Before I begin my review of 'Longlegs', heed my recommendation; for maximum enjoyment of the film, one should go in knowing as little as possible. I will keep details not already released about the film vague, however, if you are planning on seeing it, I would recommend reading this review after you have watched the film.
It's in your house, it's hiding behind you, it's right in front of you; it's impossible to ignore the hype around horror thriller 'Longlegs'. Written and directed by Oz Perkins ('Gretel & Hansel'), the film's first reviews are the kind to send horror fans into a frenzy, and more delicate audiences running for the hills. Additionally, the film's creative marketing has been nothing short of a masterclass in teasing without giving too much plot away.
'Longlegs' has also been bestowed with comparisons to such classics as 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Zodiac'; surely this is high flattery, right? It turns out, they may be both a help and a hindrance to 'Longleg's' legacy; it's a nasty, pit-forming-in-your-stomach film that will surely satisfy horror fans, but critics are doing 'Longlegs' no favours by giving it such big shoes to fill. Sure, it's one of the best horror films of the year, but will it become a classic? Spoiler alert: I'm not convinced yet.
Over almost 30 years, a peculiar crime pattern has emerged in the U.S. state of Oregon; a salt-of-the-earth churchgoing father will suddenly go on a spree of spectacular violence, killing his wife and young daughter before taking his own life. Despite no sign of forced entry or even evidence to suggest these crimes were committed by another person, the one clue connecting them all is a coded birthday card left behind, in handwriting that does not belong to any of the victims, each signed by someone named Longlegs (Nicolas Cage, 'Dream Scenario'). The cases – and how to solve them – have stumped the FBI for decades; is it collective Catholic psychosis? Is a killer actually on the loose? Or could something even more sinister be behind the murders? Cut to the 1990s, where Special Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe, 'Watcher', 'Independence Day: Resurgence') is just getting her start in the FBI. After solving another crime with such spectacular accuracy that she is tested for clairvoyance, Harker is assigned to the Longlegs case, but neither she nor the FBI can foresee how deeply tied to the case she will become.
'LONGLEGS' TRAILER
Pleasantly, I came out of 'Longlegs' with a satisfying sense of dread, instead of the nightmares/passing out/vomiting/any other overreaction described in early reviews. Such is the film's greatest success of establishing a disorienting feeling that anything could go wrong in every single frame, favouring a tense waiting for the other shoe to drop over cheap jump scares (although the film does employ a few). Each of cinematographer Andrés Arochi's ('The Last Manhunt') shots had me frantically searching in their shadows for Longlegs himself, or something even more sinister. Further adding to the film's claustrophobia is its winter setting, blanketing each scene in a layer of snow and unease. The resulting effect will no doubt secure the film a bunch of "style over substance" allegations, but it's really hard to care when said style is so effective.
Equally as integral to the film's success is Monroe's performance. Having already established herself as a scream queen in films like 'It Follows', here she channels her detached, inward acting style into something more antisocial and singularly focused. It doesn't make Harker super popular among her workmates but it helps her get the job done, even if it means falling asleep on the floor of her boss' office. Additionally, by only giving Harker one personal life detail, we don't see her go through the tried-and-tired thriller route of cutting off loved ones for the sake of the big case; she pretty much has no one to begin with. Even her wooden interior cottage is so sparsely decorated that display homes look more lived-in. Some might call Harker a freak, others might call her uniquely focused, but it's what allows her to crack Longlegs' coded messages before the film's first act is even over.
Sometimes evil exists in the world for no reason other than the fact that it just does, and the perfect bow that the third act reveal places on the film pushes believability to the point of contrivance.
One of my major gripes with Perkins' previous works is the odd compulsion to over justify the reveals, and unfortunately 'Longlegs' is another such victim of this tendency. It's a far more elegant dismount than, say, the end of 2015's 'The Blackcoat's Daughter', but I can't help but feel like the terror of 'Longlegs' would've been better served with almost no explanation at all. Sometimes evil exists in the world for no reason other than the fact that it just does, and the perfect bow that the third act reveal places on the film pushes believability to the point of contrivance. It turns out, no single clue or detail is left without meaning, making it the dream film for people who learnt how to critique plot holes by watching CinemaSins.
Another side effect of this reveal is that the Longlegs arc wraps up way earlier than audiences might expect. The film cleverly spends much of the character's screen time obscuring his face – I was delighted each time a new blocking strategy to keep him hidden was used – but by the time it is fully revealed, Cage only gets a handful of scenes to let loose. It's an odd choice given how the film's marketing appeared on track to canonise Longlegs as one of the all-time great film serial killers, and it leaves Cage underutilised in the middle of his career resurgence.
Don't confuse my criticism for the absence of enjoyment; 'Longlegs' is a haunting experience and it freaked me out to a satisfying degree. It's just a shame that the payoff doesn't quite match the genius of the set-up. I genuinely believe Oz Perkins has an amazing film in him, and 'Longlegs' is by far the closest he has gotten.