Daniel Radcliffe seems to be in another last ditch effort to distance himself from the boy wizard Harry Potter. This time, not only does he do that, he encompasses some new powers as well. His new movie, from Director Alexandre Aja, “Horns” is intriguing for all the correct reasons, but has a hard time struggling between the narrative, and dissecting the material. Radcliffe has a unique, and passive presence no matter what he is doing. Even changing his accent, to the point of asking “Is that really him?”.

“Horns” seems like yet another gamble for the actor, who just stared in “Kill Your Darlings” was nude on Broadway in “Equus” and stole hearts in the recently released rom-com “What If”. Director Alexandre Aja, whose resume is a build of taunting and brutally grotesque horror flicks. Never knows how to take the films dark sense of humor, and stretch it out over a two hour long movie. There are some clever ideas, they just seem to get mixed up in some awkward exposition.

Radcliffe stars as Ignatius Perris, a young man being wrongfully accused for the murder of his beloved childhood sweetheart. Merrin, played by the evasively equipped Juno Temple. And much like Radcliffe, suppressing her thick english accent. Merrin is discovered with her head bashed in at the foot of her and Ig’s hideaway as children. A treehouse in a dark secluded rainforest. The movie then plays out like an abstract version of David Fincher’s “Gone Girl”. Nothing that Ig does or says – works in a manner to clear his name, and it certainly does not aid that he was drunk and belligerent and can’t remember the night before. Ig then wakes up one morning to find an interesting new look on his head, and NO it’s not puberty. He find horns – actual, literal, horns growing out of his forehead (hence the title, get it?) They hurt, as you could imagine, and cause everyone to reveal to Ig there long-lost secrets and desires.

The film bolsters with symbolism from Garden of Eden references, to name a few. To say the least though, Radcliffe and his big blue eyes of hope and desperation serve as a showcase for Aja’s trifling view on the human soul. And by the time you reach the climax and understand the derivative trifacta, the bigger question is “do we care?”. For most of the films long, and joggy two hours I was invested enough to stick around and see where things ended up. I was satisfied, but not completely shocked. Not to mention some interesting visual effect shots – that were surprisingly tamed, but guarded as well. For die-hard genre sellouts looking for the next ‘if’ to partake in. “Horns” can quench your eagerness for a time being. I just hope something better comes along soon.

B-

Directed By: Alexandre Aja

Rated: R

Runtime: 120 mins

Release Date: Oct 31st 2014

Studio: The Weinstein Company

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