Twisted surprises from Daniel Radcliffe, Shailene Woodley

RADCLIFFE AND WOODLEY. “Palatable” implausibilities.

Daniel Radcliffe and Shailene Woodley topbill twisted screen dramas, with varying degrees of success: While Radcliffe’s “Horns” is getting good feedback for its inventiveness, thematic grit and originality, Woodley’s “White Bird In A Blizzard” is dissed by some critics for mangling its “Gone Girl”-style shock tactics.

Regardless of how well their stories play out, however, one thing is certain—the former child stars are outstanding in their respective roles!

In Alexandre Aja’s “Horns,” the 25-year-old former “Harry Potter” star continues to reinvent himself in a movie that has him playing Ig Perrish, who grows a pair of horns on his forehead after he’s accused of raping and killing his longtime girlfriend, Merrin Williams (Juno Temple)! Alarmingly, Ig has no immediate recollection of ever hurting her!

Most people don’t seem to notice his growing horns—which come with certain powers: He can see the past, control snakes and compel people to reveal their darkest secrets in his presence! Then, he finds

out that Merrin had inexplicably broken up with him on the day she was murdered! Will that establish probable cause for him to kill the only woman he’s ever loved?

The film takes viewers on a roller-coaster ride before it leads them on to even more twisted surprises—which are sometimes too cheekily amusing. Even when things get too silly, however, Radcliffe keeps things on an even keel with a complex juggling act that balances nuanced drama and dark humor—and marks his finest portrayal to date as a mature performer!

RADCLIFFE AND WOODLEY. “Palatable” implausibilities.

‘White Bird In A Blizzard’

For her part, Shailene Woodley (“Fault In Our Stars,” “Divergent”) accomplishes something more impressive. In Gregg Araki’s dramatic chiller, “White Bird In A Blizzard,” she turns in a textured characterization that could have easily fallen victim to the narrative’s manipulative convolutions—and proves that an actress can be good even when the movie she stars in is no great shakes!

The 22-year-old ingénue portrays 17-year-old Kat, who comes home one day and sees her dad in a state of panic—because her mom, Eve (Eva Green), has gone missing! Her parents have been unhappy because Eve blames her “nice” husband, Brock (Christopher Meloni), for turning her into a domesticated drone.

Eve has grown jealous of Kat’s youth, beauty and eventful sex life with their “dumb but delicious” next-door neighbor, Phil (Shiloh Fernandez).

Has Eve really left her family? The detective (Thomas Jane) investigating her disappearance suggests a grimmer theory—but, without a body or clues that lead to it, the case remains cold. But, as Kat probes deeper into the mystery, she uncovers secrets that could lead her to her unhappy mother—dead or alive!

Araki is famous for his “Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy” (“Totally Fucked Up,” “The Doom Generation,” “Nowhere”) and other dramas tackling risqué themes. But, his excesses always threaten to derail his films’ believability and coherence.

Sometimes, the director’s recklessness leads to narrative tweaks and turns that are more calculating than clever, and his movies suffer from them—unless he casts gifted actors like Woodley, who can make those implausibilities palatable—and credible! You empathize with the actress even when her character doesn’t always do the “right thing”—now, that’s talent!