Mark Oguschewitz’s review published on Letterboxd:
What can I say? I don’t understand some of the praise given to Nicolas Cage’s over-the-top performance in LONGLEGS. On the other hand, Hugh Grant, as Mr. Reed, is the creepiest villain that horror audiences have been introduced to in a long time. Viewers will fear this character because Grant plays him as the kind of man who could exist in the real world. He could be the secretive neighbor who lives just down the street or the stranger that you might have a chance encounter with in the park. He is a dangerous man with a point to prove and doesn’t mind killing (and other things that I won't reveal here) to make it. He comes off as friendly at first but is really just controlling his victims in a way that they won’t realize until it’s too late.
However, the physical violence we normally get in horror films isn’t the only thing that will make the viewers uncomfortable (though it does become a factor). Screenwriters/directors Bryan Woods and Scott Beck have written some very complicated yet convincing dialogue regarding religion that relies heavily on having the right performer to deliver it. Not just any actor could pull this kind of role off. Grant seems to be having the time of his life playing this genuinely manipulative character that questions the idea of a true religion so effectively that it may cause some viewers to begin to re-examine their own beliefs, only to realize later they have been listening to a psychopath.
For recommendations of unseen, underseen and forgotten films, check out the website Underexposed Cinematic Treasures. underexposedcinematictreasures.com
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