Horns (film)

Ignatius "Ig" Perrish is the prime suspect when his girlfriend, Merrin Williams, is raped and murdered. Despite his declarations of innocence, he is shunned by the community. He visits his parents and brother, Terry, to hide from the press. After a vigil led by Merrin's father, who believes Ig to be guilty, Ig gets drunk, urinates on Merrin's memorial, and has a one-night stand with a friend. The next morning, he wakes up with a pair of horns protruding from his head. The horns have special powers that force people to tell Ig their darkest secrets and desires; at Ig's bidding, they act upon them.

While seeing his doctor about having the horns removed, Ig, under anesthesia, dreams of his childhood, when he first met Merrin. After noticing Merrin drop and break her necklace in church, a young Ig and his friends play with cherry bombs. Ig risks a dangerous dare to win a cherry bomb and nearly drowns, but is saved by Lee Tourneau, his childhood friend, who is now a lawyer. After learning that Lee has fixed Merrin's broken necklace, he gives the cherry bomb that he won to Lee in exchange for the necklace so that he can be the one to return it to Merrin. Lee loses two fingers when the cherry bomb goes off accidentally in his hand. Ig and Merrin bond over the fixed necklace and fall in love, frequenting a treehouse in the woods together.

Ig visits his parents and, under the horns' power, his mother reveals that she does not want him as her son and asks him to leave. His father tells him he is worthless without Merrin and his friend helps him burn down the lab where DNA tests were being conducted. As Ig heads to a bar, in the parking lot he goads the reporters into a brawl. He tries to find evidence proving that he did not kill Merrin from people in the bar. Several people confess their deepest and darkest secrets and the owner-bartender burns down the building to collect the insurance.

From one confession, Ig learns a new witness in the case is a waitress at the diner where Merrin broke up with him the night she died. Ig finds her and discovers she has been fabricating her stories to become famous. When Ig talks to Terry, he learns that Terry drove Merrin from the diner the night she died. When he touches Terry, Ig sees what happened that night: Merrin left the car en route to her home and ran into the woods. Terry passed out in the car and woke up the next morning with a bloody rock in his hand, finding Merrin dead under the treehouse. Afraid that he would be implicated, he fled. Infuriated, Ig assaults Terry until he is arrested by Officer Eric Hannity, who is another childhood friend. The next morning, Ig is released from jail with Lee's help. Ig notices Lee wearing Merrin's cross necklace and questions him about it. Lee insists there are things about him and Merrin that Ig never knew.

Later that night, Ig realizes snakes are following him wherever he goes and he uses them to exact vengeance against the waitress. Additionally, he gets Eric to act on his feelings for his police partner (who reciprocates his feelings) and forces Terry to overdose on drugs, causing Terry to be tormented by memories of Merrin's death. Ig meets Lee by the docks and pulls off Merrin's necklace. He realizes Lee was unable to see the horns because he was wearing the necklace. Exposed to the horns, Lee falls under their influence and admits to killing Merrin. In flashbacks, Lee was also in love with Merrin and was deeply jealous of Ig throughout their childhood. Lee followed Merrin into the woods, thinking that Merrin had been sending him signals for a long time and that she had broken up with Ig to be with him. When Merrin insisted that she loved Ig more than anyone in the world, Lee raped her in a jealous rage and killed her with a rock, stole her necklace, and planted the bloody rock on Terry. In the ensuing confrontation, Lee overpowers Ig and lights him on fire in his car, causing Ig to drive into the bay. Lee claims that Ig confessed to the crime and committed suicide. The horns allow Ig to survive, though horrifically burned and disfigured.

Merrin's father, who now believes that Ig is innocent, gives him the key to Merrin's lockbox. When Ig puts on Merrin's cross, his body is restored and the horns disappear. In the lockbox, he finds a note from Merrin explaining that she knew Ig was going to propose, but she was dying of cancer and did not want him to suffer, so she pushed him away under the pretense of loving someone else.

Ig confronts Lee and leads him into the woods where Merrin was killed. Eric and Terry arrive to arrest Lee. Lee confesses to the murder, but then gleefully kills Eric and injures Terry. Ig tears off the necklace, sprouting a pair of wings and bursting into flame, transforming into a demonic monster. Despite Lee fatally wounding him, Ig impales Lee on one of his horns and telepathically forces a snake down Lee's throat, killing him. Saying that his vengeance was all-consuming, Ig dies from his injuries and his smoldering corpse turns to hardened ash, and he appears to be reunited with Merrin in the afterlife.

