to read into what it means, I'm not sure it means anything at all. It just mixes in religious imagery for another layer. It's a wild horror comedy that has its moments.
It depends.

Review
This wastes no time jumping right into the plot. Ig's girlfriend was just murdered and he has horns. We don't know he has horns, and most people don't even seem to notice. The horns seem to have given him some kind of hypnotic influence over others.

Ig is trying to solve his girlfriend's murder despite being a suspect. His abilities aid in that. He's able to cause chaos wherever he goes. Horns conjure a comparison to a devil, and Ig seems to be that. His interests are self serving, and he doesn't care what happens to anyone that gets in his way. Maybe the horns are a physical transformation that depicts his emotional state, his vengeance manifest physically. With religious symbols, it's easy to try and read deeper into this, but I'm not sure there is anything deeper than a surface level discussion. Many movies feature a vengeance focused character that overcomes all odds. This movie provides a justification for how Ig can influence and conquer everyone in his path.

 

Ig for whatever reason is a demon. His goals are all self serving. He harms others, but since they more or less had it coming and he's the protagonist it doesn't seem bad. While even a demon may have a good moment, this is more of a horror comedy.