Writer/director Osgood Perkins drops audiences into the bleakest, darkest abyss in Longlegs. Watching the film feels as if you’re truly taking part in something actually evil and cursed itself. Longlegs is a perfect rebuttal to the modern obsession with true crime as the film horrifically gets under your skin as it explores that evil simply just exists. Maika Monroe proves, yet again, she’s the ‘it girl’ of horror while Nicholas Cage is genuinely disturbing as he’ll haunt your dreams for the rest of the year.

Films often explore the true nature and origin of evil, but nothing in recent years comes close to what writer/director Osgood Perkins pulls off in Longlegs. The film immerses you in nothing but despair and pure terror from the very first ten minutes. With the opening scene, you immediately know this will be one of the most unsettling viewing experiences of the year. Longlegs is an instant classic that’s both a serial killer procedural and a Satanic horror film filled to the brim with dread. No modern horror film has embodied the feeling of palpable discomfort as Longlegs does. Perkins delivers the most unnerving horror film of the decade so far. 

Longlegs is far from your typical crime procedural as it feels you truly descent into Hell before the title card even drops. The opening in 4:3 is a flashback left best unspoiled and shows immediately Perkins is not messing around with the palpable terror that will weigh on you the rest of the film. As we cut to present date, the sound design immediately immerses the audience into the tortured mind of FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe). Harker is clearly holding a weight over her head as she’s tightly wound but stoic and always thinking. After using psychic abilities to find some criminals, Harker ends up drawing the attention of an experienced Agent Carter (Blair Underwood). Carter calls upon Harker to use her abilities to help him on a case that’s seemingly grown cold that focuses on what appears to be murder-suicide within families. Mothers and daughters murdered at the hand of the father; the father overwhelmed with grief committing suicide.  While these cases appear textbook, there’s one clue that leaves the FBI to think it’s more than meets the eye; a cyphered letter left behind at the scene of each crime simply signed Longlegs. With the killings all being performed with items from within the home and no sign of forced entry, it’s been puzzling the FBI for now decades as these letters have been found at crime scene after crime scene. 

Carter explains that he believes that Longlegs is influencing the killers from outside the home, but he can’t figure out how Longlegs is able to do this, so he’s bringing Harker into the investigation hoping her psychic abilities can help make a lead in case. As Harker pours over the piles of evidence, it becomes clear she can feel something looking across crime scene images, the cyphered messages, and the one simple connection between all the murders, the birthday of the daughter in each family. As the messages from Longlegs are flashed over the screen, it’s clear they are designed to appear similar to those of the real Zodiac Killer. Combining that with the fact that Carter can’t help but bring up Charles Manson when Harker suggests Longlegs isn’t working alone, Perkins blurs the line between the fictional story within Longlegs within historical true crimes, which only elevates the unmistakable feeling of uneasiness lingering throughout the film. As Harker spends more time with the evidence, the more her looming feeling of uneasiness grows. It’s not so much that grisly crimes are affecting her psyche, but it almost feels as if she’s unlocking a long-forgotten memory.  As the story unfolds, it becomes clear Longlegs and Harker share a bond longer than her time at the FBI. 

Perkins is able to continue to build upon the tangible dread as the film’s runtime goes on is by utilizing both what is on screen and what is purposefully cropped out of the frame. Alongside his cinematographer, Andres Arochi, Perkins utilize analog horror to bring horrific images to life that almost feel wrong to see on screen. The flashbacks throughout Longlegs are filmed in 4:3 creating a suffocating feeling as you attempt to figure out the mystery at the center before the final act. 

The film flips back and forth between utilizing the realism of grisly crime photos to demonic, otherworldly sounds and visuals. The color palette used feels reminiscent of Seven and not only transports audiences back to the 90’s but evokes the demented tones of the serial killer classic. The eerie sound design along with the terrifying score create a sense of true evil always lurking in the shadows. Between the haunting sound and demonic imagery behind the almost vintage grainy camera, it’s easy to not realize you’ve been crouching your shoulders and holding your breath as Perkins create the bleakest environment within Longlegs. 

Perkins may take some expected and typical story crafting of familiar true crime procedurals, but the writer/director disrupts anything typical as he consistently throws the audience off balance with disturbing imagery. The violence and actual ‘scares’ in the film are not overwhelming or as often as you may think with the way the film has been spoken about as Perkins truly creates a pestering atmosphere throughout the run time. While the marketing campaign has been legendary, something so incredible about it after you see the film is the way the marketing is actually utilizing real horror from the film and was never crafted to just get you into the theater; this film is a real descent to Hell that will linger under your skin. 

The performances in the film make the tension electric. Monroe plays Harker as socially awkward and always at arm’s length from anyone around her. As more unravels with her backstory, it becomes clear why, but Monroe keeps Harker so interesting you’re literally aching to figure her out until it becomes clear what has been disturbing her for so long. Monroe makes it look easy as she plays the tightly wound Harker, but her performance proves she is undoubtedly one of the best actresses working today. Her performance is akin to Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with the discomfort at every day tasks but fulfillment in solving brutal crimes. Underwood does not play Carter as a typical FBI Agent; he creates a warmth to him, but he always feels just as savvy as Harker with his confidence. Within the story of Longlegs, there’s also an incredible exploration of mothers and daughters. Alicia Witt as Harker’s mother is incredibly disturbing and every time she is on screen, it’s entirely uneasy. It’s not just that she is a hoarder, and it can make you uncomfortable, there’s an air around her that feels off. Not to get into spoilers, but the film takes on a whole new meaning of what a mother will do to keep her child safe. The performance everyone will be talking about for years to come is Nicholas Cage as the titular Longlegs. From the moment you get just a glimpse of him, the hair on your arm stands up. It’s not even just the physicality of the performance or the voice being used (my GOD), Cage completely transforms into Longlegs who genuinely feels he came up from Hell, even to nonbelievers. Cage is both enigmatic and completely unnerving in a role he was born to play. Longlegs will haunt your dreams for years to come and no one could successfully pull off what Cage does here. 

Longlegs is more than a typical serial killer procedural as it feels like a fairy tale from Hell filled with lore as it explores society’s need to explain the why and how behind brutal crimes. Watching the film feels as if you’re truly taking part in something actually evil and cursed itself. Longlegs is a perfect rebuttal to the modern obsession with true crime as the film horrifically gets under your skin as it explores that evil simply just exists. Anchored by two legendary performances at the center, Longlegs drops audiences into the bleakest, darkest abyss and never lets up on the rotting feeling of dread. 

Grade: A

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Nicholas Cage), Best Sound, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Release Date: July 12, 2024
Where to Watch: In Theaters