Film Review: Longlegs
Longlegs is a horror film that is odd, uneasy and a little silly.
by Tadd Mecham
Longlegs
(three out of five stars)
Rating: R for bloody violence, disturbing images, and some language
Run time: 101 minutes
Director: Oz Perkins
Released: 2024
Longlegs is a horror film that is odd, uneasy and a little silly.
It follows the story of FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) hot on the trail of serial family killer: Longlegs (Nicolas Cage). What begins as a fairly cut and dry police procedural slowly morphs into something more sinister as the investigation begins to lean towards the supernatural. What set Longlegs apart long before release was its marketing. In the beginning there were only photos of crime scenes with symbols that resembled the Zodiac killer’s infamous cipher. Then fake websites. You could even call him at: (458) 666-4355 for an ever changing string of deranged dialog.
Then the trailers rolled out and it was frequently given comparisons to Silence of the Lambs. In all the hype, I think it overplayed its hand. It ends up shooting itself in the foot in the with an insane amount of exposition. The final third and its reveal is cooky and sapped any remaining horror out of what came before. It dumps its wild card and resorts to standard horror tropes and I was definitely a little bummed at the turn it took. It’s strongest point is the craftsmanship. It is incredibly precise in its presentation, a reliable calling card of everything Oz Perkins has made thus far, and the atmosphere achieved is overwhelmingly eerie.
Maika Monroe’s performance makes Lee an immediately sympathetic protagonist. Her oddball presence and general out-of-place-ness endearing as she effortlessly cracked codes and trusted her psychic nature in increasingly grim situations. Then of course there is Nicolas Cage. His performance is incredibly bizarre but it works so well. He is able to effortlessly shift from campy, lyric screaming, baby talking, weirdo to a dead eyed, whispering, monster without skipping a beat. His performance made me smile before it made my skin crawl.
There is a lot to like here. It is weird enough to stand out, if only just, but definitely needed less telling and a lot more showing in its final act. Still, if you are a fan of horror do not skip it.