A few weeks ago, I finally got the opportunity to sit down and actually watch a movie without trying to multitask through it. I chose to watch a movie that was on my must-watch list for a while, and watched post-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe star in the film Horns.

As a fervent fan of the Harry Potter film series, I have tried to keep up with post-Potter films that the actors have been involved in, hoping that all continue to grow outside the massive world that is Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe’s film career is one that I’ve tried to follow the closest, seeing him in films such as The Woman in Black and Kill Your Darlings.

For those of you who may not know what the movie Horns is about, the film didn’t generate much advertisement, but it follows the story of Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) who is the prime suspect of his girlfriend Merrin’s (Juno Temple) very sudden and brutal death. Ig Perrish wakes up one day with horns growing from his head. The strange thing is, people can see these horns but they don’t at all seem deterred by them. On the contrary, people who used to be avoiding Ig Perrish due to the belief that he killed his girlfriend, now feel the sudden urge to divulge their darkest secrets to him. Destroyed by the death of Merrin, Ig Perrish sets out to prove that didn’t kill his longtime girlfriend, and find the person who should be brought to justice for her brutal death. As Ig begins to unravel the mysteries of Merrin’s mysterious death, his lifetime of memories begins to come apart as his relationships with family and friends are put to the test.

Overall, I would give Horns a B- rating. The story is loosely based on Joe Hill’s novel of the same name, but is a fairly original screenplay. The story will keep watchers interested as they try to piece the mystery together. However, I think the movie itself relies heavily on its bold idea, and at times the screenplay fell just short of its mark. I kept wanting the movie to go a little further and develop the themes that it was highlighting. While the sound of the tone seems dark, this horror/mystery story is cut with bits of humor that lighten the mood at times.

The acting in the film by in large is relatively well done. Daniel Radcliffe is constantly proving that there are many more sides than just the one who played the “boy who lived.” He does really well at explore the emotionally tumultuous aspects of Ig’s life, delivering very successfully, anger, sadness, fear, and guilt. Daniel Radcliffe breathes a lot of life into a character who could be played very one dimensionally. The supporting cast holds up fairly well against Radcliffe, but at times it did feel as though characters such as Lee or Ig’s brother, Terry was at times flat, but in the climatic end, all off the characters were able to pull their weight.

If you’re fan of horror comedy, I would recommend that you give Horns a try. It may or may not be for you, but I doubt you feel as though you really wasted time watching the film. There are some aspects that are definitely worth appreciation, Radcliffe’s talent being one of them.