'Longlegs' review: Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe occult, serial killer horror movie is a terrorizing nightmare
The longer you think about the Osgood Perkins film, the creepier the movie feels
Osgood Perkins' Longlegs, starring Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood and Alicia Witt, is the kind of psychological horror film that stays with you long after you leave the movie theatre. For many, the movie will be less about how much you jumped and screamed, and more about a shift in your mental state.
Ahead of the film's release, there has been a lot of interest in what Cage looks like as the movie's sinister killer, but that's really just one piece of the terrifying puzzle. From creepy dolls to satan worship, Longlegs has everything you could want in a horror film, but presented in a way that still feels unnerving.
Longlegs release date: July 12
Director/Writer: Osgood Perkins
Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Kiernan Shipka, Lauren Acala, Michelle Choi-Lee
Runtime: 101 minutes
'Longlegs' movie plot
Set in Oregon, Lee Harker (Monroe) is a newbie FBI agent who has particularly exceptional abilities, with a shockingly high perception test score. That leads her to quickly being assigned by her boss, Agent Carter (Underwood), who describes her as "half psychic," to work on a serial killer case.
The bureau has been having trouble investigating a series of murders that follow the same pattern. Fathers murder their wives and children, before killing themselves, with a coded message left at the scene of each crime, all signed by Longlegs.
As Harker works to decode the ciphers with the hopes of figuring out who Longlegs is, she continues to field calls from her religious mother, played by Witt, who believes her daughter has to pray each day to keep the evil away.
But the deeper Harker gets into the case, the more horrific the reality of this killing spree becomes.
Nicolas Cage's wacky and creepy transformation
Longlegs is the first movie in a very long time that made us feel like kids again. Most of us have that film we watched when we were a little too young that shook us to our core, a fear that haunted our dreams and made us feel too afraid to go to sleep.
The creepy nature of Longlegs has that kind of impact on the audience.
Yes, there were people in the audience shrieking during certain alarming moments in the movie, but it's really a film that becomes more terrifying the longer you think about it.
While we won't completely spoil what Cage looks like as Longlegs, we'll tease that Perkins makes you wait to see his entire transformation, starting out with just small glimpses of Cage's appearance, going for maximum impact once we get to the big reveal. Like Cage does with most of his work, he's completely transformed into this character that's just as wacky as it is creepy.
An actor to particularly watch is Witt, who we can't say much about without spoiling the plot, but she gives a powerful and terrifying performance that gave us chills.
Monroe is absolutely everything you want in a horror lead. Her performance is gentle and delicate at times, but incredibly piercing and shocking at other moments.
Horror that crawls under your skin
The film's writer and director is actually the son of Anthony Perkins, who famously played Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, one of the greatest horror films of all time.
While that's certainly a big legacy to live up to, Osgood Perkins doesn't disappoint. There's power in the slow burn nature of Longlegs and just when you think the pace is starting to lag, Perkins perfectly places the next moment of shock to thrust you through the rest of this film.
A lot of the horror elements in Longlegs are very frequently used, satanic panic and the occult, and creepy dolls, but Perkins approaches them in a way that helps to build this feeling of dread that stays with the audience.
Most importantly, Longlegs is just a fun ride. Playing with different aspect ratios, and with Andres Arochi's cinematography, you continue to get a unique perspective throughout the film, which really amps up the creepy factor. It's a movie that crawls under your skin.
