Longlegs Movie Review – 4.5/5
By Christina Jiang
Following an impressive marketing campaign, Longlegs was my most anticipated film of the year.
The film follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) in the 90s Northwestern United States. After an unfortunate incident marks her as “semi-psychic”, she is assigned to a mysterious string of family annihilations spanning several decades. At first glance, each seems to an unconnected murder-suicide, if not for an encrypted note at each scene claiming responsibility from the eponymous serial killer named Longlegs (played by an unrecognisable Nic Cage), despite not being present at the time of the murders.
Many have decried Longlegs as disappointing and going as far as to say it is barely a horror film – I disagree. If you are expecting a fast-paced slasher, this film will not deliver. Nevertheless, I loved it. It is a different sort of horror, akin more to Silence of the Lambs with an occult twist. I have never felt so stressed out while watching a film where every scene is so infused with tension – a masterful combination of framing, sound design, and script. The constant build-up pays off little in terms of jumpscares but rather maintains the atmosphere of dread at nail-bitingly high levels so that you feel as if at any moment, something truly dreadful could be about to happen. The film has only two jumpscares, but both are used for maximum effect (hence my stress-induced headache on the following day).
Nic Cage is Nic Caging in truly spectacular form; so camp, yet he still makes his random outbursts of singing feel sinister. Agent Harker also adds moments of strange hilarity, with her awkwardness and unease, and firmly cements Monroe’s status as a modern scream queen. Another unexpected standout performance comes from Alicia DeWitt as Harker’s mother, Ruth, who brings an unsettling, electrifying presence whenever she is on-screen, with behaviour that is always just a little bit off in an indescribable way.
The final reveal that ties all together has been divisive. While on the whole it works for me, I do agree that there is something a little underwhelming with a denouement revealed almost entirely through exposition that amounts simply to: it was the Devil! Similarly, I would have liked to have seen more of Agent Harker actually solving Longlegs’ notes, which felt quite rushed.
Overall, however, Longlegs remains a thrilling watch that is sure to reach cult status amongst the right audience of horror fans, myself included. In fact, I made the most of my unlimited movie pass and saw it three times in the cinema!
