By Jesse Burchill Staff Writer Released on July 12, “Longlegs” is a supernatural horror film starring Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, and Nicolas Cage. It focuses on an FBI investigation into the titular character, a Satan-worshiping serial killer responsible for multiple family annihilations despite never entering their homes. The film made a wonderful first impression from its very first set of trailers, in which the trope “less is more” is in full effect from the very beginning. The trailers focus on atmosphere and the actions of the title character without giving too much away. In one trailer, we hear a chilling 911 call from a member of a targeted family, mere moments before the massacre. The character Longlegs does not appear at all in the trailers, but this works in the film’s favor, as the audience is left wondering about the true nature of his crimes and what he even looks like, leaving his identity an even greater mystery The movie itself manages to make an impression as well, starting with its cast. Maika Monroe, famous for her role in the 2014 horror film “It Follows,” returns to mainstream horror as Lee Harker, the film’s main protagonist and the chief FBI agent in the Longlegs investigation. Lee is depicted as a highly competent agent and manages to discover a slew of important information on how Longlegs operates. Monroe delivers as a stoic and socially awkward character who nonetheless remains as a compelling protagonist. Longlegs himself is portrayed by the iconic Nicolas Cage. In this role, Cage is nigh-unrecognizable as the character thanks to his makeup, speaking patterns, and physical mannerisms. Cage is already well-known for intense performances and a broad acting range, but here he gives a standout performance. Cage is creepy, off-putting, and chillingly childish as a grown adult, yet he is utterly convincing as a Satan-worshiping serial killer. Despite his relatively small screen time and immature personality, and thanks to Cage giving his all, Longlegs is a fully cognizant monster and murderer whose actions keep a stranglehold over the rest of the film. Tonally, “Longlegs” stands out well with an oppressive, unnerving atmosphere from the very beginning. The music, lighting, cinematography, and sound design altogether create an intense feeling of “wrongness” surrounding the Longlegs investigation, and this wrongness permeates the film from beginning to end. However, the film made some missteps narratively. For example, the relationship between Lee and her mother Ruth felt more “convenient” than believable, as it felt a bit underdeveloped. Alicia Witt gives a serviceable performance as Ruth, but the emotional connection between mother and daughter didn’t quite stick the landing. The underwhelming depth in Lee and Ruth’s relationship feels like a wasted opportunity to me. Furthermore, it’s demonstrated early on that Lee seems to have psychic abilities of some sort after correctly identifying the house of another serial killer from nothing but a gut feeling. The film proceeds to do absolutely nothing with this plot point after Lee is assigned to the Longlegs case. She’s never shown using such powers again, despite the interesting story of a psychic dealing with someone like Longlegs getting a decent set up. Finally, the trailers for this movie were considered by many to be top-tier in quality and gathered significant attention to the film itself. As a result, the final film can come off as underwhelming in comparison, or as tonally different from what its own trailers depict it as. Nicolas Cage’s limited screen time, as compared to the rest of the cast, can also be disappointing to his fans. While some may be let down by the end product, “Longlegs” nonetheless showed up with an inspired marketing campaign, a persistently unsettling tone, the great Nicolas Cage, and a truly hellish ending, and as such succeeds at leaving its mark. Rating: B Creepy as hell
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