Horns (1 point)

    Horns is a big mish-mash of genres and tones that does a good job at showing the attitude and potential of the New Weird. The film primarily plays with the Gothic, especially the elements of romanticism and extreme emotion. Love and revenge are central to the film’s story and characters, especially Ig. However, the film also mines a lot of comedy out of Ig’s powers. Even in the comedy there’s a sad cynicism; the characters who Ig influences are all repressing lies, urges, and insecurities. Ig resents the people in this small town, and the film reflects that with its jokes.     

    It’s why I’d hesitate to call this a parody or satire. The film takes the story and main characters seriously, it just happens to also have some dark, cynical humor. The mix of comedy and drama makes the film feel more authentic than if it leaned one way or the other. It’s more of a Gothic, supernatural dramedy. It even has the same questionable relationship with women that many Gothic works (especially films) have. That being said, I do relate to Glenna wanting to eat that whole box of donuts while watching Looney Tunes.

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