Horns

I watched the movie right after finishing the book, which I loved, and it only amplified my excitement for Horns. The plot is understandably condensed and simplified to fit the film format, but Aja did an excellent job. He managed to extract all the essential elements from the book, added new material, and crafted a delightful treat that stands proudly beside its incredible literary counterpart while offering something unique on its own. Aja's previous films are known for their brutality and gore, and while there's less of that here, the moments that do include it are impactful. The CGI effects are well done and seamlessly integrated into the story. When I saw Juno Temple cast as Merrin, I was worried I wouldn't get the fiery redhead described in the book, but thankfully they dyed her hair, and she perfectly embodied the beautiful Merrin I imagined. It's easy to see why Ig fell in love with her at first sight. I was slightly disappointed that Lee's character wasn't portrayed in the film as the deeply twisted and deceitful person he was in the book. I was looking forward to the scenes where he tortures his dying mother for months, but those were left out. The flashbacks to their youth were also shortened and simplified, but that’s understandable given the constraints of film runtime. Overall, I'm thrilled with how the movie turned out. It includes everything necessary, even the scene with the snake slithering into the throat. This is how you successfully adapt a book to the big screen. Aja nailed it! (20/05/2018)

Horns is a great creative trip that combine hardly combinable genre positions with ease, while even managing to make fun of their sacred clichés (the priest’s advice, gay cops). Alexandre Aja is not just a great horror director, but also a lover of dramatic stories with a romantic dimension who can skillfully juggle our favorite pulp genres. And this is his freshly original and hard to imitate wet dream, in which, by the way, Stephen King will also find something to make him happy. (30/03/2015)

I guess I have some kind of disorder, but when I see Daniel Radcliffe somewhere, I immediately think of a wand, a scar and round glasses, but that's a subjective problem. Horns isn't a bad horror movie, I'd definitely say it has an unexpected twist, even good execution. The premise kind reminded me of The Crow, as there is also a form of revenge for a beloved girl who was murdered. In the end, I decided to give it an average rating – the film isn’t that bad, but it’s stuff we’ve seen elsewhere before, and the ending in the woods didn't really appeal to me. (06/09/2015)

I never saw Horns during its premiere, and I was disappointed about that. The idea of exposing a person to brutal social pressure and mental suffering to such an extent that they are unable to bear it in a rational way and unwillingly transform into a supernatural being from another (dark) world was already masterfully portrayed by Bulgakov in "The Master and Margarita." In my opinion, such a concept has great potential, but the director and screenwriter managed to completely squander it through their hard work. In many comments, Daniel Radcliffe's involvement in the main role is discussed. Although his performance is not Oscar-worthy, it didn't bother me, and his presence eventually became one of the few positives that can be said about Horns. Horns could have been many things, ranging from dark fantasy to a horror comedy (let's remember how excellently The Witches of Eastwick turned out). Instead, Alexandre Aja created a didactic morality tale full of sentiment, permeated with religious symbolism, and using the most clichéd genre tropes. I could partially forgive him for that if he hadn't been so literal and pathetic, and if he had been more sophisticated and imaginative. This is a disappointment. Overall impression: 25%. (12/07/2021)

Absolute psycho that often goes way over the top, but I enjoyed it more than part 1. The fact that it’s a sequel is capitalized upon and so everything is bigger, more explosive and the humor even crazier. Miller and Lord thrive on knick-knacks, antiracism and also... on male comradery. Awesome final credits. (11/10/2014)