Devil in the details

Daniel Radcliffe makes magic in Alexadre Aja’s odd but satisfying “Horns”

I’ve had affection for director and writer Alexadre Aja for more than a decade, since his ruthless and uncompromising “High Tension” broke out in the States, heralding a sort of new French New Wave of horror that raised the bar for merciless storytelling combined with uncompromising violence. What that movement brought to the genre was a humorless, no-holds-barred brutality which, if you like that sort of thing, was deeply satisfying.

The success of “High Tension” earned Aja his first English language film, the equally fucked–up remake of “The Hills Have Eyes,” which not only improved on Wes Craven’s B-rate original, but proved Aja to be an insatiable director who could put a boot to the audience’s throat and never let up. It’s the kind of movie that makes you feel like you just got your ass kicked.

Simple and straightforward, no-bullshit shockers were a good place to start, but Aja has grown since he made “High Tension.” After his under-seen “Mirrors” and the schlocky blast of “Piranha 3D” (the MPAA must have taken a coffee break for that to get an R-rating, and thank God they did) Aja has taken a distinct, delightfully imaginative left turn with his latest, the flawed but kind-of-brilliant “Horns.”

Daniel Radcliffe is Ig Perrish, who we learn, after an idyllic opening sequence with the love of his life, Merrin Williams (Juno Temple), is the only suspect in her murder. He hasn’t been charged, but the townsfolk seem to have already convicted him of the crime, committed under the couple’s childhood treehouse retreat in the verdant forest. Ig’s musician father (James Remar), mother (Kathleen Quinlan) and older brother, Terry (Joe Anderson), are all outwardly supportive, while his steadfast best friend and lawyer, Lee (Max Minghella), has begun mounting his defense for the inevitable trial.

When mourners, led by Merrin’s father Dale (David Morse), hold a candlelight service under the treehouse, the tortured and bereaved Ig—unbeknownst to them—hides in the branches above, drinking away his pain. Once they depart, he savages the shrine they’ve built, pissing on the candles and smashing the Virgin. He’s “rescued” by Glenna (Kelli Garner), a childhood friend like Mirren, whose promiscuity is a seeming reaction to her unrequited love for Ig.

But when Ig wakes up in her bed, regret over booze-fueled sex becomes the least of his worries when he inexplicably sprouts demonic, ram-like horns from his forehead. And when he discovers that his new protuberances seem to inspire the people around him to reveal the worst of their deepest secrets and indulge their most hidden desires, Ig finds himself falling into deeper trouble but also realizes that, with his new found ability to get the truth, he might find who killed his true love.

“Horns” (adapted by Keith Bunin from the dark fantasy novel of the same name by Joe Hill) finds Aja mixing multiple genres into an uneven but ultimately satisfying whole that isn’t quite like anything you’ve seen before. A blend of horror, comedy, fantasy, spiritual romance, coming-of-age and mystery thriller that comes off like the weirdest X-Files episode never made, the film’s uneven construction doesn’t subvert its agile creativity and vital sense of imagination.

Tonally, it’s all over the place. A Twin Peaks-esque first act vacillates between black comedy and supernatural drama that gives way to backstory-filling flashbacks as Ig learns he can see into people’s minds when he touches them. They inform each other and eventually snowball into something compelling, but it isn’t until the first act is in the rearview mirror and the detective work begins that the story starts to come together (due to some annoying sleight-of-hand that hides the ultimate mystery). It feels like Aja is wrestling the script into cohesion (Bunin’s sole screenwriting credit was for several episodes of HBO’s “In Treatment”) and just barely pins it to the mat.

The comedy is often satirical. Ig convinces jackal news reporters to beat the shit out of each other for an exclusive confession, he has to listen to what his parents really think of him (hint: it’s brutal), he plays on the closeted desires of two cops he’s trying to get off his back (“Wouldn’t you two guys really rather just go down on each other?”—turns out they would), and when he finds his first clue, in the form of a diner waitress (Heather Graham) who lied to the police, it turns out she only lied to get on TV as a possible celebrity witness. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t, but weirdly it doesn’t come off as totally incongruous to the overall tone of the film, mainly because it never seems to settle on one tone for too long.

But “Horns” becomes more fantastical and fascinating as it progresses. And what begins as a narrative salad coalesces into a sweet mélange of amusing, violent, heartfelt and sincere storytelling, a trippy fable that rewards patience and is surprisingly hard to shake. It’s unique.

That patience is largely afforded due to Radcliffe’s performance. It’s honest, visceral and a million miles from Harry Potter. He runs the gamut from broken and sardonic to sympathetic and vengeful, wrapped in a formidable screen presence, selling every scene he’s in with an underlying mirth that would be lost with a lesser actor. Joe Anderson also shines, and Juno Temple is ethereal and ultimately heartbreaking. Along with Max Minghella and Kelli Garner, “Horns” is well-served by a fine cast.

I can see “Horns” achieving a cult status, but it won’t be successful now. It’s a strange dichotomy that one of the most memorable films of the year isn’t also one of the best.

Film Strips

Made in Oklahoma
Join the writers and some cast members of William H. Macy’s Oklahoma-shot directorial debut, “Rudderless,” which has a special advanced premiere on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Circle Cinema. The film, co-written by Oklahoma-natives Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison along with Macy, tells the story of a bereaved father (Billy Crudup) who finds a box of his dead son’s music and lyrics and decides to form a band in order to keep his son’s memory alive and give himself a sense of solace. The event begins at 6 p.m. with live music from Honky Tonk Stepchild followed by the screen and a Q&A with the wrtiers and cast. Opens at the Circle Oct. 16 For more information visit circlecimema.com

Path of glory
Brad Pitt plays an Army sergeant in charge of a Sherman tank in the Second Armored Division during WWII in the upcoming war drama, “Fury.” It’s late in the game, April 1945, when his band of warriors receives a deadly mission to get behind enemy lines and assist the final push to victory. Tulsan and Second Armored veteran Paul Andert consulted on the film and worked intimately with the cast and filmmakers to ensure fidelity to historical detail. Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, and Jason Isaacs co-star. Opens everywhere Oct. 17.