SosaKnowsBall’s review published on Letterboxd:
*AMC A-List Watch*
Grade: Sosa Approved Banger
Score: 97 out of 100
“You’ve got the teeth of a hydra upon you”
Ո L Ↄ ∴ ᘰ Ո ： ⨀. I usually don’t rate horror movies this high because more often than not they don’t do the job for me. This is a rare exception. What Osgood Perkins accomplishes here should be an industry standard when making horror movies. You should feel not just scared, you should feel abandoned, hopeless, vulnerable, maybe even disgusted. Longlegs achieves everything it sets out to do and more. Say your prayers tonight.
“It’s like something tapping me on the shoulder, telling me where to look.”
Longlegs is split into three parts. His letters. Immediately, you know what you’re in for. It’s a thick, heavy blanket of despair and dread. There are very few, if at all, warm colors anywhere throughout the movie. There is no warmth or light to shield you from the dark corners in every scene. Instead, your panicked mind fills in the dark spots of every wide-shot with what it thinks is in there. The beautiful horror of Longlegs is not what it shows you, but what it doesn’t show you instead.
“Knock, knock, have you seen this man?”
All of your things. Monroe and Nicolas Cage are irrefutable in their respective roles. Maika’s character Lee is clearly haunted by something in her past, just lurking beneath her cold and calculated demeanor. Nicolas’ Longlegs character is something from another world. Not visually scary, more unsettling, or perturbed than anything else. He nails every little mannerism and line like something out of a satanic handbook. Both deliver career performances here.
“I know you’re not afraid of the dark, because you are the dark.”
Birthday girls. The way Longlegs does its horror is truly remarkable. Imagine a dark, desolate, overcast setting. The only things to keep you company are the trees surrounding you and a vast darkness. The uneasiness you feel in your stomach crawls and scratches its way up into your throat and now you’re writhing and shifting in your seat, begging your body to find some comfort. You find none. In every corner, every dark crevice, every out of focus shot – he can be there.
“He’s downstairs. Right under your feet.”
“⊂ L ⊔ ⊥ Ↄ L ⊔ ⨀ L L ᘰ Ↄ L ⊔”. God has abandoned every inch of this narrative. Every part of this story crawls and penetrates into your skin, staying there, like a growing and festering cancer or a malignant, malicious virus. The visuals stay with you for a very long time. The cinematography and shot composition added on top of a biblical score and hyper-acute sound design all make Longlegs a disgustingly horrific watch. A deal with the devil, a gift from the church. It’s one of the best horror movies I’ll never watch again.
“I need to talk to someone about my beautiful Mariners.”
2024 Ranked List
Sosa Approved Bangers List
Last Reviews: Fly Me to the Moon (2024) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
