One of the boldest fears from the 2024 horror cinema comes from ‘Longlegs’ which is a psychological thriller that incorporates fear and mystery along with supernatural elements within its fabric. The film was written and directed by Osgood Perkins and starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage. This film is not just about a serial killer; it obliquely propels its viewers through a conundrum filled with neurosis, trauma, and occultism while intertwining the concept of crimes and horror from the nineties and haunting supernatural implications. Its Thomas Harris-esque concept blends a deeply chilling crime story filled with elements of the macabre.
Longlegs is darkness without the reliance upon a jump scare or blood-stab, trusting the intent silence along with ambiguity to stir anticipation whereby embodying fear that signifies evil to lurk somewhere.
Plot Summary
Longlegs is based around 1990s and revolves around Lee Harker (played by Maika Monroe), a young and highly talented FBI agent with a haunted persona and passionate profiling skills. Harker’s latest assignment involves an inexplicable string of murders known as ‘family murders’. These murders involve a father killing the entire family before taking his own life. Every single crime is accompanied with bizarre notes and symbols that suggest there is more to these murders than meets the eye.
As Harker continues her investigation, she begins to form disturbing links not only among the murders, but also between the killer and her repressed past. This search makes to her a terrible character whose reputation is reduced to a Longlegs \u2014a hermit, a nonsensical creature, and a man known to none, whose presence seems to putrefy everything it touches by infecting it with destruction and lunacy.
The deeper Harker goes, the more she begins to fracture the world around her. What had previously felt so intertwined comes apart at the seams. Personal documents turn into mementoes that she can\u2019t rely on. Is it possible she is following a killer\u2026 or is she heading towards something far more ancient and sinister than her imagination could ever conceive?
Characters and Performances
Maika Monroe as Lee Harker in the movie gave a subdued but fierce performance. Her portrayal was moderated and never too dramatic, but always expressive of fear, confusion, and the desire to achieve something. In the role of Harker, Monroe does not portray the self-assured investigator. She is shy, rather quirky, and somewhat tortured by things she can not comprehend, and that makes her suited perfectly as a subject for the portray of the film\u2019s gradual plunge into occult insanity.
Nicolas Cage’s Longlegs is repulsive, fascinating, and horrifying all at once. Though he has very little screen time when compared to the average antagonist, his absence is felt like a mentos in coke. His depiction of the character’s strange wiring portrays a killer as a being beyond reality, not just someone evil. Cage’s aggressive makeup, voice manipulation, and uncontrollable actions give life to one of his most bone chilling acts in years.
The character Ruth Harker, portrayed by Alicia Witt, is Lee’s mother and she makes the film heartwrenching. The relationship is complex, and as the movie goes forward, it helps unveil some painful and merciless truths along with shocking ones around Harker’s identity. Underwood’s Carter, Harker’s superior, has a somewhat opposite character. He plays a rational and honest character that controls the madness. Although he orchestrates the investigation from the back, he is rapidly outpaced by the paranormal elements that start taking control of this very baffling case.
Direction and Cinematography
Perkins’ horror films feel moody and deeply psychologically driven, which captivated him when directing Longlegs. The film itself is extremely atmospheric; there is an uncanny morbidity that remains prominent from the first frame. Perkins makes use of tight sound design and long silences, along with long shot framing that works to create unease. When something truly shocking does happen at the climax of the film, it becomes extremely effective as her hypnotized stillness makes the film all the more shocking.
The cinematography feels and sounds cold, grainy, while muted colors are simply used too heavily and excessively. The visual style is centered around interrogation rooms, alienated homes, and snowy woods, and all of them work together towards creating a sense of timelessness. It doesn’t matter whether it is 2024 or 1992. The film argues that evil is constant.
Longlegs does not move in a classic investigative direction; rather, it methodically reveals layers until the truth that sits at the heart of it is revealed. Like an onion, all the layers are horrifying…but what they hide is truly cosmic. As Harker moves closer to her target, reality begins to feel suspect and the boundaries of hunter and prey begin to fade.
Themes and Symbolism
Primarily, Longlegs grapples with the concepts of legacy, particularly in respect to blood, trauma, destiny, or even evil. The film looks at how wounds inflicted across generations can metabolize within those who have had no role in the original sin. Harker does not merely solve a case—she comes to terms with her personal connection to the nightmare.
Longlegs, the killer, is not a man, but a walking embodiment of the evil and destruction that has no reason. He represents evil that is beyond rational consideration. He speaks in riddles and whispers. He writes in codes and uses diabolical marks. He uses such subtle methods to torment his victims who are far from random. They are purposively chosen. Chosen, marked, and possessed.
Hidden codes, talk of sacrificial rites, pacts of Satan, and pentagrams are religious and occult symbols intertwined throughout the film. But the film does not reduce itself to cheap Satanism clichés which sadly is a mark of many films. Rather, it uses the occult not to shock, but to reinforce the idea that some powers go beyond understanding and reasoning, and perhaps beyond halting.
Reception and Legacy
Longlegs is one of the best horror films of the year due to its innovative storytelling and haunting atmosphere filled with superb performances. Many critics noted the fatalistic chemistry shared by Monroe and Cage despite sharing only two scenes together. While some viewers were divided on the film’s pacing, it was mesmerizing for many.
It’s combination of supernatural horror with a true crime structure was astonishing within the genre. Unlike most horror films, it does not rely on cheap thrills, bur rather focuses slowly and progressively on dread, psychological unraveling of the mind, and a gradually building sense of doom.
Conclusion
Longlegs is expertly crafted and thematically rich while still being uncomfortable and terrifying at points. It does not offer easy answers, nor does it provide any cathartic victories. The film masterfully delivers disorienting experiences while showcasing powerful performances that linger long after the credits roll.
Stand Longlegs. It has been and always will serve as a unforgettable piece of modern horror. There aren’t many films that darkly focus on evil while asking the audience to self reflect.
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