Internet Janitor
Throughout its marketing campaign, which cost almost as much as the entire movie, it was unfairly labelled as the successor to Silence of the Lambs, and it is not. This is not to say it’s not a masterpiece of horror, but it is a very different kind of movie. Let’s say Silence is Hollywood, and this one had a budget 50% smaller than Lamb’s catering budget. Written and directed by Osgood Perkins (son of the great Anthony Perkins), we have a movie that, while I loved and yet… I don’t think it will please everyone.
Longlegs begins with some fresh FBI recruits, including Agent Lee Harker (played by Maika Monroe from It Follows), canvassing a neighbourhood to try to find the serial killer Longlegs (played by Nicolas Cage from the Best of All Cinema). Thanks to her clairvoyance, she becomes critical to the task force, and progress is made immediately. Harker, however, begins to find connections between her past and that of Longlegs.
Atmosphere, or the lack thereof, is a key ingredient to the success of a horror film/serial killer drama. Longlegs immediately, with its creative use of aspect ratios, pulls you into the movie. We’re only going to get a small glimpse into this crazy world, and that might rub some people the wrong way. You’re not going to leave this feature with everything tied into a nice little bow, like Silence of the Lambs. It’s brutal, it’s chaotic, it’s insanity, and it abruptly comes to a conclusion.
In case you’re wondering. We get the full Cage here. Turned up to 1000. He, like in so many cases, commits fully to this character. As a better treat, that full Cage isn’t something we’ve seen before. Sure, people can complain that you don’t get to see much of him, and you don’t. However, if Rob Zombie’s Halloween taught us anything, some things are more terrifying left up to the imagination. You literally, through all the tension and all the horror, want to shake him and make him explain more.
If I had to level any criticism at the movie, Maika Monore’s character would have been a little better fleshed out. She’s almost a walking wooden doll and our lens into this world. Yes, I was just going on about not going into too much detail, but that’s for villains. When it comes to our trusty guides, we need to feel a little more attached to them.
Give it a try. It’s not what you think.
And that’s a good thing. The last thing we need is more of the same or yet another sequel.