Longlegs (Neon) [Film Review]

Longlegs has finally arrived on a wave of hype, claiming this to be the scariest horror film in years. Bloody Disgusting has released one of those audience reaction reels online, which mirrors a similar campaign for The Exorcist back in the day, and it is undoubtedly the kind of film that merits such treatment. If this was the ’70s, it would no doubt still be a major cult film. Sadly, this is 2024, so it will likely be lost in the mass of other horror movies being churned out of the multiplexes, but it is still mightily unique.

Osgood Perkins, son of Anthony (Norman Bates) Perkins, has presented us with a film that is certainly not as conventionally scary as the hype would have us believe but comfortably sits in the modern canon of unnerving psychological thrillers that get right beneath the skin.

Nicolas Cage is almost unrecognizable as Longlegs, a play on Charles Manson as a detached killer whose appearance is as chilling as his name. Pale-faced with straggly yellow hair, his full features are gradually revealed in flash cuts that will have the masses jumping from their seats.

The plot is wonderfully convoluted. It involves FBI agent Lee Harker, played immaculately deadpan by Maika Monroe, Horror fans will remember her from the equally unsettling It Follows, one of the most genuinely scary horror films in many a year.

Once recognized as having strong clairvoyant powers, Harker is set loose to investigate a long-standing killing spree that involves fathers slaying their families just before their daughter’s birthdays. Somehow, Longlegs is never too far from the scene.

The ’90s setting and the relationship that develops between the FBI agent and her hideous prey draws obvious parallels with The Silence of the Lambs, complete with creepy cellars, tense interviews, and the harsh realities of what happens on farms. Potentially, Longlegs could become as iconic as Hannibal Lecter. Where this film trumps TSOTL is in its cinematography.

Longlegs (Neon) movie still

The wintry backdrop of Oregon is never less than overwhelmingly atmospheric, recalling early David Cronenberg films alongside the original Halloween. The production design also brings back the atmosphere of last year’s The Holdovers, feeling perpetually cold.

The film opens in grainy 4:3 aspect ratio and there is a sense it will go down the same route as Tarantino’s Death Proof, there is a feeling of disappointment as the screen eventually unfolds into widescreen. This passes as we are spoiled with breathtaking landscapes and the most astounding use of symmetry since Kubrick. We even get a bath plughole shot in what has to be a nod to Anthony Perkins’ iconic Psycho shower scene.

Longlegs is more than just a pedestrian horror. It is absolute cinema from someone who was born into that world.  Whether the scares work for you or not, this is a film that has so much to enjoy visually and, despite a slight drag in the middle, knows how to hold tension and deliver chills.

Those who thought Nic Cage was past his prime following his endless run of films where he is clearly sending himself up can rest easy now as this is his best performance in years; still silly but completely justified. Maika Monroe is undoubtedly the new Jamie Lee Curtis, with her best work yet to come. Alicia Witt is also worth a mention. Playing entirely against type and almost stealing the show as Monroe’s creepy hoarder mother, she leaves behind those ditzy characters of old forever.

Don’t believe the hype; Longlegs is better than that.

Longlegs (Neon) movie still

Director: Osgood Perkins
Writer: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, Alicia Witt
Production Company: C2 Motion Picture Group
Distributed by: Neon, Black Bear
Release Date: July 12th, 2024
Run Time: 101 mins

Longlegs (Neon) Movie Poster