“You’re dirty sweet, and you’re my girl”
Horror has had a renaissance in the last few years, largely thanks to studios realising that smaller budgets bring in big profits when you have the right cast, story and scares. Studios like Universal have found hits with projects like M3gan, A24 with Talk to Me and Warner Bros with Evil Dead Rise, proving that this mixture can produce great films that bring in big box office numbers. Neon Films and Rialto Distribution’s new film led (and produced!) by Nicholas Cage is set to be 2024’s next big horror movie with Longlegs. A terrifying psychological thriller that will leave you completely rattled. Director Osgood Perkins has crafted a horror film that is bound to become a modern classic.
Leading the film is FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), a socially awkward enigma who is following the case of of a serial killer who murders entire families from inside their house. She has a seemingly psychic ability to be able to pick the houses of where families have been killed. The killer also leaves behind letters in a language of his own that she must attempt to decipher before his next batch of victims. The only words offered to her to decode are Longlegs, which are interpreted as the name of the killer, played here by one of the film’s producers Nicholas Cage.
Cage’s creepy goblin-like character is hidden for half of the movie, only seeing flashes of the lower half of his face as he crawls towards the camera in the many jump scares this character provides. While things do turn a little campy and humorous when he finally talks, Cage does a fantastic job at keeping his performance incredibly creepy, helping this Longlegs character morph into the next potential Babadook.
There is a sense of natural dread that permeates this film. Earning comparisons to films like Seven, Zodiac and to some extent, Silence of the Lambs. The throwback to the satanic panic era is also prevalent here with Alicia Witt’s Ruth Harker delivering a terrifying performance that is on par with Cage’s Longlegs. The slow and pulsing sound design blends with the grainy colour palette that helps this world come to life.
All of this is grounded around a spectacular performance from Monroe who feels at home in this character who makes everyone around her extremely awkward. Her boss Agent Carter (Blair Underwood) takes pleasure in pushing her out of her comfort zone. Even inviting her inside to meet his wife and daughter. Watching the daughter and Harker interact is cringe-inducing. An adorable invite to her fifth birthday party ignites a “Why” response. Adults who don’t know how to talk to children are hilarious to watch on screen and Monroe delivers this perfectly. Her constant excusing herself from any social situation to lose her mind in her work. Even her own family, she keeps her Mum at arms length, not willing to keep her in the loop with the ins and outs of her life.
Visually the film heralds closer to It Follows and Silence of the Lambs with its moody tone. Perkins performs a striking contrast as the camera changes to a square box during flashback scenes to Harker’s childhood before slowly expanding to the full aspect ratio is extremely effective. Setting it pre internet and before mobile phones helps to contain what’s happening and for the isolated country U.S.A vibe to really suffocate. It leaves a feeling of extreme dread and isolation that adds to the terror.
The film is divided into three parts, with the chapters setting up different parts of the investigation, all headed towards the final shocking moments that you won’t soon forget. The third act definitely does slow things down considerably, that being said it does deliver Longlegs singing Happy Birthday in the most disturbing way it has possibly ever been sung. It is on repeat as characters around react to it and it will stick in your mind long after you have left the cinema.
Longlegs may play with familiar tropes and emulate some of the recent cult classics like It Follows yet still manages to carve out its own path through a career defining performance from Nicholas Cage, while at the same time introducing the world to a terrifying new horror movie baddie that is bound to become a classic, or at the very least, the subject of a lot of memes and gifs online. Monroe adds another solid film to her stellar resume, along with Witt who returns to her scream queen Urban Legends days from the early 2000’s. Behind the scares and murky atmosphere, is a story of family and the things we do to keep our loved ones safe and protected. Longlegs is a film that will stay with you, long after you have left the cinema.
Longlegs is in cinemas now.
