First of all, the marketing campaign for this has been brilliant from the start. The set of posters revealed nothing, but set a clear tone and hinted at something very dark and creepy. The trailer only expanded on that utterly eerie feeling without further giving much away, creating a hype that could have led to a dangerous amount of disappointment. Hype can truly be a killer sometimes.

Luckily, though, it's not hype that is the killer here. Cage's Longlegs, I heard and read, is divisive as an on screen presence. Brilliant or trying too hard? Terrifying or just exaggerated madness? Cool make-up effects or just an over the top appearance that doesn't fit the tone? After all I've heard I decided to just not listen to any of that and to not expect anything from Cage's appearance and performance at all. I can now say that for me it really worked, however. He's unrecognizable and not only because of the make-up. He distorts his voice to scary effect, and puts so much spine-chilling detail into his performance that it is hard not to get creeped out by him.

Meanwhile the way he's introduced and further shown in the movie adds to the slow burn approach, revealing bit by bit what a creep he is, in a similar way as how Ridley Scott slowly revealed the Xenomorph bit by bit in 1979. It all adds to the meticulous build up of Longlegs as a whole: a lingering occult murder mystery with a haunting supernatural theme, which is shaped with sheer originality, guts and a genuinely frightening strike to it. Closer to Cure than to Se7en or Silence of the lambs I'd say, unlike what was suggested in its marketing (the only flaw in its marketing I'd say).

Osgood Perkins directed the hell out of this. He knows how to stage a scene. He knows how to compose a shot (it's a visually striking film and uniquely crafted in that way). He knows how to craft a story. He knows how to surprise, do something unexpected. He knows how to build characters. He knows what he wants from his actors (let's not forget to mention Maika Monroe's outstanding, nuanced performance here. She clearly got a lot to work with and she totally nailed it). And he knows how to get all of that done well, and to get it all in service of the unnerving, utterly creepy experience that Longlegs is.

Literally everything here worked for me, untill its harrowing, insane, edge of the seat finale. It only makes sense though, that the son of "Psycho" would create his own iconic serial killer film one day. Perhaps it's too soon to call it that, but to me this is a modern horror classic already. Longlegs is one of my favorite movies of the 2020's so far!