Line #11 Film/Horns


1	[[quoteright:342:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/587209a20ff736df39db071319d9a472.jpg]]
2	''Horns'' is a horror/black comedy directed by Creator/AlexandreAja and starring Creator/DanielRadcliffe. It is based on the [[Literature/{{Horns}} book of the same name]] by Creator/JoeHill.
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4	The plot concerns a young man who is accused of murdering his girlfriend. One morning he begins growing horns that seem to give him the powers of Satan.
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7	!!This film includes the following tropes:
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9	* AdaptationalHeroism: Several characters come across as more sympathetic than their book counterparts - notably Terry [[spoiler:who, in the book, was aware of the identity of Merrin's killer and knowingly concealed it]] and Lee Tourneau, [[spoiler:who's nowhere near the villain level of Lee in the book]].
10	* AerithAndBob: The Perrish brothers; ''Ignatius'' and... Terry.
11	* AntiHero: Ig.
12	* ArmouredClosetGay: [[spoiler:Ig's former friend Eric, who was a homophobe even in childhood, is revealed to be gay and mutually attracted to the also-closeted cop he's partnered with]].
13	* AssholeVictim:
14	** [[spoiler:The waitress who lied about seeing Ig drag Merrin into his car the night she died to get on television in hopes it will be a springboard into stardom is the first person he goes after when he embraces the horns, ruining her looks by sending a den of snakes to bite her face repeatedly.]]
15	** Also [[spoiler: Lee,]] who raped and murdered Merrin in a fit of jealous rage and when he confesses to the crime he then gleefully murders Eric, injures Terry and mortally wounds Ig. He meets his end when [[spoiler:the fully empowered Ig impales him with his horns, then sends a snake to [[OrificeInvasion slither though the hole and force its way down his throat]]]].
16	* AtomicFBomb: Ig lets out ''three'' of these in a row [[spoiler:after Lee lies that Merrin left him because they were in love with each other]], each one longer than the last.
17	* BadPowersGoodPeople: Ig grows horns, controls snakes, and literally brings out the worst in people, but he uses these to find and punish Merrin's killer.
18	* BedmateReveal: Ig wakes up with Glenna after she drags him away from Merrin's memorial.
19	* BigBrotherInstinct: Part of Terry's drug usage after Merrin's death is spurred by his ''lack'' of this - [[spoiler: namely, numbing the guilt he feels for not coming to Ig's defense because what he knows implicates him instead. By the end of the movie, he's this in full force, to the point of taking a shotgun to the leg and [[DiedInYourArmsTonight holding Ig's demonic form as he dies]].]]
20	* BigRedDevil: [[spoiler:Ig's devilish appearance gets an upgrade after he's set on fire, with most of his skin burned red and black.]]
21	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Ig is reunited with Merrin's spirit in some sort of afterlife, after clearing his own name]].
22	* BlackIsBiggerInBed: A female patient waiting to see the doctor along with Ig is the first person to blurt out any dirty secret reveals she's sleeping with her black golf trainer and adds gleefully that [[BiggerIsBetterInBed he's well-endowed]]. He briefly sees her memory of [[TheImmodestOrgasm her going at it with him very pleasurably]].
23	* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with the same scene of Ig and Merrin together.
24	* BrickJoke: When heading to his usual bar, Ig is hounded by reporters [[IfItBleedsItLeads desperate for a big break]], so he tells them that he'll grant an exclusive interview with whichever reporter manages to beat the shit out of the others. They start doing so with gusto, allowing him to enter the bar freely. When he comes out and gets into his car, the last reporter standing quietly says "But... my interview."
25	* DevilsPitchfork: Ig carries around a pitchfork for a good portion of the film, aiding to his devil ensemble.
26	* DrowningMySorrows: Ig has become quite the alcoholic since Merrin's death, and his getting blackout drunk that night is part of why he questions if he ''did'' kill her. And while his brother is TheStoner, he's gotten much worse in his usage because he was the last person to see Merrin alive - and [[spoiler: is convinced ''he'' was the one to do it, also while blackout drunk]].
27	* EntitledToHaveYou: [[spoiler:Lee felt this way towards Merrin and even thought she broke up with Ig to be with him.]] Merrin adamantly repeating that she only loves Ig is what causes him snap and murder her.
28	* FieryCoverup: The lab with the physical evidence from the murder is burnt down. It's later shown that [[spoiler: his father called in a favor to do it, believing the evidence would implicate his son]].
29	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
30	** In the first scene, when Ig promises he'll love Merrin for as long as he lives, she tells him just to love her for as long as ''she'' lives.
