Longlegs (2024)

​“Longlegs” stars Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee, and Dakota Daulby.  Released on July 12, 2024, the film has an FBI agent searching for a serial killer.

The film is written and directed by Osgood Perkins, who also directed “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”, “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House”, and “Gretel & Hansel”.  In times like these, if you want to give audiences massive heebie-jeebies, you ensure you provide them with the most messed-up experience of their lives.  Whether horror or otherwise, most movies have accomplished this task over the years for better or worse.  Some have messed audiences up so much that they’re left forgotten, while others were left stuck in their heads in the best way, resulting in them being uniquely unsettling masterpieces.  This latest horror thriller from writer/director Osgood Perkins looks to be another example of the latter, which has been getting rave reviews since its screening at Beyond Fest back in May.  I guess putting an unhinged Nicolas Cage in the movie can make a difference.  Now that it has been released to the public, does it prove to be just as disturbing as the reviews suggested, or is this case another bust in the horror genre?  Let’s find out. 

The story follows Lee Harker (Monroe), a recently-employed agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Lee is recently assigned to an infamous case that was left unsolved, in which a Satanic serial killer known as Longlegs (Cage) goes around killing people through horrific methods.  During the investigation, Lee discovers crucial occult evidence involving various victims in different eras, revealing a personal connection to the murderous psychopath.  Lee goes through a nightmarish hell to bring Longlegs to justice before he commits another murder, leading her to discover the terrifying truth behind Longlegs’ unusual murder spree. 

This movie has been heavily anticipated for quite some time since its debut at Beyond Fest.  Multiple critics hailed it as the most terrifying experience of the year, with some saying it’s a modern-day “Silence of the Lambs”.  Hearing those praises, along with its creepy-as-hell marketing, was enough to get me curious about this latest nightmarish thriller.  On the other hand, this could wind up being another scenario in which an anticipated horror movie wound up being overhyped and disappointing.  The last time that happened to me was “In a Violent Nature”, which impressed me with its ambition and nothing else.  I’m happy most people loved that film, but I’m also upset I didn’t feel the same way.  So, I had been ensuring my expectations weren’t too high amid my curiosity.  It was a good thing I did because I left the theater feeling relieved that it turned out great.

While “Longlegs” may not have met all of my expectations of an impeccable horrific experience, it’s still a cinematic accomplishment in uneasiness and nightmarish, helmed by Osgood Perkins.  Before this film, the only movie from Perkins I watched was “Gretel & Hansel” in 2020.  I remembered enjoying it for Perkins’s ability to combine effective atmospheric dread with unsettling horror, even though the story and pacing were so-so.  Watching “Longlegs” certainly brought me back to that memory of watching “Gretel & Hansel”, especially with its cinematography, nightmarish atmosphere, and slow-burning pace.  However, this movie did what “Gretel & Hansel” should’ve done four years ago: being an engaging and messed-up trip through the depths of hell.  Not literally, but you know what I mean.  Osgood Perkins has the ingredients to make his new nightmare stick inside audiences’ minds, such as the spine-chilling atmosphere and haunting imagery.  He effectively blends them all to create a terrifying beast that Satan would adore.

“Longlegs” is pretty much a mixture of slow-burn crime thriller and occult horror, with Lee investigating the murders committed by Longlegs and his Satanic beliefs.  So, if you’re looking for another horror movie filled with cheap jump scares and far-fetched supernatural beings killing people, “Longlegs” isn’t exactly the right choice.  The film is another example of using dread and discomfort in its imagery and characters to provoke unsettlement and disturbing tension instead of cheap jump scares, excessive gore, and CGI demons.  While some jump scares, supernatural elements, and violent content were present, they're more genuine than third-rate or over-the-top.  Along with Andrés Arochi’s stylishly grim cinematography, Zilgi’s unnerving score, and skillful editing, the film is a mesmerizing piece of darkly surreal horror that’s contained but also rightfully messed up.  Perkins’ screenplay was also really admirable in showcasing the frightful nature of Satanic worship and occults and providing an engaging crime mystery through its interesting protagonist and psychological terror.

Of course, the imagery and frights didn’t do all the heavy lifting in “Longlegs”.  It was also powered by its remarkable main leads, whose performances were just as haunting as its concept.  Maika Monroe has been establishing herself as a scream queen after her breakthrough role in “It Follows” in 2014.  Her streak continues a decade later with her role as Lee Harker, an FBI agent with a mysterious past.  Monroe has appeared in other projects beyond horror, but her "scream queen" persona is where her career truly excelled.  Her portrayal of Lee further demonstrates this, as Monroe's performance adeptly captures the composed yet internally terrified FBI agent.  Nicolas Cage was also as fantastic as ever regarding his unhinged performance as Longlegs.  If you enjoyed his other movies where he goes completely off the rails in his performance, you’d be delighted with this one as much as I did.  Fortunately, his demented performance is more authentically unsettling than unintentionally goofy, making his role one of the best he’s ever done in his comeback career.  Blair Underwood and Alicia Witt also delivered strong performances as Agent Carter and Ruth Harker, Lee’s religious mother, respectively.

Overall, “Longlegs” is a compelling testament to slow-burn horror that’s as nightmarishly deranged as a devil-worshipping serial killer.  While its pacing and direction might not impress everyone, given its crime procedural aspect, it’s never to the point of being lifeless, dull, or a major disappointment in my eyes.  It’s a captivating yet deeply haunting display of Satanic terror that never relies on third-rate shortcuts to get easy scares.  Instead, it focuses on bringing dread and unsettlement into its violence, characters, and imagery without overdoing its explicitness.  The main leads delivered some stellar performances, mainly Nicholas Cage, and Osgood Perkins provided impressive results in his approach to slow-burn horror territory.  Combine those elements with its superb cinematography, unsettling storytelling, and Zilgi’s musical score, and you get one of the more rewarding pieces of horror cinema this year.  If you prefer unsettling horror over the ones from Blumhouse, you’ll probably also like this one.

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