Director: Osgood Perkins
Screenplay: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage and Blair Underwood
Country: United States
Running Time: 101 mins
Year: 2024

As I walked out of my screening of Longlegs, the sense of looming dread that permeated the entire film didn’t leave. I walked out and felt like I had certain sequences from this film instantly etched into my brain in a way that I haven’t experienced with a film in a long, long time. People who know me are well aware that I’m no Oz Perkins fan. While his films are usually visually competent, his narrative efforts range from dull to flat-out dreadful and while the marketing for Longlegs had me intrigued, I was hesitant to get fully hyped for a film by the man who directed Gretel & Hansel and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. How silly of me.

From the opening sequence of the film, it’s clear that Oz has taken all of the criticisms of his past features and crafted something that doesn’t rely on poorly written characters saying poorly written dialogue, and captures the sense of dread that a Fincher or Kurosawa film nails so perfectly. Fans of Zodiac and particularly Cure will understand the wavelength this is going for. Monroe is excellent here as Lee, and I don’t really want to say much about her character as the marketing has kept most narrative elements hidden for a reason, but she’s giving a career best performance here. Cage? Oh my god. I’m someone who firmly believes that Nicolas Cage is the greatest working actor right now (not for the ironic reasons of “haha he screams in movies!!!”) and hearing the process of how he got into character, channelling his recently deceased mother who suffered with schizophrenia had me curious to see how different this would be for him. He delivers as expected, but never before has he shook me to the core in ways like this. His face is being hidden from the marketing for a reason, the way he’s treated like all good monsters in film are, teasing you with him until the full reveal at the right moment is perfect. I’m genuinely shocked by how well Oz is able to convey this ever-looming sense of dread without jumping the shark, without resorting to cheap tricks to one-up the audience and when those big reveals, those big moments that you’re anticipating arrive, they hit all the right notes.

There’s a specific moment in the film that’s been shown in the marketing involving an interrogation that almost made me tear up, and I wasn’t initially sure why. I had to sit with it for a while, because the scene wasn’t emotionally upsetting and had me wanting to almost hide in my seat from how uncomfortable it was. After thinking about it, I think it’s down to the genuine terror and unsettling nature of what was going on. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you don’t know how to react so the wrong emotion comes out, that’s basically how it felt. Laughing at an inappropriate moment, crying at good news, Longlegs somehow had me feeling that way for its monster. I can’t even begin to express how strange that made me feel, but it’s truly some under-your-skin sicko stuff that Cage and Perkins were able to pull off, so kudos to them.

The Silence of the Lambs comparisons that have been made in reviews leading up to the release make sense, and if you’re going into this film expecting anything, make sure it’s a psychological horror film on the level of Silence of the Lambs with more of a dark underbelly. Again, I’m trying my best to avoid many spoilers because the marketing team for this film has done an excellent job at keeping people unaware of what they’re in for, which is always great.

I could gush about this film forever but honestly, I just want people to see it. Seeing this with a sold-out crowd (a first for my new independent cinema) who were silent throughout the entire film was a delightful experience. No people on their phones, nobody talking through the film, everybody completely engaged in the sheer terror that Longlegs delivers made me feel like the theatrical experience isn’t dead for new, original projects like this. Market more films like this, where people have little to no idea on what they’re in for and people WILL turn up. If you hook people in without showing them every scary moment in a trailer, without every narrative beat being condensed into a two minute advertisement, people will want to see your film.

I’ve never been happier to see a packed screening for a film directed by a man who’s (until now) directed completely features that didn’t work for me. I’m happy to admit that Osgood Perkins does indeed have the sauce. Go and see this one because it’ll stick with you. Oh my god. Easily one of the year’s best, if not the horror picture of 2024.

Film:

Longlegs is playing across UK cinemas via Black Bear Pictures, and via NEON in the United States.

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Longlegs
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