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Oct 31, 2014 By Stephen Danay Web Exclusive

Accused of the brutal murder of the woman he loved, Ig Parrish has become a pariah in his hometown, with even his family and friends suspecting his involvement. He awakens one terrible morning to find devil horns sprouting from his head, horns that compel anyone in his presence to tell him their deepest, darkest secrets. Putting his newfound curse to good use, Ig embarks on a quest to find his girlfriend’s killer, even if he has to destroy an entire town to do it.

Based on the novel of the same name by Joe Hill, Horns makes for an excellent case study in the art of adaptation, specifically in how things that work in source material are not easily transferred to a new medium. Although the film is relatively faithful to the plot of the book (which is quite good), various missteps in casting, tone, structure and editing leave Horns a barely functional mess of a film.

Directed by horror veteran Alexandre Aja, Horns’ greatest failing is its tone. Although Aja has tackled both serious horror (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes) and comedic (Piranha 3D) with varying degrees of success, the synthesis of the two in Horns seems to elude him. Numerous jokes fall flat and many scenes that are supposed to be dramatic or scary play as ridiculous. Strung together over two hours, this back and forth becomes excruciating. The ham-fisted voiceover is the biggest mistake of all, begging to be taken seriously, while paradoxically making that impossible.

The biggest casualty of this film is Daniel Radcliffe. Horns is the latest effort in his (more or less successful) quest to distance himself from his Harry Potter persona and although he tries admirably, his shoulders cannot support the weight of this millstone. His American accent, while certainly passable, seems to distract him from his own performance. And all the baggy eyed make-up and drunken stubble in the world can’t mask the fact that he’s way too boyish and earnest to play Ig, a cynical, drunken shell of a man who has managed to weaponize his deepest despair.

An adaptation need not be faithful to its source material to be successful. It does need to stand on it’s own two legs. In this case, do yourself a favor and read the book.

Author rating: 1.5/10