We Are Movie Geeks

WAITING FOR GUFFMAN Screens in St. Louis Next Tuesday at THE MX INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

“We consider ourselves bi-costal if you consider the Mississippi River one of the coasts!”

WAITING FOR GUFFMAN screens Tuesday, September 30^th at the MX Theater downtown (618 Washington Ave, St Louis, MO 63101) as part of THE MX INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL. Admission is FREE!

Never has small town theater been so hysterical. Christopher Guest’s mockumentary WAITING FOR GUFFMAN is one of the funniest movies ever made. Its smart humor and devoted cast all give the 1996 film what it needs to work. In the small town of Blaine Missouri (“The stool capital of the world”), temperamental, effeminate Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest) is determined to get his play about the town’s history off the ground. Using all the (very) limited talent he has in the community, Corky puts on his production. Blaine’s dentist Dr. Allen Pearl (Eugene Levy), travel agents Rob and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara – “Some people find it ironical that although we run a travel agency, we’ve never been outside of Blaine”), and Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), the local Dairy Queen employee, all team up to give Blaine it’s tribute to history which includes UFO’s and, of course, stools. While getting the show ready, they are informed of an important Broadway critic is going to come and review the show to see if it has any potential what so ever of making it ….to Broadway! This makes the cast excited, anxious, and just ready to give Blaine and the critic Mr. Guffman one hell of a performance. The dialogue between these characters is priceless (“….’cause you people are BASTARD PEOPLE!”). They unleash what could be some of the funniest scenes of cinema history such as when Corky tries to put “modern” dance into the play. What Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy have written is solid 24k gold (“Well, then, I just HATE you… and I hate your… ass… FACE!“). The characters are outlandish, eccentric and quirky and all played quite phenomenally. The writing is spot on and it’s just terrific.

St. Louis-area film fans will have the chance to see WAITING FOR GUFFMAN on the big screen when it plays Tuesday, September 30^th at the MX Theater downtown (618 Washington Ave, St Louis, MO 63101) as part of THE MX INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL. Admission is FREE!

All of the details about the THE MX INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL can be found HERE

http://mxfilmfest.com/

This is a special screening sponsored by Sham Fest, a celebration of mockery, spoofs, and satire which will take place October 24^th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (for details on that film fest, go HERE) http://shamfilmfestival.com/

THE MX INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL is aimed at local, independent filmmakers and features the best of what St. Louis screenwriters, directors, and actors have to offer. THE MX INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL is dedicated to making the film festival experience as accessible as possible for both filmmaker and audiences alike. Taking a minimalist approach they collect no submission fees and the majority of festival events are free. However no expenses are spared when it comes to filmmaker recognition, with trophies offered for both audience and jury awards. The awards ceremony will be held on October 4th starting at 9:00p in the MX Bar Lounge with free beer provided by Urban Chestnut.

NEXT GOAL WINS – The Review

Review by Kathy Kaiser

In the new documentary NEXT GOAL WINS, Mike Brett and Steve Jamison tell the real- life story of the American Samoan Men’s Soccer team, destined to be in the record books as “the worst team ever” in professional soccer, falling in 2001 to Australia 31 – 0. Wanting to change their course in history as the lowest ranked team in the FIFA standings, this Pacific Island team works year, after year, after year, trying to perfect their craft and change their destiny and their title as the “worst team to ever play the sport of professional Football/Soccer”

With the outcome of each game being just as the one before, American Samoa continues to feel the pain of loss and defeat. Wanting to change the plight that has plagued them for years, they decide as a team – and as a nation – to reach out to the US Soccer Federation to see if anyone is willing to take on this team, and turn them into WINNERS. Only one coach steps forward to attempt the impossible – Dutch born coach Thomas Rongen.