31	** The fact that [[spoiler: Lee]] is the only one who "believes" Ig didn't murder Merrin is a bit of a red flag.
32	* GlassCannon: Ig is this, at least in the film. [[spoiler: Even when he's in full-on demon mode, summoning snakes, big horns and SuperStrength, and despite being super hard to kill, things seem to cause as much pain and damage to Ig as they would any normal human. Lee nearly beats him to death in their first altercation, and mortally wounds him in the second.]]
33	* GodIsFlawed: Ig resents that with all her faith, and with all her goodness, God did not protect Merrin from dying horribly.
34	* GoodIsNotNice: Despite being more of an anti-hero, Ig is by no means bad. His methods of interrogation are often morally questionable and unpleasant, but it's all for the sake of solving his girlfriend's murder.
35	* GreenEyedMonster: [[spoiler: Lee is resentful of Ig for winning Merrin's heart, which he openly admits during their scuffle.]]
36	* HeldGaze: Merrin first catches Ig's attention in church by flashing light in his face so he'll look up and see her staring at him.
37	* ILoveTheDead: Although it doesn't actually happen, the lying waitress makes her story more salacious by claiming that Ig had anal intercourse with Merrin after killing her.
38	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy:
39	** [[spoiler: Ig eventually finds a letter from Merrin explaining their breakup. She's dying of the same kind of cancer that killed her mother, and decided to push him away [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim to spare him the pain of watching her die slowly and horribly]]. She hopes he'd find another girl and move on before realizing the truth.]].
40	** [[spoiler: After Glenna admits to Ig that she's always loved him but knew he would never love her back, he gently tells her that she should go to New York to find the right person for her.]]
41	* LoveTriangle: [[spoiler: Lee and Ig both love Merrin, but she only has eyes for Ig.]] This becomes a major plot point. Glenna, Merrin and Ig also counts.
42	* MeaningfulName: Ignatius literally means "fiery one."
43	* MementoMacGuffin: Merrin's cross, which belonged to her mother first. [[spoiler: It's the first clue that Lee had killed Merrin, and it also keeps him from seeing Ig's horns. Later, it lets Ig return to his human form after he'd suffered burns that made him look like a BigRedDevil]].
44	* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: Ig's horns cause others to blurt out their innermost thoughts with little provocation - he's ''really'' hurt by what his parents have to say.
45	* MissingMom: Merrin's mother died of cancer in her childhood, which she doesn't like to talk about. [[spoiler:This becomes relevant later-it turns out to be hereditary, so she gets the same kind.]]
46	* PunishedWithUgly: Ig decides to punish the [[spoiler:lying waitress]] (one of the few witnesses to his last interaction with Merrin) by having snakes repeatedly bite her, [[LaserGuidedKarma damaging her vanity]] and taking away her chance at fame from being a star witness in his murder trial.
47	* RedRightHand: [[spoiler:Lee Tourneau, the villain of the film, lacks two fingers on one hand]].
48	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Everybody believes Ig killed Merrin and that his family's money saved him from justice. Including his family, who paid to "save" him from justice.
49	* SecretTestOfCharacter: Potentially invoked in Ig's first post-horns encounter with Merrin's father; while the man says that he wants to shoot Ig for killing Merrin, by that point Ig has gained enough experience of the horns to realise that, if the other man actually ''did'' want to shoot Ig, he would have done it already.
50	* SecretlyDying: [[spoiler: Merrin had late-stage breast cancer when she was murdered. She only left Ig to spare him the trauma of watching her die]].
51	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: At least two characters spill their guts to Ig while he's actively assaulting or trying to kill them.
52	* TouchTelepathy: One of Ig's abilities is being able to peer into someone's memories if he's touching them.
53	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: The little girl at the doctor's office spends most of her screen time screaming and smashing the waiting room toys, then tells Ig she hates her mother wants to burn her alive with matches while she's sleeping.
54	* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: [[spoiler:Merrin's father prayed every day for Ig to die when it's believed that he killed her. When Ig was believed to have committed suicide, he states that it didn't help one bit.]]
55	* TheUnfavorite: Ig's father admits under the influence of the horns that he's always been closer to Ig's brother, because they share a passion for music. Both parents admit that, with Ig's murder trial, they both wish he'd just go away.
56	* UnluckyChildhoodFriend:
57	** Glenna to Ig. She admits to him that she knew she could never compare to Merrin.
58	** Also [[spoiler: Lee to Merrin, which ultimately ends in her death.]]
59	* WallBangHer: Ig has sex with Merrin against a tree.

Context Film / Horns