The Man with the Horn

Where did Horns (2013) come from, where did it go? I hadn't heard of it until Netflix decided I would like it, since we liked Woman in Black. Well, they were right.

Of course, it's different in almost every way, except that it is basically horror, and stars Daniel Radcliffe. Except this is a horror/comedy, and Radcliffe plays an American, in the Pacific Northwest. Radcliffe's girlfriend, Juno Temple, has been murdered, and everyone thinks he did it. That includes his parents (they don't quite come out and say it) and his friends, except his public defender lawyer Mike Minghella.So he gets stinking drunk, and wakes up with a bad hangover and a pair of horns growing out of his head.

He is not cool with this at all, but he discovers that the horns give him some odd superpowers: They make people confess their darkest desires, and (if the horned one will grant them leave) act on them. The floozy Radcliffe wakes up with, Kelli Garner, for example, just wants to stuff her face with donuts so she'll get fat and nobody will want to fuck her anymore. Also, she sees the horns but doesn't really care. So Radcliffe figures he can use the power to find who really killed his Temple.

There are a lot of thing to like about this movie. The flashbacks to when they were all kids growing up together, getting in trouble and falling in love, are nicely done in a Spielbergian way. Temple, in flashbacks, is definite dreamgirl material. The supporting cast, including Radcliffe's rich, distant parents, his druggy musician brother Joe Anderson, the chubby kid who grew up to be a nasty cop, all are interesting beyond whether they are suspects. The dank, lush northwest locations are evocative of both growth and decay. And there are lots of cute little gimmicks, like Minghella getting his middle two fingers blown off, so he is always throwing the Ronnie Dio heavy-metal horns.

Radcliffe is also great, although he's getting a little too good at sunken-eyed and sad. Although it does help make the comedy that much funnier.