As Rongen evaluates what he has to work with – or not – he devises a plan to turn each and every man on this team into a REAL Soccer player. Thrown by a culture that he doesn’t understand, compounded by a lack of physicality that he hasn’t seen before in his athletes, Rongen realizes that this situation may be even worse that he had anticipated. Rongen decides that their only hope to turn around this team in time to compete in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier is to find a couple Samoans that can fill in the gaps of his fledgling team. Thomas finds Samoan born Rawlston Masanai and Charles Uhrle, now both living in the states – but willing to return to their home land to assist. With these two new guys in place, and the return of their 31 year old goalie Nicky Salapu – who actually took the beating they received in their 31-0 loss against Australia, and who would love nothing more than to be able to change the future of this team, and his own future in the process. Rongen thinks he may now have all the pieces in place to bring American Samoa their first win. But will this team of professional workers – NOT professional athletes – ever be able to change their reputation as the worst team ever to hit the field in professional soccer – and actually start winning games???

I give NEXT GOAL WINS 5 out of 5 stars – Whether you love soccer, or any sport for that matter, or just enjoying viewing heart- warming films filled with lots of meaning and purpose, NEXT GOAL WINS is a must see for you and your entire family! Watching these men give their hearts and souls for the love of the game, and the love of their country, made for an awesome viewing experience. Being able to see these men/athletes persevere in the jaws of defeat and to achieve the impossible is truly compelling. I believe that every athlete, every coach, every manger of any sports program should view this film – as it will educate and inspire anyone who is associated with any sport, at any level, to become the best that you can be! Seeing how Rongen himself had to restructure his coaching philosophies – and his philosophies of life itself too – in order to bring this team to the professional level they needed to achieve was amazing. As a former athlete and mother of two children who are still in athletics, I cried a few tears along the way too, as this film is as real-life as it gets. Kudos to Mike Brett and Steve Jamison for bringing this story to the big screen, and showing the world that anything is within your reach, just as long as you NEVER GIVE UP!!

ANNABELLE Haunts St. Louis Before Her Big Screen Debut On October 3

Miss me?

In the upcoming movie ANNABELLE, John Form has found the perfect gift for his expectant wife, Mia—a beautiful, rare vintage doll in a pure white wedding dress. But Mia’s delight with Annabelle doesn’t last long. On one horrific night, their home is invaded by members of a satanic cult, who violently attack the couple. Spilled blood and terror are not all they leave behind. The cultists have conjured an entity so malevolent that nothing they did will compare to the sinister conduit to the damned that is now…Annabelle.

The real Annabelle doll was reportedly purchased at a thrift store as a birthday present for a college student in the ‘70s. She tormented her owner and purportedly moved on her own, wrote notes on paper, lied about her identity, clawed and scratched the living, and is even blamed for at least one death.

Annabelle currently rests in a glass case at the Warren’s Occult Museum in Connecticut, behind a sign that reads “Warning: Positively Do Not Open.”

Until now.

Annabelle has escaped and made her way to St. Louis to take in the local sights and sounds of the Gateway to the West. Check out the photos below and be careful if you run into this menace around the city.

Annabelle, the infamous doll at the center of one of paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren’s most profiled cases, made her terrifying screen debut in James Wan’s box office sensation THE CONJURING. Even while shooting the film, Wan and producer Peter Safran were already entertaining the idea that the not-so-innocent doll needed an entire movie of her own.

Wan, who has always been fascinated with the Annabelle case, says, “We know she’s so bad that, even after all this time, she still has to be kept locked up …but, how did she get that way?”

Safran adds, “How does something so charming, so sweet, become a conduit for pure evil and destruction?”

On October 3rd, get ready for an intense ride as Annabelle transforms from pretty to pretty creepy.

Says director John R. Leonetti, “I hope she gets under your skin, then gets in your head, and your soul and your blood. And if your blood starts tingling and the hair on your arms stands up, we’ve done our job.”

So remember, if you see ANNABELLE propped up against a chair or in a corner of a room, just tell yourself “It’s not a person, it’s only a doll.”

Win Tickets To The Advance Screening Of GONE GIRL In St. Louis

From the tour de force thriller that became a bestselling must-read comes David Fincher’s screen version of GONE GIRL, a wild ride through our modern media culture and down into the deep, dark fault lines of an American marriage – in all its unreliable promises, inescapable deceits and pitch-black comedy.