• Daniel Radcliffe as Ignatius "Ig" Perrish, a 26-year-old man who wakes up after a drunken night to find two protrusions growing from his forehead, which give him the power to compel people to unravel their deepest secrets.{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/daniel-radcliffe-horns-movie-ryanz-187672/|title=Daniel Radcliffe to Grow 'Horns' for Supernatural Thriller|first=Robert|last=Yaniz Jr.|date=August 2012|publisher=screenrant.com|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=July 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718230158/http://screenrant.com/daniel-radcliffe-horns-movie-ryanz-187672/|url-status=live}} Radcliffe stated, "It's a very, very different type of part than anything I've done before",{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/oct/03/daniel-radcliffe-horns|title=Daniel Radcliffe takes his career by the Horns|first=Ben|last=Child|date=October 3, 2012|work=guardian.co.uk|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=January 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114184548/https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/oct/03/daniel-radcliffe-horns|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/10/02/daniel-radcliffe-horns-exclusive/|title=Daniel Radcliffe reveals his devilish transformation in 'Horns' -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK|first=Lanford|last=Beard|date=October 2, 2012|publisher=insidemovies.ew.com|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084406/http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/10/02/daniel-radcliffe-horns-exclusive/|url-status=live}} adding that the role was "deeply emotional and also incredibly outrageous in some ways".{{cite web|url=http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2012/10/daniel-radcliffe-looks-devious-in-first-horns-image.html|title=Daniel Radcliffe looks devious in first 'Horns' image|first=Terri|last=Schwartz|date=October 3, 2012|publisher=Zap2it|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705073746/http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2012/10/daniel-radcliffe-looks-devious-in-first-horns-image.html|archive-date=July 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}
• Mitchell Kummen as young Ig
• Max Minghella as Lee Tourneau, Ig's childhood best friend and now lawyer.
• Dylan Schmid as young Lee
• Joe Anderson as Terry Perrish, Ig's alcoholic, drug-addicted older brother, who is also a talented musician.
• Jared Ager-Foster as young Terry
• Juno Temple as Merrin Williams, Ig's deceased girlfriend, who was raped and murdered.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/weird-celeb-news/daniel-radcliffe-sprouts-horns-for-new-1358822|title=Horns of a dilemma: Daniel Radcliffe sprouts horns in new movie|first=Steve|last=Myall|date=October 4, 2012|publisher=mirror.co.uk|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=December 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217013959/http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/weird-celeb-news/daniel-radcliffe-sprouts-horns-for-new-1358822|url-status=live}}
• Sabrina Carpenter as young Merrin
• Kelli Garner as Glenna
• Laine MacNeil as young Glenna
• James Remar as Derrick Perrish
• Kathleen Quinlan as Lydia Perrish
• Heather Graham as Veronica, The Waitress
• David Morse as Dale Williams
• Alex Zahara as Dr. Renald
• Kendra Anderson as Delilah
• Michael Adamthwaite as Eric Hannity, Ig's gay friend, who is now a cop.
• Erik McNamee as young Eric
• Desiree Zurowski as Radio reporter

Shia LaBeouf was originally set to play Ig but was later replaced with Radcliffe.{{cite web|url=http://horror.about.com/b/2012/07/17/daniel-radcliffe-replaces-shia-labeouf-in-horns.htm|title=Daniel Radcliffe Replaces Shia LaBeouf in Horns|first=Mark H.|last=Harris|date=July 17, 2012|publisher=horror.about.com|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418220848/http://horror.about.com/b/2012/07/17/daniel-radcliffe-replaces-shia-labeouf-in-horns.htm|archive-date=April 18, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://tvfilmnews.com/daniel-radcliffe-signs-on-to-star-in-supernatural-thriller-horns/|title=First Look At Daniel Radcliffe in Alexandere Aja's Horns|first=Alex|last=Tucker|date=October 2, 2012|publisher=tvfilmnews.co|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=December 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205033047/http://tvfilmnews.com/daniel-radcliffe-signs-on-to-star-in-supernatural-thriller-horns/|url-status=dead}}

The band seen backing up Joe Anderson's character on lead trumpet is The Brass Action from Vancouver, British Columbia. The scene features the band's song, "The Devil Down Below".{{cite news|publisher=News1130|date=October 7, 2014|url=http://www.news1130.com/2014/10/07/vancouver-band-being-featured-in-daniel-radcliffe-movie/|title=Vancouver band being featured in Daniel Radcliffe movie|first=Tash|last=Fryzuk|archive-date=October 15, 2014|access-date=October 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015155304/http://www.news1130.com/2014/10/07/vancouver-band-being-featured-in-daniel-radcliffe-movie/|url-status=live}}

File:Daniel Radcliffe (14781352305).jpg in July 2014]]

