DAY TWELVE - Horns (horror movie challenge - 31 days of horror)

DAY TWELVE - HORNS (2013)

So I read this book a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was complex, deep and very emotional. I tried to just completely forget the book while watching this movie so I could just enjoy the movie. And for the most part I was able to. Except the ending. Just read the book.

Horns is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Joe Hill, published in 2010. The movie is directed by Alexandre Aja, who has been directing since the age of 18. It stars Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role of Ig (short for Ignatius which translates from Latin to “fiery one”).

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It’s hard to explain the story because it’s such a bizarre one. Basically Ig wakes up one day after the death of his girlfriend to find he’s grown horns. People can see the horns, but the minute they look away, they forget all about them. When they’re looking at the horns they have the uncontrollable urge to confess their sins, they also do whatever Ig tells them to do. Ig sets out to discover who really murdered his girlfriend and why, using the horns and the power given to him.

Daniel Radcliffe did great in this role, he really is a wonderful actor. He was also quite handsome as Ig. Juno Temple plays Merrin, the girlfriend, and does an absolutely amazing job. I enjoyed all the acting actually, it was all very believable despite the fact Ig is walking around as a fallen angel/devil.

I found the book made way more sense, obviously it had the luxury of taking its’ time to explain why this is happening to Ig and how. If I hadn’t have read the book I’m not sure if I would’ve completely understood the film. The scenery in the film is beautiful and the tree house that all of the events revolve around is exactly as I pictured. Ig’s horns were fantastic, but when he completely transforms in the end, I was a little taken out of the moment because of the effects.

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Honestly, I would kind of love to have those horns just for a few days. As bad as it could be. Sometimes you just want to listen to Marilyn Manson and watch the world burn.

Also, I watched this on Netflix with the subtitles on because I do that with a lot of films to make sure I don’t miss any dialogue. But the subtitles were absolutely awful!! About 90% of the time they didn’t match up with what was being spoken at all. So that’s kind of random and annoying.

Horns was a great, dreamy watch, though a little too long. It’s not scary by any means, its more fantasy/drama than horror. The characters are rich and beautiful and in a lot of pain, so it’s quite entrancing to watch. I may watch it again one day, but I will continue to recommend the book to everyone I meet, but not the movie.

6/10

Obviously Sofia hasn’t been around for a few days – she’s busy passing high school. But she says hello, and tells everyone to watch the Chucky movies. Hopefully she can join us for a few movies this week.

My awesome Nightmare on Elm Street hoodie arrived today from ShirtPunch!

Check out ShirtPunch! here, they have 4 new designs daily that are available for very cheap for 24 hours. They have lots of horror designs and team up with nerd/horror block every month to give us our t-shirts. You can order the design in a tee, long sleeve, zip up hoodie, or pullover. The one I chose is a pullover.

See you back here tomorrow for Day 14!

Stay spooky!