Pretty odd that we saw this film on the 14th of the month eh? I thought the hype behind this movie was going to kill it for me…thankfully it did not. It’s a pretty straightforward story of an FBI agent tasked with trying to help solve a 30+ year serial killer case, but it becomes a twisted satanic tale once she starts unraveling the mystery. This movie leaves you feeling uneasy, not because of gore or gruesome acts (although those moments are present), but because of the tone and subtle subliminal messaging littered throughout. Maika Monroe is amazing as our lead, who is pseudo-psychic or as she puts it, ‘has good intuition.’ You can see a bizarre satanic shadow appearing behind her subliminally throughout the entire runtime…it’s eerie. I thought she was playing the role a little strangely, but upon the ending reveal, it all makes sense. She does figure out his zodiac-esque code a little fast for my taste, although it seems as though that was his plan all along. The first half of the film gets its scares from musical tones peaking whenever something is about to happen, and it is very effective. The second half is more visceral; as Monroe is figuring out Longlegs’ motivation and who is helping him, Perkins really makes you feel like the entire movie is some bizarro dreamlike scenario. You can subtly figure out how the movie is going to pan out if you’re paying attention to the birthday talk (every longlegs’ murder occurs within 6 days of the family’s child’s birthday on the 14th of the month) and to the tone in which Perkins paints Monroe’s mother in the film. It also cannot be understated how insane Nicholas Cage is with this role. From the opening scene where you see only a portion of him as Longlegs to his performance in the interrogation room…he is unhinged! The makeup is great as well…it reminded me of Leatherface’s pretty woman face 😂 He was made to play these psychotic characters and moments. I was taken aback when he smashes his own face into the table, committing suicide, and realizing there was still so much movie left and so much more to learn. Finding out that Monroe’s mother essentially made a deal with Longlegs to spare her daughter by helping him kill all these families was a bit predictable, but him living in the family basement! Fuck! However, his use of a cursed doll that looks like the child of every family was super bizarre. So he really was using satanic magic in a sense to drive these people to kill. It is also pretty clear that Monroe’s FBI colleague is next on the chopping block as soon as he invites her in to meet his family. Still very effective. This film isn’t really what I expected, yes it does have elements that are reminiscent of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and other Hannibal-centric films, but it is way more of a trippy, mind fuck. I still feel unsettled and I saw it hours ago…something about it really sticks with you. It is shot so well, very arthouse-like, the framing of some of the shots and composition is so aesthetically pleasing, musical cues/sound design are incredible, and some of the lighting/color choices really do mess with your head. The black on red opening credits had my vision in knots! This is a hard film to fully flesh out; you really do need to experience it to understand and feel the tone. What the hell was with all the T. Rex musical references? That’s one thing I still couldn’t fully figure out: starting with a song lyric, having a T Rex poster next to Longlegs’ bed, and ending on a T Rex song? Strange.  Long live Nic Cage, holy shit. Sorry if this is scatter brained…it really is a tough one to write about.
LONGLEGS video review