#REVIEW: “LONGLEGS”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

There are marketing campaigns that get audiences so hyped-up for a movie that you think to yourself, there is no way the movie can possibly live up to that hype. Well, in the case of Oz Perkins’ terrifying hellscape Longlegs, the marketing somehow feels undersold! Even without being a gorefest, it confidently is being touted as “the scariest movie” of the decade, year, and so forth. Longlegs may be one of the most psychologically-taxing Horror films I’ve ever seen since Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs.  Prepare yourself for one of the most traumatizing experiences of the year.

The Film focuses on Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), an up-and-comer in the FBI and Agent Carter (Blair Underwood) recruits her to find notorious serial killer Longlegs (Nicolas Cage). The FBI hasn’t announced that a serial killer is out there, even though he’s been killing for nearly 20 years. Nobody has found a trace of evidence, and no one would know Longlegs was there outside of a calling card with clues. Carter wants Harker on the case because she has some intuition that he truly believes will be able to help crack the case and get this gruesome killer off the streets. I won’t reveal anymore than that. This is one of those movies which truly you’re better knowing absolutely nothing about.

If you haven’t seen Monroe’s work prior to Longlegs, her performance is going to ensure you seek out every single thing she has ever done. We knew she was incredible prior to Longlegs, but this cements her as a new Scream Queen and delivers one of the most visceral performances seen in recent memory. A more current frame of reference would be Florence Pugh in Midsommar or Toni Collette in Hereditary.

Monroe brings such presence, terror and fortitude to the performance that it can only be matched by someone so chimed into chaos that one would confuse the performance for something that cannot be amplified. Thankfully, Perkins realized that only one Actor in all of Hollywood could be paired to  Monroe’s skillsets perfectly, and that is none other than Cage. The cinema legend is known to deliver over-the-top, unhinged performances (and well!), managing to deliver a performance that surely will thrust him into early Awards Season discussions. Underwood as the take no bullsh*t FBI agent is as by the book and procedural as it gets, but Alicia Witt playing Lee‘s religious mother Ruth Harker is spine-tingling.

Watching Longlegs is the closest I have ever want to feel strapped to a chair with a bag tied around my head with only a singular hole to breathe through. Longlegs puts its audience in a vice grip and never lets go, refusing to let you breathe. There are moments where you generally feel insane for laughing, then instantly feel uncomfortable again. There has never been a movie so jarring and polarizing that has forced the audience to feel such a sense of unease. Whatever you think Longlegs is going to do next, it decides to draw in blue instead of drive straight, you never know where the Movie is going to go.

Perkins crafts a complete overhaul of the senses, giving you just enough oxygen to survive. Longlegs will be held in the same regard as some of the greatest Serial Killer movies of all time.

Longlegs features some of the best performances this year, full stop. Nothing compares to the energy, chaos and discomfort between Cage and Monroe. Simply put, Longlegs is going to leave audiences tormented. You just might not ever be able to listen a song from the public domain again. This is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Elevation Pictures release LONGLEGS in theatres on Friday, July 12, 2024.