Vetni’s review published on Letterboxd:
Hail Satan!
A chilling, atmospheric, and insanely well acted horror/thriller.
Silence of the Lambs x Zodiac x Sinister. This is how I would sum up the story and vibes.
Nicolas Cage puts in maybe his best ever performance as the intimidating and creepy Longlegs. Genuinely unrecognisable, and downright scary. My only complaint about the Longlegs character is that it's maybe a bit underwhelming when compared to the marketing material and hype around the character. That being said, I think the actual character design and performance worked better in the film than maybe what I was actually expecting. hard to know. Alicia Witt and Maika Monroe are also fantastic, with their performances adding to the creepy dark atmosphere and vibe of the film.
The cinematography, however, is what really takes this film to the next level. The use of empty space and lighting elevate Longlegs from generic phycological thriller to (almost) horror masterpiece. I spent 90% of the film staring into the empty space behind a character, or focal point, just waiting for something to jump out or scare me. It kept me right on the edge of my seat the entire runtime. Not to mention, my girlfriend spent 90% of the film with her hand in front of her eyes just in case something did jump out and scare her.
Another thing that elevates this film over most other horrors is the use of sound and music. The piercing and unsettling violin score, reminiscent of the violin score from The Witch (another one of my beloved horrors), amplifies any sinister atmosphere that had already been curated.
Overall, I loved this film. The more time I spent thinking about it after I had got out of the cinema the more I appreciated what I had just seen. I think I will definitely try to find an evening in the next week or two to go and see it again. I also want to support new films that try to do something different. I'm getting a bit fed up of 99% of the box office being dominated by sequels, prequels and franchise spin-offs (except for Dune and Max Max, hypocrisy is my middle name).
Is it too blasphemous to call this film this generations Silence of the Lambs?
2024 ranked
Vetni liked these reviews
All
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_7f207b26-f828-4086-a1e3-ba79f557084e" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-7f207b26-f828-4086-a1e3-ba79f557084e'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-7f207b26-f828-4086-a1e3-ba79f557084e'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-7f207b26-f828-4086-a1e3-ba79f557084e'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_1452afe4-fd1c-41ac-8d64-d00f154fbbbc" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-1452afe4-fd1c-41ac-8d64-d00f154fbbbc'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-1452afe4-fd1c-41ac-8d64-d00f154fbbbc'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-1452afe4-fd1c-41ac-8d64-d00f154fbbbc'));
