Film Review - Longlegs (SPOILER FREE)
Images courtesy of Rialto Distribution.
Much like 2022’s Barbarian, Longlegs is a horror film that uses its marketing cleverly to obscure and further enhance the mystery around the film’s story, and as such, this review will remain free of spoilers. Directed by Osgood Perkins, the movie stars Maika Monroe as FBI agent Lee Harker and Nicolas Cage as the eponymous serial killer. Opening with a flashback sequence shot in a grainy 4:3 aspect ratio, the film emulates an old home movie, immediately setting a tone that is both nostalgic and unsettling. This sequence is not just a stylistic choice meant to show off Perkins’ typical visual flair, but a narrative device that sets the stage for the psychological and supernatural elements that follow, as well as a pervasively liminal vibe.
Maika Monroe’s Agent Harker is a semi-autistically coded new recruit, who's first job is to help in the search for a murderer, but when her hunch leads to an arrest, she finds herself given the decades-spanning Longlegs case. Monroe’s performance highlights the strengths that have ensured her longevity as a modern-day scream queen, bringing a blend of cold stoicism and slight vulnerability as the new detective who wants to be taken seriously as a professional, despite how in over her head she may be. Her portrayal of Harker remains engaging despite the character being somewhat plain, as cracks in her psyche form as she begins to realise just how closely the case ties into her own past.
On the other side of the coin, Nic Cage brings his signature intensity to the titular character, a Satan-worshipping serial killer who is nothing but evil with a capital E. While at times I do admit I was taken a bit out of the film because of how over-the-top he comes across, in the week since watching,I've come to appreciate his lively performance, given the rest of the film's subdued nature. The marketing has done a great deal to obscure the look of the villain, and I must say the makeup work on him is stellar, befitting the setup of an antagonist who’s equal parts Zodiac killer, Charles Manson, and cryptid. He has a signature mocking cry of “cuckoo”, which I read as a reference to the cuckoo bird, a bird known for taking over the nest of other birds, forcing the would-be parents to raise imposter children. With Harker's father seemingly absent from the equation, Longlegs seems to fill that void as the plot progresses - after all, the word that usually precedes Longlegs is “daddy”.
Another standout aspect is the film's sound design. It's oppressive, filled with grainy ambience, and the meaty crunch of trees and bones alike breaking, that when combined, add a texture to the film that's uniquely unsettling. The visuals also enhance the off-kilter vibes, Perkins choosing to frame each shot just a bit further away than we might be comfortable with, using wide angle lenses to ensure each shot has its fair share of negative space. Liminal is a word that's supremely overused when it comes to describing horror nowadays, but that is honestly the best way to describe most of the film's first two acts, as they alienate the viewer despite their more familiar aspects (being set in the 90s, Silence of the Lambs and Se7en are very apt likenesses), paving the way for an ending that somehow manages to be both abstract and a little too straightforward.
Split up into chapters, the third and final one takes up only 20 of the film's 100 minute runtime, and because of this hasty pacing, the ultimate conclusion of Longlegs’ central mystery results in a somewhat abrupt switch up that sees much of the tension and inertia bubbling under the surface dissipating as the thread on the cork board unravels. It's here that we get most of the film's surreal imagery, including a shot involving black smoke that called to mind David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how much the overall film seems indebted to Twin Peaks, not so much in atmosphere but in ideas and the general outline of a federal agent being swept up into a case that is far more insidious than it first seems. It's just a shame that we couldn't live in this final act for a bit longer, as an extra 10 or so minutes would've gone a long way in making it feel like a more deserved payoff, building off of the many moving parts.
Despite this minor shortcoming, and perhaps my own expectations being too high - given the reactions that made it sound like this movie was primed to physically kill me - Longlegs still manages to stand out despite the abundance of highly effective and artful horror we are afforded in the modern era. It challenges its audience, both intellectually and emotionally, delivering an experience that's sure to get under the skin, even if it didn't quite horrify (or murder) me in the way I'd hoped. It's a mature and sure-handed film, again cementing Oz Perkins as an auteur.
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Longlegs is screening in cinemas from Thursday the 18th of July. For tickets and more info, click here.