Explaining his initial interest in the project, Alexandre Aja said "After reading Joe Hill's cult book, I couldn't resist temptation to dive into the devilish underworld and reinvent a universal myth."{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/article/VR1118056541|title=Daniel Radcliffe to star in 'Horns'|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=July 13, 2012|work=Variety|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=August 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817090339/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118056541|url-status=live}}

Principal photography started late September 2012, in British Columbia.{{cite web|url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/horns-first-look-photo-with-daniel-radcliffe|title=Horns First Look Photo with Daniel Radcliffe|first=Brian|last=Gallagher|date=October 2, 2012|publisher=movieweb.com|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=October 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014033413/http://www.movieweb.com/news/horns-first-look-photo-with-daniel-radcliffe|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.slashfilm.com/daniel-radcliffe-sports-horns-in-the-first-image-from-horns/|title=Daniel Radcliffe Sports Horns in the First Image From… 'Horns'|first=Russ|last=Fischer|date=October 2, 2012|publisher=slashfilm.com|access-date=December 5, 2012}} The filming took place in Vancouver, Mission, Surrey and Squamish,{{cite web|url=http://www.sneakpeek.ca/2012/10/vancouver-film-production-update.html|title=Vancouver Film Update: "Horns", "Arrow", "Falling Skies", "Bates Motel"|first=M.|last=Stevens|date=October 4, 2012|publisher=sneakpeek.ca|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=October 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021121622/http://www.sneakpeek.ca/2012/10/vancouver-film-production-update.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.missioncityrecord.com/entertainment/177913621.html|title=Radcliffe's new movie being filmed in Mission|first=Carol|last=Aun|date=November 8, 2012|publisher=missioncityrecord.com|access-date=December 8, 2012|archive-date=July 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712193918/http://www.missioncityrecord.com/entertainment/177913621.html|url-status=dead}} completing shooting in December 2012.{{cite web|url=https://cinemablend.com/new/Horns-Movie-Wraps-Production-Set-Video-Shows-Daniel-Radcliffe-Mischievous-Ig-34405.html|title=Horns Movie Wraps Production, Set Video Shows Daniel Radcliffe's Mischievous Ig|first=Kelly|last=West|date=December 4, 2012|publisher=cinemablend.com|access-date=December 5, 2012|archive-date=December 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208022006/http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Horns-Movie-Wraps-Production-Set-Video-Shows-Daniel-Radcliffe-Mischievous-Ig-34405.html|url-status=live}}

During production, Daniel Radcliffe accidentally ingested antifreeze while drinking tap water from one of the trailers. Radcliffe explained in an interview that the water contained antifreeze to prevent freezing, but there were no signs indicating it was non-potable. As a result, he became violently ill for three days, though he did not require hospitalization.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-34927279 |title=Daniel Radcliffe got really ill drinking water with anti-freeze in it |first=Chi Chi |last=Izundu |work=BBC News |date=3 December 2015 |access-date=November 27, 2024 |archive-date=December 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202191229/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-34927279 |url-status=live }}

The world premiere was held at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/tiff-2013-vanguard-horns-daniel-radcliffe/|title=TIFF 2013 Vanguard Line-Up Announced; Includes Alexandre Aja's HORNS Starring Daniel Radcliffe|first=Matt|last=Goldberg|date=July 30, 2013|publisher=collider.com|access-date=July 31, 2013|archive-date=August 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801205320/http://collider.com/tiff-2013-vanguard-horns-daniel-radcliffe/|url-status=live}} The film was released in North America and the United Kingdom on October 31, 2014;{{cite web|url=https://cinemablend.com/new/Horns-Poster-Wants-You-Embrace-Your-Demons-66307.html|title=Horns Poster Wants You To Embrace Your Demons|first=Kelly|last=West|date=July 17, 2014|publisher=cinemablend.com|access-date=July 18, 2014|archive-date=July 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720015148/http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Horns-Poster-Wants-You-Embrace-Your-Demons-66307.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://cinemablend.com/new/Daniel-Radcliffe-Horns-Gets-Halloween-UK-Release-Joe-Hill-Updates-U-Release-42493.html|title=Daniel Radcliffe's Horns Gets Halloween UK Release, Joe Hill Updates On U.S. Release|first=Kelly|last=West|date=April 10, 2014|publisher=cinemablend.com|access-date=April 10, 2014|archive-date=April 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142317/http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Daniel-Radcliffe-Horns-Gets-Halloween-UK-Release-Joe-Hill-Updates-U-Release-42493.html|url-status=live}} however, the movie was also made available via digital download on iTunes as of October 6, 2014.{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/horns/id914294617|title=iTunes - Movies - Horns|work=iTunes|access-date=October 17, 2014|archive-date=December 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209183950/https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/horns/id914294617|url-status=live}}

