Longlegs Review | No Scarier Movie Will Descend Upon Us in 2024

Summary

• Nicolas Cage stars as a horrifying villain in
  Longlegs
  , a horror thriller that continues to prove Osgood Perkins is one of horror’s great filmmakers.
• Maika Monroe delivers an awards-caliber performance as a detective investigating a series of brutal murders. Kiernan Shipka, Alicia Witt, and Blair Underwood are also great, with Shipka giving one hell of a performance.
• Longlegs
  explores themes of motherly sacrifice, childhood trauma, and the cost of doing what’s right, but does so in the scariest possible way.

Just when you thought Nicolas Cage has done it all, covering all points on the performative spectrum, a sneaky horror gem like Longlegs comes around and shakes your foundations. If it isn’t already clear from Nicolassaince (Pig, Arcadian), the Oscar-winning actor deserves so much more than memes and jokes. But Cage playing the outrageously horrifying villain in Longlegs, from writer-director Osgood Perkins, isn’t the only rewarding part of this outstanding new crime thriller.

Perkins has occasionally appeared in front of the camera, in classics like Nope and Legally Blonde, but it seems he’ll probably go down in Hollywood history for his behind-the-lens work thanks to masterpieces like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and now Longlegs. The new film is his greatest work yet, though Stephen King fans can’t wait for Perkins’ big-screen adaptation of The Monkey coming next year. Until then, Longlegs will invade your nightmares for multiple reasons — a bit of true crime, some satanism, a maniacal Cage, and much. It’s the scariest film in years.

Longlegs Is The Silence of the Lambs for Our Time

Longlegs

4.5/5

Longlegs is a horror thriller film by writer-director Osgood Perkins. When FBI agent Lee Harker is assigned to a serial killer cold case, their investigation leads them down a rabbit hole riddled with disturbing discoveries and the occult at the center of it all. When the trail of evidence reveals a personal connection, it becomes a race against time to prevent another murder.

Release Date July 12, 2024

Runtime 1hr 41min

Studio Automatik Entertainment, C2 Motion Picture Group, Neon

Pros

• Monroe, Cage, and Witt all shine in pitch-perfect turns and are in complete sync with the film’s style and tone
• There are genuinely terrifying sequences and images like no other horror movie this year
• Despite the satanic themes, Longlegs has an emotional and moral core and a beating heart

Cons

• If you already dislike Nicolas Cage’s intensity and operatic performances, his here may rub you the wrong way.

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Longlegs might also be Maika Monroe’s crowning achievement as Agent Lee Harker, the detective investigating a strange series of brutal slayings of families, each involving the same sort of murder and suicide. Monroe’s standout chops in this latest horror venture were perhaps primed by her previous work in the genre with the acclaimed It Follows (2014) and its highly anticipated sequel They Follow. Her leading turn in Longlegs is awards-caliber stuff and solidifies her future as a Hollywood A-lister, especially when you’re competing for screentime opposite co-star and producer Nicolas Cage — and holding your own. If she was Jodie Foster, this would be her Silence of the Lambs.

A Psychic Walks Into a Cold Case…

The nickname usually goes “Daddy Longlegs,” but you’ll quickly see — thank to a brief but shockingly frightening opener — why the film’s title is aptly abbreviated. Cage’s character is indeed fatherly, however, but for reasons too uniquely creepy to spoil here. It’s all part of a cold case that Agent Carter (Blair Underwood, charming and solid as always) assigns to Harker after learning of her allegedly psychic abilities. Yes, Harker may or may not be able to point to a seemingly random house and say, “That’s the one where the killer lives.”

But this cold case involving slayed families over the years is indeed a puzzling one, on top of its obviously disturbing nature. As the brilliant Harker pieces together the bloody puzzle slowly but surely, it becomes unnervingly clear she may have been led to this particular investigation beyond just the fact that she’s so damn good at her job…

Related Longlegs Star Maika Monroe & Director Discuss the Year’s Scariest Movie

Osgood Perkins and Maika Monroe spoke with MovieWeb about their terrifying Nicolas Cage film and Perkins’ Stephen King adaptation, The Monkey.

Mindhunter Meets Rosemary’s Baby

Longlegs starts reaching out directly to Harker, who then proceeds to keep closer in touch with her estranged mother, Ruth (the chilling and excellent Alicia Witt) about certain events from Harker’s troubled and mysterious upbringing. You’ll definitely catch Mindhunter and Se7en vibes as the central investigation unfolds, and even Rosemary’s Baby will come to mind as satanic undertones start to show themselves in the second and third acts.

That’s not to say Longlegs doesn’t possess a heart at its core. There are countless scary flicks out there doing this sort of evil investigation thing, so the scares can’t always carry the heavy lifting in keeping audiences gripped. Perkins’ near-perfect script and skilled direction allows Longlegs to stand alone by exploring universal themes of motherly sacrifice, childhood trauma, and the cost of doing what’s morally sound. This groundbreaking feature also conveniently leaves room for a sequel, the way the climactic third act plays out; don’t be surprised if Longerlegs (excuse the made-up title) enters pre-production down the line.

Related Longlegs’ Director Made an A24 Horror Masterpiece Nobody Saw

With hype growing for the upcoming release of Longlegs, horror fans should check out this debut film from director Oz Perkins.

Kiernan Shipka and Terrifying Cinematography Seal the Deal

And hats off, by the way, to the rising star Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Totally Killer), for her sole, spellbinding scene that is perhaps the most shocking of all. And it’s not even “pop-out scary,” which makes this moment all the more chilling. Here she plays Carrie, a young woman tied to the cold case investigation who now spends her days in a mental ward, where Lee has to visit to try and obtain some answers. Shipka’s jaw-dropping scene has FYC written all over it — and if you’re not recognized on the awards circuit, Shipka, just know that we’re in your corner.

Her centerpiece moment in Longlegs, though, is just one example from the film’s tight 101-minute duration of how Perkins is perhaps changing the game when it comes to crafting a hard-hitting horror thriller. Additionally, cinematographer Andrés Arochi announces himself as a major presence with his bold, sometimes experimental decisions that fit right into Perkins’ plans. These are images you’ll never forget. From Neon, Longlegs will be released in theaters on Friday, July 12.

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