Longlegs Review – Jumping Out of My Skin

You know you’re in for a fun time when a horror movie has you crawling out of your skin in the very first scene. Directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter), Longlegs stars Maika Monroe (It Follows), Nicolas Cage (Face/Off), Alicia Witt (Dune), and Blair Underwood (Deep Impact). Longlegs follows a fresh-faced FBI agent named Lee Harker (Monroe), who uncovers a connection to a suspected serial killer who calls himself Longlegs (Cage). While it is a horror film, it has the bones of a cat and mouse thriller like The Silence of the Lambs, Zodiac, and Se7en.

The killings are a series of murder-suicides where the father in a family murders his wife and children before ending his own life. Longlegs leaves satanic letters at each scene and the case taunts the FBI before Harker gets involved in the 1990s, decades after the killings start. While investigating the murders – and talking to the only surviving member – she discovers a series of connections between the cases, and one hits close to home. Cage’s brilliant makeup gives the killer a disfigured appearance, one that makes him instantly recognizable and abhorrently memorable. 

Longlegs Is Utterly Creepy

Even though the plot might not lend itself to being immensely creepy, Longlegs is just that. Using immaculate sound design and off-kilter framing, you’ll find yourself on edge throughout the film because of what you’re seeing and hearing. The opening scene is told from a child’s perspective. Who she is talking to is obscured for most of the scene because the shot focuses on their upper torso and mouth. At the very end of the scene his face swings into the frame followed by an extremely quick cut. It’s a chilling jumpscare that is a great example of most of the scares in the film.

I won’t spoil the end of the movie, but it’s not outlandish compared to the rest of the story and it feels like a natural progression of what it was setting up. It’s not predictable and watching Harker navigate her way to the film’s last moments is extremely interesting. Monroe gives a fantastic performance, moving between freaked out and utterly confused as she comes to grips with what she’s seeing. Monroe also nails the more stifled awkwardness of her character, bringing humor to a few scenes that need the beat. 

Nicolas Cage’s performance is the most interesting performance in the film. It would be a disservice to write it off as a bad performance. It’s not. But, Cage didn’t disappear into the role. When he sings to Lee or delivers a creepy message, I just couldn’t shake the fact that I was watching Nicolas Cage. Yet, if the goal was to make Longlegs incredibly creepy and off-putting, he accomplished it. He waves his hands around, modulates his voice, and exaggerates his expressions to make Longlegs a memorably disturbing killer. 

A Killer Mystery

Longlegs has an interesting story, with a great mystery that drives it. The film falls into the religious subgenre of horror, focusing on the killer’s obsession with Satan. There’s disturbing imagery, but most of Longlegs focuses on Harker trying to catch the killer. She figures out nearly exactly what’s happening once she begins the investigation, it becomes more of an exploration of how he’s doing it. With no immense telegraphing, the story should keep you guessing until the end. At some points, the dialogue feels stunted and somewhat out of place. But, rather than not working, those bits feel odd and fit with the mood.

Creeping into some of the more tense scenes is the film’s swelling score by Zilgi. It’s used sparingly but combined with the sound design and random cuts, it’s quite effective. Longlegs captures a consistent tone of unease, and the score is one of the biggest reasons why it’s successful. Another way the film feels uncomfortable is by trapping the audience, again with its great framing. So many shots are from someone’s perspective, or confined in a small room or vehicle. There’s no freedom and it’s one of the many ways Longlegs made me squirm.

What’s excellent about Longlegs, is that there are no misfires. The ominous score works well with the jump cuts and the claustrophobic framing is reinforced by the terrific performances. It’s rare that such a simple premise goes as far as it does in this film. It’s a memorable movie and is easily one of the best horror movies of the year. If you like a good scare, run out to a theater and see Longlegs while it’s in theaters now.