Longlegs is an arty and classy
supernatural mystery film about a strong female FBI agent who is hunting a
serial killer. The film combines some familiar elements from Silence of the
Lambs and the X-Files with a Hereditary like ending, but it also adds a few
unexpected twists.
The film features plenty of top-notch talent and the acting is
much better than the usual performances in your typical horror/suspense film.
Longlegs was directed and written by Osood Robert "Oz" Perkins II who is a
horror specialist who also made The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015), I am the Pretty
Things that Lives in the House, (2016) and Gretal and Hansel (2020). Longlegs
also features meaty roles for Maika Monroe (from It Follows) who is emerging as
a leading scream queen, and Alcia Witt (from David Lynch’s Dune and Twin Peaks.)
But I was most impressed by Nicolas Cage’s delightful
over-the-top performance. He is best when he is playing one of this wacky,
weird, and wonderful characters such as Dracula in
Renfield and his Elvis like
antihero in Wild at Heart, Fu Manchu from
Grindhouse as well as the title
character in this film. These roles give him a chance to wonderfully overact and
chew the scenery. Cage is the best thing in the movie, but he departs from the
film a bit too early.
In the start of the films the Longlegs character is only seen
from the neck down to heighten the suspense and his full first-time appearance
is the undisputed high point of the film. This is surely the most memorable
makeup job of the year, Cage’s costar Monroe said in an interview "when I first
laid eyes on him, my heart leapt to an amazing 170 bpm".
Cage wearing heavy white facial makeup plays Longlegs, who looks
like a crazy homicidal mock glam rocker who is sexually ambiguous. He resembles
and parodies the look of the late, great singer from T Rex, Marc Bolan, who is a
recent Rock and Roll of Fame inductee. The film invites us to compare the rock
star to the Longlegs because the film constantly alludes to Bolan. One of the
film’s characters has a poster up of Bolan (wearing his top hat in an image from
the album, Slider) and the film contains several T Rex songs on the soundtrack.
The screenplay writer/director Perkins has said that he listened to T Rex
nonstop while he was writing the screenplay after Nicholas Cage brought the band
to his attention.
The film even opens with the song, "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," as
we see a title card with the following lyrics from a 1971 track: "Well you’re
slim and you’re weak / You’ve got the teeth of the hydra upon you / You’re
dirty, sweet, and you’re my girl." This song directly ties into the film because
like the girl in the song, the lead female character’s life has been marked or
altered forever by a mythological monster.
Longlegs is about a series of mysterious murders spread out over
decades that are somehow connected. In each case a family is slaughtered by
stabbing or shooting by a formerly normal dad who suddenly goes berserk and
kills himself after he massacres his family.
Agent Harker (Maika Monroe who is quite convincing) is assigned
the case by the FBI, and she is as strong or smart as the Jodi Foster character
in Silence of the Lambs or the X-Files’ Agent Mulder whom she is obviously
modeled after. Harker was able to catch her first killer right off the bat
because she utilized some psychic abilities that come in handy in this film.
The agent suspects that the crimes are connected because in each
case the killer leaves a note covered in ancient arcane mystical symbols. She
also discovers that every family has a young girl who was born on the 4rth day
of the month and the murders all occur within six days of her birthday.
One day Agent Harker is researching the case at her home when she
hears a sinister laugh. She finds a note inside that has the same kind of
mystical symbols that were found near the slaughtered families. The note is
signed Longlegs and this is the start of a cat and mouse game between the killer
and the FBI agent, and they built a relationship with each other similar to the
killer and agent in Silence of the Lambs which featured Hannibal Lecter (the
character Trump has been citing in his speeches).
We also get to meet Agent Harker’s half-crazy mom who has some
connection to the killer. Despite her madness she is slightly sympathetic
because she is completely devoted to her daughter and will do anything to keep
her alive. Once the mystery is solved, we find out the Agent’s mom is involved
in the mystery along with Longlegs.
In addition to three T Rex songs, the soundtrack contains many
moody instrumentals created by the film director’s brother, Elvis Perkins, who
believe it or not is the son of Anthony Perkins, the star of Psycho. Some of the
music in the film is played backward to create a hypnotic effect on the
audience.
At times, the plot of Longlegs is unnecessarily complicated and
not all the parts of it fit easily together. The film’s plot does a few too many
intellectual summersaults, and it is sometimes hard to believe that everything
happens the way it is depicted in the film. But unlike many horror films, this
movie never talks down to the audience, and overall, this is a fine, moody and
atmospheric film that will disturb and enthrall you.