Despite an unsatisfactory ending, Osgood Perkins LONGLEGS is a terrifying triumph of modern horror.
LONGLEGS follows a young, intelligent and socially awkward FBI agent, Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) whose semi-psychic abilities lead her to reopen a decades old case.
Over 40 victims, the same story; a god fearing family man goes crazy, butchers his wife and children before killing himself. The killings would all be horrific coincidences if it weren’t for a letter left at each crime scene – a cryptic code which reads “LONGLEGS”.
The Hype and the Horror
Thanks to a fantastic marketing campaign LONGLEGS has become hyped up to insane levels being labelled as the scariest horror movie of the decade and being compared to the iconic The Silence of the Lambs.
When you are promised such great heights it’s hard to not have high expectations. Now, is it the scariest movie ever? Well that depends who you ask but it is very very unnerving.
While there are a few (quite effective) jump scares, LONGLEGS is less interested in making you jump and more into getting under your skin, making you uncomfortable for the duration of the film not sure when something will appear in the background or a vile image will flash on the screen.
LONGLEGS lives in the moment before the jump scare; that tense feeling were you know something is coming but not when.
This tense feeling is achieved in part thanks to Perkins cinematography. Almost the whole film is composed of wide angle shots which leads the viewer to constantly scan the background for something lurking, and in some shots there really is something there.
Making us question if we saw something or our mind is playing tricks on us.
One shot in particular comes to mind. Lee Harker is home alone speaking to her mother on the phone. She is in the foreground, in focus but in the background we can see a door wide open to a corridor.
Now nothing actually jumps out from the corridor but the shot suggests that something will. My eyes were locked on that doorway the whole scene. It’s scenes like these that create this uncomfortable feeling in the viewer.
Perkins also dabbles in switching aspect ratios, a tricky practice that can very easily come across as unnecessary and pretentious. However it’s a great way to portray flashback sequences of which there are quite a few and cleverly mirrors Polaroid pictures which are central to the story.
The Performances
It’s hard to say anything negative about any performance in LONGLEGS.
Undoubtedly most people (myself included) were most excited to see Nicholas Cage as the title character and he doesn’t disappoint.
In classic Cage fashion his performance is a bit bonkers and balances on the line of over acting, but this character warrants an over-the-top performance. It’s very effective that Longlegs’ face is hidden for the most part as it makes it all the more terrifying when we see it for the first time.
For me though it’s Maika Monroe who steals the show, perfectly portraying this broken but determined individual. Monroe proves she is criminally under used in Hollywood.
The Half-baked ending
When then does LONGLEGS lose it a bit?
Some may say it’s when the film fully commits to switching from a serial killer horror to an occult horror film. However, I can pin point the exact moment LONGLEGS loses me.
It’s about 10-15 minutes before the end, one of the characters essentially tells us their evil plan. It feels very “mwahaha this is how I pulled it off!”.
It’s essentially spoon fed exposition and it really does hurt the film. There are a few instances before this in which the film indulges in some silly horror movie tropes that may put some viewers off. But for the most part, it gets away with them until this evil speech.
The ending it’s trying to pull off is interesting – but all mystery is lost and mystery is what makes LONGLEGS scary.
Final Thoughts
I was really tossing and turning over whether to give LONGLEGS three or four stars. The ending does leave a sour taste and initially it did really effect how I felt about the film.
However, since seeing it I’ve been able to think about little else and have been itching to see it again. Ultimately LONGLEGS creates an unpleasant but addictive vibe that many others struggle to cultivate and for this reason alone, despite its flaws, it will be talked about for years to come.
Feature Image Credit: NEON