The film's North American distribution rights were acquired by Dimension Films and RADiUS-TWC.{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/horns-image-daniel-radcliffe-release-date-2014/|title=Dimension and RADiUS-TWC to Release Alexandre Aja's HORNS Starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2014; New Image Unveiled|first=Adam|last=Chitwood|date=October 4, 2013|publisher=collider.com|access-date=October 6, 2013|archive-date=October 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007093018/http://collider.com/horns-image-daniel-radcliffe-release-date-2014|url-status=live}} Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film on January 13, 2015, on DVD and Blu-ray.{{cite web|url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/84330/horns-win-blu-ray-signed-poster/|title=Horns – Win a Blu-ray and a Signed Poster|first=Steve|last=Barton|date=October 4, 2013|publisher=dreadcentral.com|access-date=October 6, 2013}}

Horns grossed a total of $3,875,442 worldwide in 31 days of release.{{mojo title|horns}}

{{Anchor|Reception}}

On Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 123 critics' reviews have given Horns a positive review, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus says "Horns is a bit of a tonal jumble, but it offers enough thoughtful horror-comedy—and strong work from Daniel Radcliffe—to hook genre enthusiasts."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/horns |title=Horns |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango |access-date=November 24, 2024 |archive-date=November 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126234012/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/horns |url-status=live }} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/horns |title=Horns |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=February 7, 2019 }}

Joe Hill, who wrote the novel the film is based on, praised Radcliffe's performance, calling it a "wrenching, vulnerable, emotionally naked performance that isn't like anything he's ever done on screen before. He is such a wonderful Ig Perrish".{{cite web|url=http://joehillfiction.com/2013/09/the-devil-is-in-toronto-im-in-baltimore/|title=The Devil is in Toronto; I'm in Baltimore|first=Joe|last=Hill|date=September 5, 2013|publisher=joehillfiction.com|access-date=September 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814195000/http://joehillfiction.com/2013/09/the-devil-is-in-toronto-im-in-baltimore/|archive-date=August 14, 2014|url-status=dead}} John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review of the film, remarking, "While this all begins as a kind of supernatural black comedy ... the tone grows darker with each revelation".{{cite web|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/review/horns-toronto-review-625746|title=Horns: Toronto Review|first=John|last=DeFore|date=September 10, 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=September 12, 2013}}

The Guardian scored the film two out of five stars, calling it "a Dogma-style mash-up of grim comedy and religious satire".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/07/horns-review-daniel-radcliffe-toronto|title=Horns: Toronto 2013 - first look review|first=Henry|last=Barnes|date=September 7, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=September 10, 2013}} Eric Kohn of IndieWire wrote, "Predominantly a failure of tone, "Horns" has plenty of admirable traits and yet dooms itself from the outset. It's an admirable conceit stuffed into far less subtle material."{{cite news|url=https://indiewire.com/article/toronto-review-daniel-radcliffe-plays-impressively-against-type-but-alexandre-ajas-dark-supernatural-dramedy-horns-is-devilishly-uneven|title=Toronto Review: Daniel Radcliffe Plays Impressively Against Type, But Alexandre Aja's Dark Supernatural Dramedy 'Horns' Is Devilishly Uneven|first=Eric|last=Kohn|date=September 7, 2013|work=IndieWire|access-date=September 15, 2013|archive-date=September 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909205542/http://www.indiewire.com/article/toronto-review-daniel-radcliffe-plays-impressively-against-type-but-alexandre-ajas-dark-supernatural-dramedy-horns-is-devilishly-uneven|url-status=live}} Peter Debruge of Variety sensed that the film "benefits from the helmer's twisted sensibility, but suffers from a case of overall silliness."{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-daniel-radcliffe-horns-1200611490/|title=Toronto Film Review: 'Horns'|first=Peter|last=Debruge|date=September 14, 2013|magazine=Variety|access-date=September 16, 2013}} Jonathan Weichsel of MoreHorror.com stated that "The cast is all around terrific, especially Daniel Radcliffe who is nothing short of phenomenal, and the set pieces are entertaining in that wild, over the top way that only horror can pull off effectively."{{cite web|url=http://www.morehorror.com/horns-2013-review|title=Horns 2013 review|first=Jonathan|last=Weichsel|date=October 11, 2013|publisher=MoreHorror|access-date=October 11, 2013|archive-date=October 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014192241/http://www.morehorror.com/horns-2013-review|url-status=live}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|1528071}}
• {{Mojo title|horns}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|horns}}
• {{Metacritic film}}

{{Alexandre Aja}}

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