The couple at the center of the story – former New York writer Nick Dunne and his formerly “cool girl” wife Amy, now trying to make ends meet in the mid-recession Midwest – have all the sinuous outer contours of contemporary marital bliss. But on the occasion of their 5th wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing — and those contours crack into a maze of fissures. Nick becomes the prime suspect, shrouded in a fog of suspicious behavior. Amy becomes the vaunted object of a media frenzy as the search for her, dead or alive, plays out before the eyes of a world thirsting for revelations.

Just as Nick and Amy personified the quintessential romantic match, Amy’s disappearance has all the markings of an emblematic domestic American crime. But her vanishing becomes a kind of hall of mirrors in which tantalizing and savage secrets lead to tantalizing and savage secrets.

The events that unfold are thick with shocks and complications, but the questions that remain are what cut, with razor-sharp precision, to the bone: Who is Nick? Who is Amy? Who are any of us in marriages — and a society — built on a precarious base of projected images and disguises?

Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Entertainment Present a David Fincher film starring Ben Affleck, GONE GIRL, with Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. The screenplay is by Gillian Flynn based upon her novel.

WAMG has your passes for GONE GIRL. Enter for a chance to win passes (Good for 2) to the advance screening on October 2nd at 7:00PM in St. Louis.

Click here to enter: http://l.gofobo.us/VkHQnvmj

The winners will be drawn the morning of October 1st.

The film is rated R.

http://www.gonegirlmovie.com/

GONE GIRL opens on October 3

Fantastic Fest 2014: V/H/S: VIRAL – The Review

What started as a clever way of combining the current found footage trend and fun anthology horror has now become an annual series that many genre fans have embraced. V/H/S: VIRAL, the third entry into the found footage series, delves into more action territory than straight-forward horror. I guess a change of pace isn’t a bad thing. Though some fans might be put off by this. The wrap around features a chase through the streets of LA (“Vicious Circles”), the first story includes an aerodynamic fight between magicians over a mysterious cloak (“Dante the Great”), and the final story includes a burly brawl featuring kids using their skateboards to fend off possessed demons (“Bonestorm”). A lot of excitement is created by these three stories but the feeling of dread or fear is nowhere to be found. All of these amount to an anthology that doesn’t aim for the jugular like its predecessors. Less time is spent on building actual scares which fans of the series may take issue with. This could mostly be due to the fact that this film only has three shorts and one wrap-around, making this the shortest of the three films. The first film consisted of five shorts and a wrap-around and the second had four and a wrap-around. Apparently one short was in fact excised from VIRAL due to the producers not being happy with it – granted, this is just what I heard. One more solid short really could have made all the difference.

When dealing with a series of shorts you are always going to have one that soars above the rest. The one that is a perfect balance of character, story, and thrills, all packed in a short but neat package. With V/H/S it was definitely the haunted house segment “10/31/98.” With V/H/S/2 it was the creepy cult “Safe Haven.” And this year, the award from VIRAL goes to Nacho Vigalondo’s short “Parallel Monsters.” He incorporates similiar ideas from his fantastic feature TIMECRIMES but places them even more into the horror arena. A time travel device opens an alternate universe that appears to mirror the current one. The inventor swaps places with his double but what he doesn’t expect is to step into a dark and sexual nightmare that is equal parts funny and grossly bizarre. This simple concept excels by slowly ratcheting the tension into Vigalondo finally delivers a visual punch that will completely blind-side you.

The wrap-around short that is supposed to be the connective tissue to all the parts is much more ambitious than previous entries. An attempt is made to build a larger universe embodying the ever watchful recording eye for all of these videos. It’s a half-baked idea but is worthy of applause since it’s not just another story of people breaking into a house and finding home videos.

You should know by now whether or not VIRAL is going to be for you or not. The visual shakiness, tracking lines, and “video glitches” are all still intact which is a stylistic choice that is still hard for me to enjoy. That being said, the series thus far has served to introduce young horror fans to some of the most talented and creative minds that have been active in the genre. The found footage angle might not be the best use of their talent, but if this encourages someone to go seek out DANCE OF THE DEAD, DEADGIRL, TIMECRIMES, and this year’s fest favorite SPRING (set to be released next March), than V/H/S: VIRAL at least serves as an advertisement for emerging talent.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS Prize Pack Giveaway

Relativity’s upcoming movie, HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS – starring Simon Pegg, Toni Collette, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Jean Reno and Christopher Plummer – is opening later this month, and to celebrate WAMG is giving away a HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS prize pack. Hurray!

