Horns

When his longtime girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple) is brutally murdered, Ignatius "Ig" Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) is blamed by many in his small town for her death. While the case remains open, public opinion has already condemned Ig for the crime, and the media are poised to crucify him. In the wake of this tragedy, Ig awakens one day to find horns growing from his head.

Suddenly, people start being strangely honest with Ig, confessing their darkest desires and most hidden secrets. As everyone — friends, family and strangers alike — is compelled to confess to him their ugliest impulses, Ig struggles to understand his newfound power and how he might be able to use it to find Merrin's real killer.

Fantastically unsettling, especially for those with an aversion to snakes, Horns blurs the lines between reality and fantasy as the dark mystery is slowly brought to light. The Pacific Northwest setting and surreal storyline are evocative of the much beloved cult hit Twin Peaks.

Alexandre Aja burst onto the genre scene with the premiere of Haute Tension as part of Midnight Madness in 2003, becoming one of the freshest voices in international horror. He has continued to thrill audiences with fun horror fare such as The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D. Based on the novel by emerging horror author Joe Hill, Horns marks a departure for the director into more elevated territory, and fans of his work will be richly rewarded by his maturing directorial vision.

COLIN GEDDES