This review may contain spoilers.
Joel Hilke’s review published on Letterboxd:
I decided to rewatch Longlegs after rewatching Strange Darling and being surprised by its pop of color and brightness. I wondered if perhaps Longlegs had suffered a similar murky fate from watching it in bad theater. But, no, it's naturally an X-Files level of Pacific Northwest murk. And here I thought it would pop like a Spring day (kidding).
In my original review of Longlegs, I said the flick was a little confusing but would probably make more sense on second viewing. I was wrong. It's basically the same movie only worse once you watch it from start to finish, understanding its twists.
Not a bad movie, but one that doesn't hold up so. It's still has a strong, creepy atmosphere. Maika Monroe is still doing interesting things as a shut down, closed off psychic FBI agent. Nicholas Cage still looks like an old woman and has some creepy freakout moments.
But I realized there's no actual mystery in the movie. Sure, there's things people don't know but the actual detective work and solving things is negated by the fact the movie just gives up and tells you everything you need to know. Things that logically Monroe's character probably shouldn't know even after getting a flood of memories by killing a doll.
It's a little disappointing that the story gives up like that. It was an intriguing mystery and there had to be a better way to reveal the backstory and what's really going on.
I also think that it was all there on the screen the first time through. The only thing a rewatch helped with was seeing the mother for the weirdo monster she was and how the opening scene with young Monroe tied into the rest of the movie. It's not really enough of a revelation to justify a rewatch if you're looking for insight.
So, yeah, it's certainly still a good movie but I'm afraid I have to lower the score to a 3.5. Doesn't happen often and probably shouldn't have happened to a solid movie like this, but when you peak behind the curtain and there's not a lot there, then that's just disappointing.