I can’t believe it’s already been 10 years since Horns was released. I remember hearing about it and seeing trailers, and I was incredibly worried that the film would ruin the book for me, in the way that film adaptations are wont to do. Having already read, and loved, the novel, I had concerns over whether it was possible to do this book justice in film. But those fears proved unfounded, as Alexandre Aja created a near-perfect adaptation of one of my favorite novels and added a new title to my list of favorite films.

Synopsis

In the aftermath of his girlfriend’s mysterious death, a young man awakens to find strange horns sprouting from his forehead.

Horns was written for the screen by Keith Bunin and Joe Hill, and directed by Alexandre Aja (Crawl, High Tension). It stars Daniel Radcliffe (Jungle, The Woman in Black) as Ig Perrish, Juno Temple (Atonement, Mr. Nobody) as Merrin Williams, and Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale, Spiral) as Lee Tourneau. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Joe Hill.

The premise of Horns, a man suddenly starting to grow horns and and turning into the literal Devil, seems comical on its face, but once you dive into the emotions inherent in the story, the the silliness disappears and you find yourself dragged along, willing or not, by the need to know what really happened. The storytelling acknowledges the weirdness of the premise, often injecting some very dark humor to break the emotional tension. These moments make the situation feel more realistic by making it clear that even the characters find these events strange and kind of funny. I think this makes the story feel more real to me because I deal with things by making jokes, so I absolutely cannot imagine anyone having these completely crazy events going on and NOT joking about it.

The acting, in my opinion, is what really set Horns apart from other book to film adaptations. The lead role of Ig Perrish could easily have become a jokey caricature, but Daniel Radcliffe gave such a fabulous performance that it turned me into a lifelong fan of him and his work. His portrayals of love, grief, confusion, terror and wrath are so realistic that I can’t help but feel all of those emotions along with his character.

Similarly, Max Minghella’s portrayal of Lee Tourneau was so effective that I automatically distrust his characters in all movies and TV shows now. I had noticed this reaction, but I hadn’t realized it was due to this movie until I rewatched it to prepare this review. He embodied this character so perfectly that I could never again see him as trustworthy, even after I had forgotten why I felt that way. To have either of these performances in a film would be awesome, but to have both of them in the same film elevates it to the realm of true movie magic.

Alexandre Aja’s Horns is by far my favorite film adaptation that I’ve ever seen. Aja and the cast really nailed all of the emotional turmoil and nuance of the the story and the characters. If you have not seen this absolute gem of a film, I highly recommend it. It is a unique blend of weird, funny, tragic, and heartwarming.