One lucky winner will receive:

$50 in Orbucks (Orbitz Rewards)
“Handy Dandy” travel candy (featured in the movie)
Branded travel journal
$25 Fandango gift card

TO ENTER:

1. YOU MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT WITH A U.S. SHIPPING ADDRESS. NO P.O. BOXES.

2. PLACE YOUR NAME, A VALID EMAIL, AND ANSWER TO THE QUESTION BELOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS POST.

3. What movie makes you happy?

WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN THROUGH A RANDOM DRAWING OF QUALIFYING CONTESTANTS. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PRIZES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED.

Hector (Simon Pegg) is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara (Rosamund Pike), he feels like a fraud: he hasn’t really tasted life, and yet he’s offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life. Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true happiness. And so begins a larger than life adventure with riotously funny results. Based on the world-wide best-selling novel of the same name, Hector and the Search for Happiness is a rich, exhilarating, and hilarious tale from director Peter Chelsom, starring Simon Pegg, Toni Collette, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Jean Reno and Christopher Plummer.

“We should concern ourselves not so much with the pursuit of happiness, but with the happiness of the pursuit.”Professor Coreman (Christopher Plummer)

Earn and redeem rewards in an instant. Join today at Orbitz.com/rewards and get Instant Vacation Gratification!

Learn more about HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hectorandthesearchforhappiness

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HectorMovie

Instagram: http://instagram.com/hectormovie

HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS opens September 19th in New York and Los Angeles, in limited release on September 26th and expands October 3rd

New Trailer Arrives For KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

The new trailer is here for KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE and stars Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Taron Egerton and Samuel L. Jackson.

Watch the exclusive trailer now with a new track from IGGY AZALEA featuring ELLIE GOULDING.

Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class), the film tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

The screenplay is by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, based upon the comic book by Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE hits theaters everywhere on February 13, 2015

Visit the Kingsman WEBSITE: http://fox.co/Kingsman
Like Kingsman on FACEBOOK: http://fox.co/KingsmanFB
Follow Kingsman on TWITTER: http://fox.co/KingsmanTwitter
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Fantastic Fest 2014: SPRING – The Review

Walking into a film completely blind and letting it take you to a new and foreign place is an exciting and refreshing experience. Rarely do you have that luxury with social media and modern marketing. I knew next to nothing before seeing the new film from Moorhead & Benson (RESOLUTION). SPRING took me on a journey, but more importantly, this film about personal discoveries and being reborn anew is a filmic journey that demands to be taken again and again.

Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) embodies a Charles Bukowski lost soul character. He’s constantly at odds with himself and rarely is seen without a cigarette, booze, or other drug in his hand. When the opportunity is available, he pines for the comfort of a woman in his dazed and confused state. Yet there’s a softness to his eyes that makes his hard lifestyle choices forgivable. Evan has been through a lot of recent hardships – losing his mom and his job in the same week – and the idea of a new life, or at least an escape from his old one, comes in the form of an aimless journey through Italy. Initially though, it’s not really a “new” life for Evan. He immediately links up with two horny travelers who are reminiscent of his friend Tommy back home. It isn’t until Evan begins developing a relationship with a mysterious stranger named Louise that we finally see the promise of rebirth. Shots of insects and plants blooming during the spring season as well as a few references to the evolutionary advances of man lends the last half a metaphysical tone that opens up the film in a new light.

What makes SPRING such a treat to discover is the way in which the story is presented. An air of mystery sets in once Evan arrives in Italy. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are careful about revealing what exactly is going on as we are left speculating at what’s around the corner. For instance, the farmer who hires Evan for work speaks short, cryptic phrases – “Italian women”; locals are seen peering through their windows as he walks down the streets; dead animals are found in the streets; and most importantly, the elusive and exotic Louise keeps Evan in the dark about her life; all of these elements slowly weave together to form one of the best horror-fantasies I’ve seen in years and one that will constantly keep you guessing.

