Creasy007’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Now, I know you're not afraid of a little bit of dark...because you are the dark."
Oz Perkins' 'Longlegs' may not have been the perfect psychological thriller masterpiece I was expecting, but damn, if it isn't the most skin-crawling and anxiety-inducing film I'm likely to see this year, a masterclass of technical elements and visionary details that results in every corner of every frame lingering with hints of horror and shades of the unknown.
There's no question that most are lining up for this one thanks to the incredible marketing campaign, one of my favorites since 'Cloverfield,' and a big piece of that, a positive rarity for horror these days, is the unnerving cinematography. To say that each frame is like a painting soaked in dread is an understatement, and it's masterful how many shots Perkins achieves that are simplistic and beautiful yet leave you biting your nails over what comes next; from start to finish, there's a real aura of something being dangerously, exotically wrong (aside from the obvious elements), and the way he fills the corners with darkness or devilish glowing eyes only serves to accentuate that further.
Having said that, where did the marketing go wrong? For starters, its playful approach to leaving the best moments and bigger reveals tucked behind the curtain was refreshing, but only in the surprise department. Beyond that, it's marketed as a shocking serial killer/horror experience when it's really more of a heavier psychological beast than anything else.
Of course, the supernatural elements were heavily played down in the marketing too (or at least from what I can recall, as I ducked out early in the campaign to save as much footage for my theatrical viewing as I could). Where I (and many others) went in hoping for something akin to 'The Silence of the Lambs' in its execution, which we mostly do get in terms of style and substance - the outsider and rookie agent with special investigatory skills; the small town, USA vibes; the poring over of clues and photos and files - it goes off the rails in its MO, which personally sucked a lot of the fear factor out of the atmosphere.
This, along with the third act exposition dump and tonal fluidity seen within these scenes, seemed to make up the bigger issues for most audiences, and I'd agree for the most part. The film was smartly approaching its ending along the way, perhaps too much so, and it didn't require that lengthy flashback unveiling that takes a lot of wind out of the sails of the story while simultaneously and suddenly losing a lack of trust in its viewership.
In fact, I'd say most of the clues are telegraphed so obviously that it becomes irritating watching some otherwise savant-level characters missing the biggest flashing red lights all of a sudden, especially when it's so spelled out otherwise. The unveiling of the mysterious ball during the autopsy was personally my "aha!" moment, when the story fully clicked into place, and I was surprised just how accurately my predictions lined up from here on out. Plus, you're telling me, for a serial killer whose actions all curiously revolve around a particular set of birthdays, nobody else involved recognized the warning signs of another announced birthday by one of their own? Very strange.
Now, for the man of the hour: Nicolas Cage's titular and makeup-heavy performance as Longlegs. Yes, he's wild, disquieting, eerie, and oh so uncomfortable. From his first appearance (shock jump scare and all) to the infamous interrogation scene (which might veer so far into campiness that he loses all his horror appeal for some viewers), I'd say he fully delivers and disappears into the role, inspired by Perkins' family dramas, Cage's own mother, and even finding some imagination in his speech via the androgynous prophet's voice from Fellini's 'Juliet of the Spirits.' He's creepy yet almost endearing, and the more he appears, the more I felt a tug of war between feeling like we were seeing him too much and not enough all at once. Sadly, considering the extreme hype level he experienced, I was sad to see very, very little brutality or mean streaks from him, all things considered, and the way the twists and story beats unravel give him less and less agency as time ticks by, another pawn in this chess game of death, magical infusions, and Satanic magic. That's not to say he still isn't a nightmare, but he's no Buffalo Bill either.
Now, in both an unexpected turn yet something that should've been obvious for those of us who have been loving Maika Monroe's career over the last decade, she stands on a pedestal all of her own here, straddling the line between autism and paranoia, angst and uncertainty. Immediately painted to be an almost psychic young agent with mommy issues and an inability to share the cold, hard truth with her superiors, her unknown machinations and relevance to the inherent story become clearer as the story progresses, and there's a real dastardly fun behind watching the way her character shifts and morphs as the truth begins to take hold. Thanks to her inexplicable visions and auditory hallucinations, it's pretty obvious again where she's being led to, but there's still a juicy ambiguity, even in the closing seconds, to her involvement and understanding that's so exciting to watch.
Perkins plays the slow burn game in 'Longlegs,' dishing out the fear and disturbing uneasiness with expertise while also slightly fumbling the ball with the story, especially the laziness of the unnecessarily direct answers in the finale. He's great at lingering in discomfort while simultaneously leaving your eyes darting about for something that's not really there - or is it? Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage absolutely make this movie, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as it was without Perkins' involvement (my first film of his) or the strong work of those behind the scenes, from the cinematography and score to sound design and so much more. Sure, it could've been way more violent, much less supernatural, and not tried to hold my hand in delivering all the answers, and while it's not the greatest horror film I've seen in ages like I desperately had hoped for, 'Longlegs' excels on so many fronts that it's impossible not to love it.
Do yourself a favor: support this in theaters, go in knowing as little as you possibly can, and enjoy feeling your heart race throughout it. I know mine did.
