Horns

The Book

Horns is written by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. He looks very much like his father but I think it was very brave, some may say foolhardy, to try and follow in his footsteps and always be measured to him in terms of imagination and creative writing.

Ig wakes up one morning to find he has started to grow horns. They give him the power of suggestion over others (if it is something the victim secretly wants to do), the ability to touch a person and be shown bad things from their past and also causes the involuntary sharing of deep secrets. Ideal powers to investigate the death of his girlfriend, Merrin, who was raped and murdered. Ig needs to clear his name, as everyone thinks he is the culprit, and get revenge on the true killer.
The truth is gradually revealed as he visits family and friends - finding out what they really think and what they are hiding.


Through flashbacks and the re-telling of the fateful night from three perspectives, the scene is set for a final confrontation with the guilty murderer.


I enjoyed the sympathy for the devil viewpoint. Hill suggests Satan was the first superhero, freeing Adam and Eve from a controlling megalomaniac, and that as he punishes all the sinners in hell, surely he is on the same side as God. Merrin's killer is revealed to be a true evil, on the other hand. There are some great Gothic scenes with snakes, pitchforks and a mysterious tree house, but the tone wavers quite a bit from pathos, horror and comedy. The author tries to put in any reference to traditional or popular culture linked to the devil and this can sometimes become bizarre, as illustrated when Ig becomes the Devil in a Blue Dress.  

The Movie

The film is enjoyable to watch, with great acting from Daniel Radcliffe (I always thought his early Harry Potter stuff was poor and didn't rate him but this has helped change my opinion) and some striking cinematography, but just don't go expecting a Horror film. Releasing this at Halloween was definitely a marketing ploy, but gives prospective audiences the wrong idea of what the film is. Yes there is some horror, but its also a comedy / detective / love story.

The more magical overtones have been thrown out, so we get little explanation of how Ig got his horns. The mystical tree house with strange inscriptions that Merrin and Ig make love in after lighting black mass candles is replaced with a normal one that doesn't disappear. Ig is portrayed as more vengeful in the film, seeking out the diner waitress and a druggie brother who both lied to the police, to mete out some justice.
Alternatively, the real killer comes off as not as bad. Quite rightly for the film, its decided not to spend too much time on flashbacks that might slow down the pace. This means the murderer's back story of "looking after" their sick mother by turning up the heating, piling on extra blankets and tormenting them by drinking water in front of them, is jettisoned, however. 

The showdown at the foundry becomes a bit limp with a less exciting confrontation in the woods - instead of two against two it becomes three against one, as Terry brings in the police to help.