Moorhead & Benson invest a lot of time and effort in their characters. There’s an excitement to the playful banter between the young lovers that typically isn’t heard in most films. Writing “real” situations that don’t include empty or contrived dialogue can be a struggle. Justin Benson’s genuine love for the characters is evident and is perfectly brought to life through two wonderful leads in Lou Taylor Pucci and Nadia Hilker. A heartbreaking vulnerability is conveyed in their performances – a style that is equally as rare to see in the horror genre.

Some will be quick to describe the film as Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE mixed with … well … saying the last part gives more away than I would prefer; even though most critics will likely mention it since its an important aspect to the story. Let me just say this: the last part works. Yes… there’s some scientific rambling that may be hard to stomach or believe, but I was sold on it based on the foundation that the directors had previously setup. If you can be content enough with the vague description of “horror-fantasy,” than that might be the best way to describe the last half of the film without spoiling it. Some shocking and surreal make-up and effects work is achieved that will satisfy patient genre fans; one quick but horrific scene in particular left me slack-jawed for a solid minute. At a genre-centric festival like Fantastic Fest, a film like SPRING stands out as a refreshing approach to a supernatural story. As Louise explains to Evan, “Just because you haven’t seen something before, it doesn’t mean it’s supernatural.” So maybe it is in fact a human story as opposed to a supernatural one. Not unlike Evan’s wide-eyed stare when he first meets the dark-haired vixen, I was constantly in a state of wonder watching SPRING and was transfixed by a unique and beautiful film that breathes life into the horror genre.

Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5

Drafthouse Films just picked up the film for distribution and has not released a poster or release date as of yet

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN Screens October 2nd at Schlafly Bottleworks

Abbott: “You’re making enough noise to wake up the dead! “

Costello: “I don’t have to wake him up. He’s up!”

ABBOTT AND COSTEELO MEET FRANKENSTEIN Screens October 2nd at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood

It’s interesting that Lou Costello initially was reluctant to do ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, since it became probably the most popular and successful instalment in their career. It was so popular, in fact, that many of the Abbott & Costello movies to follow were along similar lines — they would go on to meet The Mummy, The Invisible Man and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. You can sort of see where he was coming from … horror/comedy isn’t exactly a highly respected genre, although there have been several classics in it since (YOUNG FRANKESNTEIN comes to mind).

The story starts when a couple of crates arrive in the US, to an office manned by Chick Young (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello). The two of them are asked to the two crates to the their destination, a house of horrors. What they don’t realize is that one crate contains Dracula’s coffin and the other, the Frankenstein monster. Dracula awakens and escapes with the monster, leaving the two freight handlers to deal with the insurance company over the missing goods. But it turns out they have bigger worries — Dracula has chosen Wilbur’s brain to transplant into the Frankenstein monster in order to revive him …

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN marked the triple swan song of Universal’s “big 3” monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein’s creature, and the Wolf Man. The producers scored a coup by casting the original and definitive Dracula, Bela Lugosi, in what was, incredibly only his second and final screen appearance as his most famous character. As The Wolf Man, Lon Chaney Jr. is wonderfully consistent as the tormented Lawrence Talbot, though perhaps in deference to the comedy trappings, his desire to die takes a back seat and he actually takes on the air of the hero, even as his monstrous alter ego. (The fact he was cured in the previous monster film, HOUSE OF DRACULA, is conveniently ignored; maybe he had a relapse). Glenn Strange meets Boris Karloff’s record by making his third appearance as the Monster. Sadly, once again he never really gets a chance to do much with the role. I always liked Strange’s portrayal of the monster. All of Karloff’s pathos was long gone by the time this film came out, but Strange gives the monster one damn creepy lumbering walk. Also, Bud Westmore had taken over Universal’s makeup department by this time, so the haunting, Jack Pierce design was well on its way into becoming the face of Herman Munster. Even so, he looks grotesque and scary.

