Horny Devil.

Next up, was Alex Aja's adaptation of the Joe Hill novel, Horns starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Suspected of killing his girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple) in a drunken rage, Ig (Radcliffe) wakes up one morning to find he has grown horns. Not only that, but everyone around him seems to want to tell him their inner-most thoughts. He soon decides to use this ability to discover who really did murder his true love.

Horns is a perfect example of something that shouldn't work, but does. Despite the bizarre tone created by equal parts vulgarity and whimsy, Radcliffe's steadied performance and Aja's matter-of-fact direction power through it unfettered. Considering that this was the first time Aja has dealt with comedy – of this type anyway, as I suppose Piranha 3D could qualify as comedic – and I think he performed admirably. I also enjoyed his music choices, which, much like the tone, were also big and bold. I should point out that I have no knowledge of the source material, but it certainly seemed to me like a commendable adaptation. If there is one way that Hill definitely emulates his father's work, it's the flashbacks to the characters' childhoods.

If this film had just been a straight up mystery, it would have been fairly deliberate and bland, so it really is the supernatural element that brings it to life. I would've had little interest in seeing Juno Temple in another tragic role – as well made as Killer Joe and Magic Magic were, they were both unpleasant experiences for me – so all the fantastical stuff that came before the film got really dark set a reasonable balance. I mean, the idea of a good, but tortured soul cursing themselves for release is not new, but it was put forth in an interesting way here.

Daniel Radcliffe & Juno Temple as Ig & Merrin in Horns.

A big part of the success of this film is the casting. In addition to Radcliffe & Temple, Aja lined up a solid supporting cast around him including Joe Anderson, Heather Graham and the scene-stealing David Morse as the grieving father. And wow, did they ever find child actors that looked like pint-sized versions of Radcliffe and Temple!

Greg Nicotero & Howard Berger created the effects on this picture as well, but the fact that the film became increasingly more visual effects heavy as it progressed was unfortunate. However, like Mama from earlier this year, I think I was invested enough by that point to just let it slide a little.

Director Alexandre Aja.

So overall, Horns was a pretty entertaining flick, which, in true King family tradition inserted the extraordinary into the ordinary, to create something worthy of the canon.