Quick note from Two: This is the first guest post! Everybody give a warm (ish) welcome to Drew, who was so very kind to do this for me. Also, it’s a movie review.
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Written by Keith Bunin
Adapted from the novel by Joe Hill
Rated R (for myriad valid reasons)
Even though this film was released in 2013, I only just now got the pleasure of viewing it. It isn’t just that it’s something so new and so different from what we, as an audience, are used to, but that it’s a treatise on human nature.
Daniel Radcliffe gives a startlingly gritty performance as the grizzled Ig Parrish, whose girlfriend died under, shall we say, mysterious circumstances. Blamed for her murder and branded by the media, his friends and family, and the justice system, Ig is left to an existence of booze and self loathing.
But one day, something strange happens. Ig awakens to discover that he’s grown a pair of horns during the night. It isn’t just the horns, but the sway they hold over people: In their presence, the people around Ig are compelled to tell him their deepest, darkest thoughts. Originally, this startles and confuses the poor man, but after a time he resolves to use his new-found powers to suss out his girlfriend’s murderer.
Ig’s mission takes him to the very depths of the human soul as people he once knew and loved reveal to him their most disturbing sides. But what is Ig’s true intent? Is it a need for justice or vengeance that truly drives him? Can he overcome his own demon (both literally and figuratively) to make things right? And perhaps the greatest question: Can a force for evil be used to defeat evil?
Not only is this an engrossing tale with elements of drama, dark comedy, and a strong emotional core, but it is an examination of people and their intentions. It takes a deeper and unrelenting view into the nature of man, the soul, and the driving need to demonize (literally) that which we do not understand.
I wouldn’t recommend this film for mass consumption. Many audiences, I believe, are simply not ready for it. However, if you enjoy a film that’s more off-the-beaten path, something new and different, I strongly suggest this movie make your watch list.
Favorite Line:
“People say you should always do the right thing, but sometimes there is no right thing. And then, you just have to pick the sin you can live with.”
Don’t watch if: you are a steady churchgoer, don’t like black comedy, or can’t bear to think of Daniel Radcliffe as anybody but Harry Potter.
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