Bud and Lou have a hysterical routine about “the two girls last week” that goes by in a matter of seconds. Frank Skinner’s music is truly fantastic. He creates unique and effective themes for all three of the monsters and a dopey leitmotif for Lou. And look closely at the scene in which the monster hurls Aubert from a laboratory window: that’s Lon Chaney Jr. doing the hurling. Glen Strange injured his foot and was unable to do the scene, and Chaney, who had played the part of the monster before, donned the makeup, hoisted Aubert’s stunt double and pitched her out the window. A true trooper. My only regret was that Universal had their classic monsters survive fires, explosions, drowning, staking, freezing, sulphur pits, quicksand and the passage of centuries only to be finally conquered by Abbott and Costello!

There will be a full moon and more Thursday October 2^nd when ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN screens at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood at 7pm.

Doors open at 6:30pm. $6 suggested for the screening. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed suds. A bartender will be on hand to take care of you.

“Culture Shock” is the name of a film series here in St. Louis that is the cornerstone project of a social enterprise that is an ongoing source of support for Helping Kids Together(http://www.helpingkidstogether.com/) a St. Louis based social enterprise dedicated to building cultural diversity and social awareness among young people through the arts and active living. The films featured for “Culture Shock” demonstrate an artistic representation of culture shock materialized through mixed genre and budgets spanning music, film and theater.

Through ‘A Film Series’ working relationship with Schlafly Bottleworks, they seek to provide film lovers with an offbeat mix of dinner and a movie opportunities. We hope to see everyone this Thursday night!

Fantastic Fest 2014: HORNS – The Review

A film not yet released after having previously premiered over a year ago isn’t necessarily a good sign of things to come. Such is the case with HORNS. The adaptation of the popular horror novel by Joe Hill has sat on the shelf since first premiering at The Toronto International Film Festival in early September of 2013. This might not be the nail in the coffin for a film, especially since so many great films have sat for years collecting dust – just read about the behind the scenes story of THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Still, the little voice in my head told me to proceed cautiously for fear of getting burned.

Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) is going through hell. He is dealing with the personal heartbreak of losing the love of his life (Juno Temple) and attempting to defend his name from a town that seems dead-set on finding him guilty. There’s no rest for the wicked. Especially not when your own family thinks your guilty. But what makes him look even worse in the eye of his enemies is that Ig wakes up one day with horns protruding from his head.

HORNS is an extremely dark and twisted fairy tale that benefits from some striking photography and beautiful art direction. It’s a visual and musical wonderland filled with mossy woods and small town charm. The fairy tale aspect is pushed even into Tim Burton territory at times mainly in part to a whimsical score by Robin Coudert that’s reminiscent of Danny Elfman’s work. A few college rock songs are thrown in as well and are utilized in some of the best scenes in the film, like one featuring Pixies or the recurring David Bowie track “Heroes.” It’s moments like these where you feel French director Alexandre Aja pushing himself to adapt the novel and finding success by giving the source material an energy that leaps off the page. Elsewhere he doesn’t have such luck.

I think it’s fair to say that certain images and situations are written specifically just to be read. HORNS doesn’t feel lost in translation as much as it feels a need to cram every idea, character, and visual from the book into the film. Keith Bunin’s script leaves no page unturned. An even flow is never achieved mainly because it feels so cumbersome due to so much going on and some heavy-handed themes. HORNS serves only to convey what’s in the book instead of Aja crafting a film that speaks to his own unique and often violent style.

Daniel Radcliffe does his best to convey the internal struggles of “the monster within.” It’s just with such a large ensemble cast, the focus is often adrift in disjointed scenes of side characters (Can someone please explain to me the reasoning behind Heather Graham’s extended cameo?) just so that the audience has potential suspects of who the murderer is. That being said, you can almost hear the organ cue or the crash of thunder in the background every time the killer not so subtly appears on-screen.

I wasn’t offended with HORNS as much as I was disappointed. I typically like Aja’s work (mostly) and enjoyed moments of the gallows humor and twisted fantasy elements in HORNS. There’s an abundance of material crammed into this naughty morality play and a director with a more objective eye should have noticed that. It’s not to say that HORNS is without a soul, it’s just that maybe Aja should not have obeyed everything the little devil on his shoulder was saying.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

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GONE GIRL opens on October 3

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HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS opens September 19th in New York and Los Angeles, in limited release on September 26th and expands October 3rd

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