I struggled with Longlegs not because of the material or contents of the film, but because it had been so incredibly over-hyped, that I knew it was going to be impossible for the film to reach my expectations. When a large part of the marketing relies on comparisons to Zodiac or The Silence of the Lambs, the film needs to be able to deliver and Longlegs just never gets going that way.

I found the central premise to be really promising: tracking down a Satanic serial killer that is somehow related to the protagonist detective during the height of the Satanic Panic is an incredibly strong premise. It’s great, even. That really only works if your movie is well-paced and kept interesting, though. For having a 101-minute runtime, Longlegs really drags in a couple spots. The biggest offender of this could go to any number of shots that are just held for longer than needed, possibly in the name of “slow cinema” or as an artistic endeavor. Either way, it comes off like someone who doesn’t know the why of doing things and is just following the how and the what. The film also has a real tendency to just meander. It goes from one plot point to the next one with very little fanfare or transitional elements, leading to a sensation of things “just happening” that takes away a lot of the fun of guessing alongside a mystery. The intentionally obtuse storytelling feels less obtuse and more poorly written than anything else.

Credit where it’s due, Nic Cage’s performance as the titular Longlegs has to be one of his most transformative. Cage becomes nearly unrecognizable as Longlegs, donning a sickening fake innocence of all white wrapped around his slowly rotting interior. I can’t imagine I’m the only one to make a Mickey Rourke joke during the face reveal.

Longlegs just left me disappointed. I think it’s a finely made film, but as a director, Osgood Perkins seems a tad lost? There’s no real identity here and it seems more like a neat synthesis of other ideas, but that’s about it. I went in expecting the next Zodiac or the next Manhunter and instead got whatever this was. Again, it’s OK, it just isn’t what I asked for. If it wasn’t for the beast of a marketing team that this had behind it, I fully believe this would have been an unmemorable, if solid release that would eventually build up a cult following following a physical release.

Recommended for fans of Perkins’ other work; slow burn serial killer horror; people who own the Law Enforcement Guide to Satanic Cults; and Nic Cage fans. Otherwise, I see little reason to watch this.

🤖 2020s, ranked.
🌀 Cinema Bizarro