By Oliver Copeland-
The critically acclaimed mediocrity that is Oz Perkins’ Longlegs is, at its core, an arthouse copy of Jonathan Demme’s Silence of The Lambs. In simple terms, the film follows psychic detective Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), who chases down a deranged serial killer (Nicholas Cage) known as Longlegs. With a lacking script, a poor twist, and an over-budgeted marketing team,
Longlegs is a movie that simply falls short of audience expectations.
This film is not “the scariest movie of the decade” as it was advertised (kudos to NEONS marketing team), nor is it even the scariest of the year, but it does provide an eerie ambiance through its visuals and sound design. Nicholas Cage’s imposing performance as Longlegs is excellent, and his presence adds tension to what otherwise is a bland movie. Maika Monroe
shines as well, in her role as Lee Harker. Where the film lacks is in its originality. With apparent influence from Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and Zodiac, the stolen tropes simply reminded me
of the movies I’d rather be watching. And, while the film is undoubtedly interesting, with a good idea (even with stolen tropes), Oz Perkins simply fails to execute the concept to the standards of the films it was based around.
By no means is this film “bad”; it’s just not “groundbreaking” as advertised. Given that the film opts for a more “style over substance” approach, it can prove to be a fun watch, as long as you don’t dive too deep into it. Instead, just let it take you along for the ride and enjoy its surface-level plot. The film does carry a heavy sense of dread throughout its entirety and is
even scary at some points, but its script and character development were simply not fully fleshed out, seeming more like a regurgitation of better films rather than something unique and original. One notable aspect of the film is its soundtrack by Zilgi. The music in the film is haunting, reminiscent of the soundtrack of films like Robbert Eggers’ The Witch. Being one of the more
redeemable facets of the film, along with Andres Arochi’s masterful cinematography, their presence helps breathe life into the film and adds to its tension significantly.
NEON’s ingenious marketing granted the studio a new all-time high, boasting an impressive $45 million from a $10 million budget. Building hype around the film by revealing almost nothing prior to the film’s release was nothing less than genius by the marketing team, but it, in turn, overhyped the film significantly. One aspect especially teased about was Nicholas Cage’s
appearance as Longlegs, to which we were kept in the dark about. He was made out to be a far more significant part of the film, which made it all the more disappointing to find him in so few scenes, as the few scenes he was in were some of the scariest throughout the film. While the
film’s box office performance will undoubtedly grant Perkins another opportunity, hopefully, his future projects might strike a better balance between inspiration and innovation, delivering the originality that Longlegs lacks.
Director: Oz Perkins
Distributed by: NEON
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, Alicia Witt
Oliver Copeland is a high school student from Los Angeles with a passion for all things horror. Taking special interest in films revolving around psychological fear, and with a passion for film and writing, he creates many short films of his own.
