Horns

Released: 2013

MPAA rating: R

Run time: 2 hours

AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX

 You may not know that Stephen King's son, Joe Hill, is also a novelist, writes in the same genre as his dad and actually writes so much like his dad that I find myself wondering whether Stephen King writes the books FOR him!!  "Horns" is one of Joe Hill's novels which was made into this movie, which could also be called "Harry Potter Goes To Hell"..  Daniel Radcliffe stars as Ig Perrish, whose long-time girlfriend has recently been found murdered, for which he is the prime suspect.  After a long night's sleep, Ig wakes up with devil's horns protruding from his head.  As he tries to figure out what they are and where they came from, he finds that everyone he comes to contact with feels the need to tell him their darkest desires and then go ahead and indulge those desires.  This makes for some real uncomfortable meetings with friends and family members.  Ig finds himself trying to rid himself of the horns while simultaneously trying to clear his name for the murder he is accused of.  Radcliffe does an excellent job in the role portraying all the emotions Ig is dealing with: grief, rage, confusion and the quest for vengeance.  Being the hated man in a small town is not a lot of fun for him, especially when it may be unwarranted.  I remember seeing some mention of this movie before it was released and then it came and went without fanfare.  I thought the film deserved better.  It was pretty well-written, well acted and well directed.  Perhaps the story seemed silly to some, but it's one of those stories where you just have to accept the premise of the "horns" and give in to it.  If you do, I think you'll find an entertaining story about small town jealousies and how one murder can send a community into a tailspin.  Rod Serling had equally ridiculous premises on "The Twilight Zone" all the time and no one really had a problem buying into them because Rod Serling is a master storyteller. Now, I'm not ready to put Hill in Serling's class (or even his father's), nor am I saying this would make a great "Twilight Zone" episode, but I enjoyed the premise and the movie was a fun ride.  

Grade: C+

Buy Horns on Blu-Ray