Humans are fallen angels with shameful secrets
A young man in a mountain town outside Seattle (Daniel Radcliffe) is accused of murdering his beloved girlfriend (Juno Temple). As he maintains his innocence, he seeks to find the truth while curiously growing horns and learning the innermost secrets of the town’s citizens.
"Horns” (2013) is a crime drama/fantasy with elements of horror and black comedy. It was based on the novel by Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill, and so has that King flavor à la “Needful Things” (1993), just with more modern production values. Like that movie, this one emphasizes the secret carnal impulses that lie just below the surface in any community. When given full reign they cause destruction and misery.
Besides Juno on the female front, Kelli Garner plays a friend of the protagonist who’s secretly in love with him while Heather Graham is on hand as a pathological liar.
I’d give this a higher rating, but the ending is needlessly long and there’s some seriously contrived writing concerning someone’s response to cancer (you’ll see what I mean). Moreover, there’s an overdone ‘gay’ scene in a police car that’s just eye-rolling. It could be argued, however, that this was in keeping with the flick’s penchant for exaggerating things to comical effect.
The film runs 2 hours and was shot mostly in Squamish, British Columbia, which is about 45 miles north of Vancouver, and also Mission (the diner), which is just east of Vancouver.
GRADE: B-