Longlegs
I went into this movie with sky-high hopes. People were raving, calling it “the best serial killer movie since ‘Silence of the Lambs.’” The cinema had a giant poster declaring it “The scariest movie of the last decade.” I was ready for a spine-chilling experience. But when the credits rolled, I felt empty and hollow.
Don’t get me wrong—the movie is beautifully shot. The atmosphere is spot on, and it had all the pieces to be creepy and truly impactful. Most of the performances are top-notch, especially Maika Monroe’s. But then there’s Nicolas Cage. He starts off as a truly creepy and menacing character, but the moment he opens his mouth, he transforms into another weird, over-the-top Cage role. In a different movie, it might have worked perfectly, but here it felt like a joke.
As the movie went on, I kept thinking about the people who claimed this was the best serial killer movie since “Silence of the Lambs.” Did they forget about “Se7en,” “Zodiac,” or “Memories of Murder”? Those are just a few that immediately come to mind.
What could have made this movie great and scary started to get diluted by its religious aspects. It began to take a supernatural turn, which detracted from what was initially so intriguing.
So, I have to ask: in a decade filled with truly scary horror movies, how did this get elevated to the scariest? How is this movie scary in any shape or form? I’m genuinely curious.
That said, I’m interested in what the director, Osgood Perkins, will do next. This is the second movie I’ve seen from him where I felt he was close to delivering something truly great. The first was “Gretel & Hansel,” and just like this one, I felt the director had a unique vision and an intuition for creating creepy, atmospheric tension in viewers. I just think he misses the payoff.
I also have to give a big shoutout to the best element of this movie: the marketing. They did a fantastic job, and I believe many people got pulled in and may have their views of the movie tainted into believing it was better than it truly was.
What do you think about this movie? What is the best serial killer movie since “Silence of the Lambs”?
