Movie Review: Horns with Daniel Radcliffe
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Yay, I’ve finally gotten to see Daniel Radcliffe’s newest movie, Horns, which I’ve been looking forward to! In it, he plays Iggy, a young man devastated by the murder of his girlfriend, Merrin (played by Juno Temple), not only because she died unexpectedly but because he is being accused of murdering her. Aaand then without warning, he starts growing demonic horns from his forehead, and people start unwittingly revealing their deepest darkest secrets to him, and it just gets weirder from there. Through all the chaos surrounding him, he begins to investigate what really happened to Merrin.
Damn, this movie is difficult to categorize! A twisty (and twisted!) gory supernatural romantic psychological murder mystery drama comedy horror thriller with religious imagery and so many surprises-there, that should do it! Whatever genre you want to place it in, I can say without reservation that it’s very good!
Daniel is so great here. First of all, his American accent is disconcertingly good. But he is convincing not only in the cutesy romantic scenes but also in the emptiness, incredulity, anguish, and desperation of his new situation and-perhaps best of all-in the scenes that show his developing inner darkness as a result of everything he’s been through (or was the darkness there all along?). At the very beginning, I loved the scene when Dan’s looking out at the reporters and slows the David Bowie LP soundtrack to make it sound demonic and then smirks a little. Perfect. As the movie progresses, some of the most wickedly fun parts are when Dan does his full-on bright grin (you’ll know it when you see it-sent shivers down my spine!). Kind of like Sherlock’s evil grin when he’s interviewing Mary’s past boyfriend. Delicious fun.
Honorable mention also goes to Joe Anderson, who plays Iggy’s druggie musician brother, Terry. I remember Anderson from that beautiful Beatles tribute movie Across the Universe, where he played Lucy’s hapless brother (Max), who gets sent to the war in Vietnam. This feels like the same type of character, and he nails the portrayal of both, managing to make them sympathetic.
Other than some minor script quibbles, my main complaint with the movie lies in the portrayal of its female characters: I think there are only four in total, and they’re all pretty much stereotypes: the mom, the virginal lover, the friend who sleeps around, the beautiful but crazy bitch. Heather Graham and Juno Temple do what they can, but I’m used to Temple in particular having meatier roles (remember her with Benedict Cumberbatch in Atonement?). To be fair, though, she did keep me guessing.
Regardless, I’d still highly recommend the movie-a must-see if you’re a Daniel Radcliffe fan, obviously, but still fun and surprising even if you’re not. (I loved his portrayal of Alan Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings with the gorgeous Dane DeHaan as well.)
For those who are Harry Potter fans, this movie works wonders if you like to see Harry all decked out with snakes. If only Iggy spoke Parseltongue!
Speaking of Mr. Radcliffe, though, he recently did a very sweet Reddit Ask Me Anything. His enthusiasm about everything is lovely. I’m glad he seems to have grown up to be a good person after all the craziness he must have faced being such a famous child actor.
Yay, I’ve finally gotten to see Daniel Radcliffe’s newest movie, Horns, which I’ve been looking forward to! In it, he plays Iggy, a young man devastated by the murder of his girlfriend, Merrin (played by Juno Temple), not only because she died unexpectedly but because he is being accused of murdering her. Aaand then without warning, he starts growing demonic horns from his forehead, and people start unwittingly revealing their deepest darkest secrets to him, and it just gets weirder from there. Through all the chaos surrounding him, he begins to investigate what really happened to Merrin.
Damn, this movie is difficult to categorize! A twisty (and twisted!) gory supernatural romantic psychological murder mystery drama comedy horror thriller with religious imagery and so many surprises-there, that should do it! Whatever genre you want to place it in, I can say without reservation that it’s very good!
Daniel is so great here. First of all, his American accent is disconcertingly good. But he is convincing not only in the cutesy romantic scenes but also in the emptiness, incredulity, anguish, and desperation of his new situation and-perhaps best of all-in the scenes that show his developing inner darkness as a result of everything he’s been through (or was the darkness there all along?). At the very beginning, I loved the scene when Dan’s looking out at the reporters and slows the David Bowie LP soundtrack to make it sound demonic and then smirks a little. Perfect. As the movie progresses, some of the most wickedly fun parts are when Dan does his full-on bright grin (you’ll know it when you see it-sent shivers down my spine!). Kind of like Sherlock’s evil grin when he’s interviewing Mary’s past boyfriend. Delicious fun.
Honorable mention also goes to Joe Anderson, who plays Iggy’s druggie musician brother, Terry. I remember Anderson from that beautiful Beatles tribute movie Across the Universe, where he played Lucy’s hapless brother (Max), who gets sent to the war in Vietnam. This feels like the same type of character, and he nails the portrayal of both, managing to make them sympathetic.
Other than some minor script quibbles, my main complaint with the movie lies in the portrayal of its female characters: I think there are only four in total, and they’re all pretty much stereotypes: the mom, the virginal lover, the friend who sleeps around, the beautiful but crazy bitch. Heather Graham and Juno Temple do what they can, but I’m used to Temple in particular having meatier roles (remember her with Benedict Cumberbatch in Atonement?). To be fair, though, she did keep me guessing.
Regardless, I’d still highly recommend the movie-a must-see if you’re a Daniel Radcliffe fan, obviously, but still fun and surprising even if you’re not. (I loved his portrayal of Alan Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings with the gorgeous Dane DeHaan as well.)
For those who are Harry Potter fans, this movie works wonders if you like to see Harry all decked out with snakes. If only Iggy spoke Parseltongue!
Speaking of Mr. Radcliffe, though, he recently did a very sweet Reddit Ask Me Anything. His enthusiasm about everything is lovely. I’m glad he seems to have grown up to be a good person after all the craziness he must have faced being such a famous child actor.