4. Horns
Release Year: 2013
Directed By: Alexandre Aja
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Joe Anderson, Max Minghella, James Remar, Kathleen Quinlan, Heather Graham, David Morse
This list contains numerous titles based on the work by Stephen King so it makes sense to include another title by his son, Joe Hill. Horns was based on Hill’s 2010 novel of the same name. Prior to his work on Horns, French director Alexandre Aja worked on The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, and Piranha 3D.
Horns focuses on the life of Ignatius “Ig” Perrish (Radcliffe), a man who is falsely accused of raping and murdering his girlfriend, Merrin (Temple). Shortly after, Ig wakes up to find that he has grown horns out of his head. Due to the horns, people reveal their darkest secrets and sins to Ig as if he holds some type of power of them. Ig then uses these newfound powers to track down Merrin’s true killer.
Hill’s novel was a cult hit so it was no surprise that it became a film adaptation. The movie initially debuted at TIFF in 2013 before it made its theatrical premiere on Halloween 2014. Hill has praised the film, especially Daniel Radcliffe’s performance as Ig. Critics were mixed but noted how the performances sold the overwhelming dark tone.