Review: Horns - Alexandre Aja

" I'm gonna love you for the rest of my life.
 Just love me for the rest of mine."

          Well to say this film wasn't what I expected would be an understatement. I went into this film blind, which is rare for me and i really had no idea what to expect from the story, other that Daniel Radcliffe's character grows horns and become some devil like character. If that's all you know then great, stop reading here and go see the film then come back and see what i have to say one it. Ok I'm hoping anyone reading from this point has either seen the film or doesn't care if they have it ruined on them.

          The film starts out and you're instantly thrown in to the middle of the story which is a method of story telling I like, the main character Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) has been accused of the murder and rape of his girlfriend Merrin Williams (Juno Temple). It feel similar to Gone Girl's first act's who-done-it plot and revolves around Ig coming to terms with losing his girlfriend and how this affects him. Most of the big character revelations come in the form of flashbacks which flesh out Ig and Merrin's relationship and those of their friends and family. It also unravels the night Merrin was killed from several characters points of view and the limited time they had with Merrin that night.

          Ig doesn't take the sudden loss of his girlfriend and the blame he's receiving from the press and the local townspeople, so he gets drunk and does a lot of stupid things. When he's drunk he sleeps with a girl he knows and wakes up in her bed the next morning it's here he (and we the audience) notice he's started growing horns, becoming the devil the local people and media see him as. From here on out the film becomes strange, Ig's horn give him a certain control over people, they confess their darkest desires to him and seek him allowance to carry them out, which freaks him out and is very weird to watch not knowing what or why this is happening. This leads to some hilarious scenes where people carry out their hearts desires when in the presence of Ig, my favourite one is in the doctors office, with the doctor and his nurse. Ig soon realizes that this power can help him find out who really attacked and killed Merrin. He tracks down the oppositions star witness the waitress from the restaurant where Ig and Merrin had their fight the night she died, she confesses she lied to the police just to get famous. The film then flashes back to Ig seeing Merrin for the first time as children and also show's Ig and his friends as children.

          I think I've talked about the plot enough and don't want to spoil the film, but there are several revelations that completely change how both we the audience and Ig see people and there is a powerful scene where Ig uses his powers to get revenge on those who have hurt him and and eventual show down with her killer that is amazing.

          As I said I really had no idea what to expect from this film when I watched it. I was blown away by how engaging the story was and how it slowly built and fleshed out things. From the director's previous work I was expecting something more generic and a cheesey Halloween flick, I could not of been further from the truth. Daniel Radclife does an amazing job in what is essentially a one man show (even if hearing him with an american accent is weird). I also had no idea this film was based on a novel of the same name by Joe Hill. I would highly recommend this film and I’d give it a 10/10. One of my favourite films this year and that's saying a lot given how great a year this has been see the previous mentioned Gone Girl.

          p.s. I know I haven't done this in awhile, I hope to change this and hopefully I'll get a lot more reviews done next year. I'm going to make up a top ten movies of 2014 list and hopefully another review before the years out. Thanks David K.

Review: Contagion (2011) - Steven Soderbergh

          Contagion is one of those rare films’s that blends accuracy and action beautifully. The film is a realistic look at how a virus can spread in our modern society and shows the worst case scenario of how a relatively small outbreak can quickly spread and become and an epidemic.

          The film starts out simply enough and shows a businesswoman, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) on her way home after a business trip and an affair, she’s sick we later find out she’s patient zero and the infection spirals out from her, she infects her son who infects other children in his school, however the father, Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) is immune to the virus. Beth’s condition worsens and she’s rushed to hospital where she dies, when Matt goes home he finds his son has also died from the same illness. We then see that the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organisation) are both tracking the outbreak of a as yet identified virus in China, the same place Beth was on her business trip. The WHO then send Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) as their representative to China to try and find out the epicentre of the virus. Homeland security fearing that the virus maybe a biological weapon being used on the eve of Thanksgiving contact the CDC for advice. Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) a conspiracy theorist, posts videos about the disease on his blog.

          This is one of those films with several interlinking stories that you either love or hate and while it isn’t hard to follow the over arching story, you do have to pay attention. Seems as though most people haven’t seen this film I won’t spoil it but I will try and summarise up the rest of the story.

          Basically the scientists struggle to find a cure for the virus and eventually do find one, however in the mean time the disease spreads and society decays and worst aspects in society are shown. This is a very gritty film but well worth the watch.

So rating, I’d give this film a 8/10 it mightn’t be for everyone but I feel most people will enjoy it, especially scientists.