Welcome to Knockout Horror. Holy shit has this movie been hyped up to high hell? Everyone has been talking about Oz Perkins’ latest horror movie Longlegs and the rhetoric behind it has been absolutely insane. I’ve heard it described as a “masterpiece” and “the scariest movie in years”. Reviewers commented on Nic Cage’s performance as being “chilling” and “completely unrecognisable”. “Timless”, “terrifying”, “the best horror in years”. It’s been a bit of a wild ride as far as reviews go.
Obviously Overhyped
Honestly, statements along these lines are misguided at best and deliberately misleading at worst. Not only are they, frankly, ridiculous and beyond far fetched. They are also setting the movie up to fail in the eyes of many. The Blair Witch Project suffered a similar fate in 1999 and Paranormal Activity encountered the same 20 years later. And, much like those two movies, Longlegs is a horror that will never be able to live up to the hype.
Sure, TikTok has become a bizarre form of mass hypnosis where Gen Z is concerned and many of them are quick to base their opinions on what they hear on the platform. But well seasoned horror fans are unlikely to see the same thing that all of these reviewers are talking about. In fact, any horror fan familiar with some of the biggest horror movies of all time will probably see Longlegs as a facsimile of films they are already familiar with. Solid, yet unspectacular. It is very difficult to understand quite where the hype is coming from.
Extremely Familiar
Following the story of a young FBI agent on the hunt for a notorious occultist serial killer. Longlegs sees Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) using her gift for intuition to find out where the killer might be hiding. Notorious for killing entire families and having been active over a period of numerous decades. Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) has his sights set on another set of victims. Unless Harker can stop him in his tracks.
People have been describing Longlegs as a combination of the crime drama Se7en and the horror movie Hereditary. I, personally, am not getting this, at all, from it. It’s a modern take on The Silence of the Lambs. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, there are supernatural elements and more of an occult focus. But Longlegs takes everything that worked about the aforementioned movie and copies it entirely.
The main character, FBI Agent Lee Harker, fits the role of Clarice Starling. Longlegs is, pretty much, Buffalo Bill. The movie is presented in an incredibly similar manner, is paced much the same and flows in a way that is very reminiscent of the 90’s horror hit. Longlegs takes you on a ride that feels extremely familiar before attempting to flip the script in the final act. There is nothing original here. Just a director recycling ideas and taking advantage of a generation of movie goers that don’t watch older films.
Still Very Effective
With all of that being said, Longlegs is still an effective horror movie. Acting as something of a mystery crime drama. We watch Harker’s journey from a wide eyed rookie to someone altogether more seasoned. She is a socially awkward character due to a complicated childhood. But as the movie goes along we learn more about this. It seems that she is the only one that can stop Longlegs but she will have to confront her tumultuous past to do it.
The story at the heart of Longlegs is quite compelling. Characters are interesting, albeit fairly underdeveloped, and pacing is decent enough. Longlegs, as a character, has potential but lacks in any real depth. Agent Harker is a likable protagonist and the movie has an unsettling vibe throughout, much like the aforementioned The Silence of the Lambs.
I wouldn’t say it is particularly scary but Longlegs can be a fairly unnerving antagonist and there are a few scenes here and there that work really well. Andres Arochi’s cinematography is excellent and a great accompaniment to Perkins’ direction. Some of the shots show massive inspiration from iconic horror film makers like Hitchcock and Polanski. The almost timeless nature of the picture makes the film feel, almost, like a classic horror. Longlegs should age tremendously well.
Perkins never really leaves you feeling bored or uninterested. The story progresses along at a smooth rate and the drip feeding of information keeps you coming back for more. Throw in some great reasons to watch the background and its hard not to keep your eyes glued to the screen throughout. I really enjoyed the obvious influence of some well known horror movies in here. With Perkins displaying a very keen knowledge of the genre. Acting is, generally, fantastic. Maika Monroe was a perfect casting choice and it’s great to see the It Follows actor doing so well. I loved Blair Underwood, as well, as Agent Carter.
So What Doesn’t it Do Well?
There isn’t a tremendous amount that Longlegs fails at but it certainly never lives up to what viewers have been saying about it. I didn’t find it to be at all scary. The character of Longlegs is crucial to the scares and people are going to have split opinions on this, something I will get to in a minute. Dialogue is woefully poor. Some of the lines spoken here border on the hilarious. It is a big issue in a movie that takes itself so seriously.
Plot armour for certain characters takes the tension right out of certain scenes. An opening revelation lays the plot out bare. Meaning you will know exactly where it is going and how it is likely to end. The story is formulaic and beyond predictable. The ending is disappointing as all get out and the huge plot swing later on feels like a deliberate attempt to sway viewers who were expecting something similar to The Silence of the Lambs’ ending. There are a lot of ideas floating around here that never quite come together. There’s a significant number of plot holes, as well. Some of which are quite glaring given the events of the movie.
What About Nic Cage?
People have raved about Nic Cage’s performance as Longlegs and, while he is decent, I can’t say I agree with some of the sentiments. This is very obviously Nic Cage. This is a classic Cage, over the top, histrionic, chewing the scenery, performance. Sure, he dials it down here and there. But I was in hysterics at certain scenes. I couldn’t stop laughing and I couldn’t stop thinking about what a perfect addition to the old “Nic Cage Loses His Shit” meme this would be.
Sure, he looks like someone has been chewing on his face thanks to the makeup department. But the voice and strange, bizarre, actions are unmistakable. I am fairly sure they just let him riff on certain scenes and tried to make the best of it in the editing room. I love Nic Cage but I couldn’t get past it being him. Meaning Longlegs was more comical, for me, than sinister. Your mileage will vary but I can only give my opinion. Fans of cage that have watched him since Raising Arizona might struggle to buy into his performance here.
Should You Watch Longlegs?
You should definitely watch Longlegs. It’s a very enjoyable crime based horror movie with a great cast, a compelling story and some interesting characters. You just need to push the hype to one side. It’s not even remotely close to living up to it. It’s not that scary, Nic Cage is still, very much, Nic Cage, and the movie is overly familiar to a point of plagiarism. The ending is disappointing, the outcome is predictable and the dialogue is laughably bad in parts. Absolutely worth checking out and a definite good time but doesn’t live up to the hype.