Production is set to begin later this year on an adaptation of Joe Hill’s Horns. The Mandalay Pictures/Red Granite project was originally planned for a spring shoot, but was postponed when previous lead Shia LaBeouf dropped out. Director Alexandre Aja found a more than suitable replacement over the summer, however, and things are now gearing up on the picture.
The story follows Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe). Ig has the unfortunate luck to to awaken one morning from a night of heavy drinking to find himself the prime suspect in the rape and murder of his girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple). There also happens to be a pair of horns starting to grow on his head. Not weird enough for you? Well, said horns eventually reveal themselves to contain a power that causes people to confess their sins and give into their most sinful desires. Now Ig must race against time to prove his innocence and find out who is responsible for Merrin’s death.
It’s nice to see Daniel Radcliffe on another (potentially) quality horror project after how well Hammer’s The Woman In Black turned out earlier this year. Max Minghella (The Social Network), Kelli Garner (Lars and the Real Girl), and Joe Anderson (The Crazies) in talks to join the project, with the former playing Ig’s public defender. Aja has left the writing duties to others this time, with the adaptation coming from Keith Bunin (In Treatment). Author Joe Hill is also on board as an executive producer.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m excited to be getting another effort from Aja next year. 2008’s Mirrors may have been a misfire*, but the rest of his body of work is among the best of his generation of horror filmmakers. The Hills Have Eyes (2006), in particular, which may well be the only recent horror remake that is better than the original. While he’s stuck mostly to producing lately (P2, Christopher Roth, Maniac), it’s good to see that he won’t be sitting on his directorial laurels while he waits for funding to come together on his passion project: an adaptation of Cobra: The Space Pirate. With production seemingly another few years off on that, Aja will likely be following up Horns with an adaptation of the Image comic Undying Love. Production on said vampire-filled crime thriller could begin sometime late next year, so it’s looking like Alex will be bombarding us with his own brand of horror for the next few years. I, for one, couldn’t be happier.
Source | STYD
* – I’ve heard his debut feature, Furia, is nothing impressive either, but few seem to have seen it.