Longlegs
It has been a really, really long time since I have been this excited for a horror movie. I remember seeing people losing their minds on Tik Tok and X about the original marketing for the film, which was just a few images of gruesome crime scenes with cryptic symbols attached to them. I think those alone captivated people and it marked the beginning of the hype for this film. Before we get into the review, let me start off by saying that the marketing for this movie was some of the best I have seen since Smile, and unfortunately, that may have been its biggest downfall: Setting the bar impossibly high.
I will say that these guys went almost to the same depths as Marvel did with Spider-man: No Way Home when it came to the plot of the story, any sort of spoilers, and the biggest piece – hiding Nicolas Cage’s Longlegs from the public until the movie was released. With that, I will give credit where it is due. As I walked into the theater on opening night, my friends and I truly had no idea what to expect, so naturally, we expected the worst. What we left with was something completely different.
The story follows FBI agent Lee Harker who is chosen to dive back into some cold case files featuring the slayings of entire families, all on the same day, all ending with 3 murders and 1 suicide. The thing is that there is always a cryptic message left at the crime scene, and though the messages are left, there are no other fingerprints at the scene of the crime aside from the family. So, Lee Harker goes deeper and deeper into the cases, realizing she may have a deeper connection to these murders than she realized.
Okay, so before I start ripping into this film, let me first explain the things I liked, which there were quite a few. The film is beautifully shot and very aesthetically pleasing unlike most horror films. Most horror films rely on cheap scares and their gore factor, but Longlegs really showcases Perkin’s love for filmography as there are some amazing scenes and shots throughout, especially the beginning as it showcases different aspects for flashbacks. As a lover of horror movies, I enjoyed how the film makes you feel uncomfortable, but not from what is on the screen. It is a very quiet film, leaving an abundance of awkward silences, making you feel that some sort of threat is on the horizon, but it just keeps lingering – and building. This was a brilliant piece to the aesthetic of the movie – an easy way to make audiences feel something without showing much of anything. The cinematography and score were phenomenal and showcase some serious strengths of Oz Perkins.
As far as performances go, the most star power lies within the two main characters of the film, both portrayed by Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe. Cage plays Longlegs and although Cage has been known to be a little neurotic and weird, his role of Longlegs was decent. I felt like they still didn’t give him enough screen time – especially with a role as hyped up as Longlegs. He was creepy for sure, but again, with the hype that the marketing built around his character, I was expecting a little bit more…. horror, I guess? In all reality, you could still tell it was Cage through various mannerisms and his voice. He honestly looked like a 3rd girl from the film White Chicks. Freaky and off-putting? Yes. Just not enough.
Maika Monroe plays the role of Lee Harker, and though I found her character quite bland at times (I think that was the point) and lacking some emotional depth, she did do a decent job playing an estranged FBI agent who is clearly dealing with some deep trauma. Her stoic mannerisms and blatant detachment from reality was enough to make you feel uncomfortable, even to the point where it can be a bit comical. Nonetheless, her character was entertaining. One of the more minor characters that I was truly unsettled by was the role of Harker’s mother, played by Alicia Witt. She did a phenomenal job playing the role of a creepy, overbearing mom who ultimately makes a deal with the devil to protect her daughter. Any time her character appeared on screen, I leaned forward, hanging on every word.
So, if you’ve made it this far, you can tell that my beef with this film does not lie with the performances, nor the score or the cinematography. My issues lie with the script and some major plot holes that are almost too big to ignore.
My first major issue was the symbols used almost everywhere when promoting the film, and the fact that we never learn their meaning or what exactly they are. The closest explanation we get to what the symbols are or where they are from is a subtle clue when Harker decides to dig into the 9 Circles of Hell to crack the codes. Now, one can only speculate that these are demonic symbols, but what made it even more frustrating was the simple fact Perkins had the opportunity to explain them, but just passed it up entirely. When Harker’s superior, Agent Carter, asks how she figures it out, she brushes it off and basically ignores the question. Like really? Not a single answer?
Another was just the blatant stupidity of the character and some of the decisions Harker made when investigating Longlegs. There is a scene, and I’ll keep it brief to avoid MAJOR spoilers, where Longlegs visits Harker at her home. She sees him outside, draws her gun and approaches him in the woods, but in true horror movie fashion, he’s no longer there as he has made his way into the home. She rushes back in, only to find a letter synonymous with the ones left at the crime scenes. Does she check the house to see where he is? No. Does she call her fellow agents or 911 to sweep for fingerprints or any other clues? No. What does she do? She simply sits back down, sets the gun on the desk, and goes back to reading. Just makes absolutely no sense at all. There are a few other minor scenes that give off these same vibes.
And lastly, the one that really ties back in with my comment about Cage’s Longlegs not getting enough screen time is that fact that we never quite understand or get an explanation for why Longlegs is doing what he is doing. He is obviously satanic but even then, all the in-depth planning of killing similar families, all on the same day, and we never get explained why? Why let us know how intricate the murders are if you won’t even explain why? I feel like if had we had gotten more screen time from Longlegs including why he does this, what everything means, etc., then maybe we could have been even more scared of him. This seems like a missed opportunity. Oh, and please don’t ignore the headbanging scene that is blatant rip-off from Hereditary.
Yes, there are some issues with the script that seem to be too big to ignore, and though I wasn’t the biggest fan, I do implore you to go and see for yourself because right now, it seems that people are either in love with it or they hate it. I think the biggest issue, aside from these plot holes, is that people were in fact gearing up to see something along the lines of Hereditary or Insidious, but this film should be classified as a thriller rather than a horror. I think if I had gone in with that mindset, it would have changed my perspective of the film. Entertaining for what it was? Yes. In the wrong genre? I think so. All in all, it’s a beautifully shot film with a phenomenal score that happened to fall short on the story, but I think even if the film was legendary, the hype was way too high to satisfy. And hell, maybe that is why I feel so low about it. Oh well, guess I’ll have to go see it again to see if it changes my mind!
3.9/5