‘Longlegs’ review: Predictably good, unpredictably scary

What we get is a 'Silence of the Lambs'-esque horror thriller, with a slapdash of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 'Cure,' and a little bit of Daivd Fincher’s 'Se7en' for good measure

You’ve probably already heard of the movie Longlegs.

The viral marketing hit of the year so far (though not without criticism for its official Philippine poster) is a horror film from Neon, the same company that distributed the likes of Parasite and Anatomy of a Fall. It stars Maika Monroe, already the breakout horror queen of the 21st century, with indie hits like It Follows and Watcher already under her belt.

Then, there’s Nicholas Cage playing the eponymous Satanic serial killer. A creature so acutely removed from marketing that it almost borders on urban legend. The character actor, best known for extravagant and wild genre oscillations, is unhinged and unshackled as the main antagonist. His facial appearance and rabid energy are at once hypnotizing and deeply, deeply uncomfortable.

My favorite marketing from the film is a video in which Maika Monroe is said to have entered the set for her first encounter with Nicolas Cage – and her heart rate spikes to 170 beats per minute. There are also plenty of teasers, bravely cryptic and resistant to revealing anything about the film. The whole allure of the film was essentially crafted on the outside, a puzzle to be dissected when you watch it for yourself, a mystery to be unraveled. 

It makes sense because the film follows Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as an FBI agent tasked with solving elusive clues left behind by a devil-worshiping serial killer. And so we are thrust into detective work as audiences, and what we get is a Silence of the Lambs-esque horror thriller, with a slapdash of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure, and a little bit of Daivd Fincher’s Se7en for good measure. 

A focus on Harker’s story

The gist of the film is this: FBI detective Harker, along with her superior, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood), is determined to track a serial killer who has been active since at least the Nixon era up until the film’s present-day setting in the Bill Clinton ’90s. Longlegs has been leaving clues through ciphers that have yet to be decoded à la the Zodiac killer, and his modus operandi has always remained the same: three to four murders per family, all involving the father doing the killing and daughters with peculiar birthdays.

To start with, the film’s best moments come in its unpredictable opening. We’re kicked into high gear with unexpected jumpscares, subversive twists, and flinch-worthy moments. Cage’s villain is rarely revealed, always just peering into the corner of the frame. Context about the decades-long serial killer case comes to the fore, with the grisly details expressed in such a detached and clinical manner.

Almost everything about the film has a stoic aspect to it. This robotic quality is most prevalent in Harker, our point-of-view character – a feature rather than a flaw – making each reminder of her humanity and fragility feel even more pronounced. She is too upright, a consequence of her unceasing religious upbringing, and a more sinister backstory, as we learn later on.

In terms of its detective procedural work, there is something to be said with how easy most of the puzzles and riddles in recent serial killer films have become. One of the complaints hedged against The Batman (which, by all means, is a fantastic film) is that Paul Dano’s brainteasers barely chalk up as a challenge to Batman, save for a very forced misunderstanding. In the last two Scream films, while perfectly good movies, the predictable twists barely hide behind the mystery. 

The same goes for Longlegs. I’m pretty sure the ciphers were a bane in the fictional world for many years, but we, as the audience, enter this world with Harker, and then she immediately solves them like it’s nothing. Why so quick? We don’t get a sense of the weight of the case’s difficulty, how much it has taken a toll on the victims and officials over the years.

Which brings me to my other point: You don’t feel the weight of time in this film. For an ongoing decades-long investigation, it sure does feel like everyone is just getting introduced to it for the first time. Compare this Fincher’s Zodiac starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. While Zodiac takes its cues from real-life events, it adeptly translates the sheer desperation of the journalists and detectives who have dedicated years to the case, often at the expense of their mental health and familial relationships.

Longlegs seems to skip all of this in favor of a focused approach; this is Harker’s story. Everything else is weaker by comparison, but it doesn’t mean that Harker isn’t a compelling protagonist. Her relationship with her mom (Ruth Harker) is, at first, an enigma, it being central to understanding the film’s theme of religious guilt and abuse. 

Moreover, the isolated rural feel also blends into the film’s bleakness. So much of traditional America looks like the locations presented in this film: detached from urban landscapes, easily manipulated and converted to wickedness. Longlegs is attached to pervasive images of authority – presidents, father figures, and even Satan himself – connections that director Oz Perkins makes to represent different faces of an invisible puppet master, making their influence all the easier.

There’s something disturbing about the nature of the crimes too. In all cases, it’s been a familicide — seemingly disconnected, but all linked by Longlegs. They are crimes without a break-in or evidence of forced entry; the killer is neatly welcomed into the house under the guise of religion. Latent American insecurity is then weaponized into acts of violence, committed in the name of misguided peace and security.

On a filmmaking level, everything is top-notch. The lingering camera shots create an unsettling atmosphere, and the visuals are sublime. The acting from Monroe and Cage is underrated and will likely go unnoticed, as it’s a shame that horror acting rarely gets its laurels. While all of these aspects hold up beautifully, everything sort of crumbles in the finale.

The final act becomes predictable. Predictably good, yes, but predictable nonetheless. It doesn’t shoot for the stars; it just settles on a nice little mountain top that barely even touches Everest. It’s disappointing because the film seemed poised for a fiery showdown but ultimately becomes a tired old trope that is neither satisfying nor entirely disappointing. It’s just okay. I just wish that, in the end, the film retained the scariness that jolted its opening. – Rappler.com

‘Longlegs’ is now showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide.