The Summer movie season is officially washing over us with its full force as we are treated to new titles every week. Though it’s July and my thermometer says 100 everyday, it is not too early to be treated to some spooky little horror flicks. Cutting right to it, we have “Longlegs” to consume. Directed by horror royalty, Oz Perkins, and starring Maika Monroe with Nicholas Cage, “Longlegs” has been showing off its distinct style and design for months. The marketing campaign has been an expertly crafted plan in creating hype and setting the tone of the film. I happen to be a horror man, so of course the marketing was being noticed by me and even helped “Longlegs” become my most anticipated of 2024. Does “Longlegs” leave much to be desired or does it live up to its stellar campaign? My friend, I was shitting in my pants.
Haunting Performances
Without totally unrooting the surprises (see it blindly), “Longlegs” revolves around a young FBI agent (Maika Monroe) tasked with solving a series of family murders. Disturbing shit right off the bat. Monroe is fantastic in this giving a deeply troubled and traumatized performance while also carrying herself as a strong leading lady. As we follow her along the bread trail of clues, the film offers us a genuine mystery from a law enforcement angle that grips you the entire runtime.
Without spoilers, Nicholas Cage is absolutely batshit wild in this. Cage has always been a fearless performer and he is channeling his energy into one of the scariest character performances I’ve seen in years. Even when he is off-screen, his dark presence is felt in the viewer’s bone marrow which is also complimentary of the tone that is set throughout. Monroe and Cage both contribute to the distinct dread that is unlocked with every frame. There were times that Maika Monroe was so scared shitless that it started to induce panic within me. They both are powerhouses that keep the motor running hot.
The supporting cast also seamlessly provide so many memorable and unsettling scenes. It’s a testament to the vision that director Oz Perkins has and it shows that everyone completely bought in. “Longlegs” would not work as well as it does without the collaboration that it displays.
FBI Procedural (But Make It Terrifying)
“Longlegs” will (and has been) compared to the likes of “Se7en” and “The Silence Of The Lambs” in the sense of it being a serial killer mystery. Director Oz Perkins gives us a true detective procedural like those films, but flips it into a hellish nightmare that shortens your breath and increases your heart rate. From the opening credits to the end credits, “Longlegs” slithers its way into your nervous system and its presence will be felt long after you walk out the auditorium. I absolutely applaud Perkins here for his confident horror direction and vision. The script is hot and cold but every frame, edit, music sting, camera pan, and color grading was downright artful. Oz Perkins’ visual storytelling at times is admirable and impressive. The tone and style is unlike most horror films, making it an absolute standout.
The sense of dread that is felt in every frame is a contribution from the cinematographer and editors. Andrés Arochi masters terrifying wide angles with tons of empty space behind characters and subjects. He instills the feeling of something sinister and dark is always lingering and watching. Greg Ng and Graham Fortin edit the fuck out of this movie by making this the scariest sounding horror I’ve seen since “Hereditary.” The entire theater was vibrating and I could feel it all in my core. In a technical sense, “Longlegs” looks and sounds terrific adding to the nightmarish dread it enforces. Truly experience it on the big screen to feel all of the angst and terror.
Longlegs Has The Teeth Of Hydra Upon Me
I am truly so satisfied with “Longlegs” and everyone involved with it. It provides a great blend of FBI thriller elements and religious horror that isn’t presented as such. The direction is confident as hell, it’s a technical marvel, and it gives us fantastic and nuanced performances. And its all so damn frightening too. Since the marketing for this movie began, “Longlegs” has been burrowing its way into the cinema world as a major horror force that will surely acquire staying power. This is certainly going into the personal October movie rotation.
The script is nothing to bow for and sometimes the plot doesn’t reach its full FBI mystery potential, but this is a damn good movie. This is absolutely a theater watch to see the entirety of each intense frame and to feel the uneasy vibrations from the sound design.
This is the scariest film of the year and it possibly the last few years. Great, twisted stuff here.
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