In the last ten years at least, independent horror cinema has been having a true renaissance of both quality and success worldwide, and continuing this phenomenon, we have Longlegs, which has quickly become distributor Neon’s highest grossing film to date. This is due in no small part to an enormous amount of hype from critics and a great promotional campaign.
Osgood Perkins, son of Psycho actor Anthony Perkins, and director of other well received films in the genre Gretel & Hansel and The Blackcoat’s Daughter, writes and directs this tale set primarily in the 90’s in Oregon. Maika Monroe (star of other indie horror hit, It Follows) stars as the soft spoken and emotionally inscrutable Lee Harker, an FBI agent who is assigned to investigate a series of brutal murder suicides connected by coded notes signed by Longlegs (an unrecognizable Nicholas Cage).
Less of a whodunit than why and how, we are introduced to Longlegs in the first scene, at least partially. Forgoing the often campy approach Cage has often taken in horror (i.e. The Vampire’s Kiss), he goes for something far more terrifying with this role, embodying a character of such deliriously crazed evil that it will no doubt take its place among other pop culture monsters of film. Cage knows his assignment, and delivers in full.
To give away much more I feel would give away the experience, so I will get down to the opinions a potential viewer likely comes to these articles wishing to know.
Is Longlegs worth watching? Absolutely, if you are a horror fan. It delivers on many levels and is a solid entry in the genre.
Is Longlegs scary? Yes. The dark brooding sets and atmosphere Perkins provides fills you with dread, and the film has many disquieting and memorable scenes.
Does Longlegs live up to the hype? I’m not sure many films could, and what is scary is of course always pretty subjective. It has a deliberate pace that may not be fast enough for some thrill seekers that aren’t into the creeping dread variety of horror. The film takes a shift from the real to the supernatural that may not be a welcome change for a lot of viewers who might be expecting something more akin to The Silence of the Lambs, a movie that will inevitably come up in comparison due to similar subject matter. Perhaps the oppressive evil of Sinister is a closer cousin. But in the end, it is what is expected of a good horror film by many, and almost guaranteed to give you the chills at some point.
– Angela Clouse is a freelance writer and artist who also designs and creates Gothic jewelry for Sacke & Sugar (https://sackeandsugarco.etsy.com ). She has presented panels on horror genres for conventions in her home state of Tennessee.)
Longlegs (Courtesy of NEON)
