Longlegs - Review 

Yeah it was. I don’t think Perkins, is very good at hiding the mystery, or with past movies, its mood over substance. I knew what the twist was, very quickly, and even saw the supernatural aspect, far too soon. I thought Monroe did very well, and Cage was perfect as that character. I just think giving him supernatural powers, with just _satan gives followers powers_ being the explanation, was lazy writing. It would’ve been a better movie, had they shown him pull it off, without powers from Satan. I liked it better, than when k first watched The Blackcoats Daughter, which was also mostly mood, over what is actually happening. It’s a long way to go, just to connect two completely different looking people, who are only 8 years apart in age. It’s a lazy tactic to use, just so the audience doesn’t immediately know who they both are. Shipka is excellent, and Roberts gave one of the few performances, that I’ve ever enjoyed from her. Longlegs was just the right length, but I don’t think it’s a classic, because anyone who watches a lot of movies, and/or has read a lot of books, can see everything that’s happening, very early on, and then Monroe’s character, just stands and watches so many get killed, before she finally starts taking down threats, only for us to know he’s within her now, snd she’s taking over the work.

I just looked at his IMDB, he mostly did TV commercials and a series that i never heard off before doing this movie

100% agreed I loved the movie and the build up I was expecting a different type of ending but I think hopefully since there’s still a handful of questions left we get a part 2 aka part 4, 5,… 6

I agree but it did kinda kill my love for it.

@@samwell60 yeah I feel that I kinda felt the same way but I’m gonna go back again and see what I missed while my heart was outside my body

@@samwell60 and I know it’s usually cliche to say this but I haven’t been on the edge of my seat and anxious and all the emotions and feelings people are supposed to feel during a scary movie in a long time honestly maybe since barbarian but even then it was more thriller to me than horror …LONGLEGS has given me some long nightmares

Yep, right there with you guys. I actually enjoyed Black Phone more even tho I don’t think that’s a better movie. Product of hype I suppose

Sounds like something straight out of a Neon/A24 indie horror film

It really slaps!

I would say .75x but yeah

The first few seconds of the intro of his ad do too

Dang, you're right!

Couldn’t agree more. That third act did not sit well with me. The only comparable attribute to Silence of the Lambs is it is a female detective, and that’s where it ends, unfortunately.

I loved it far more than Silence..

This went from close to 5 stars in the first 40 minutes to down to 2 during the last act where everything falls apart.

Felt the same way. On the ride home my wife and I were trying to figure out certain plot elements like why they show the main girl was psychic, and picked out the killers house, but it never really comes up again? Just felt like none of it actually made any sense lol. So disappointed.

Unfortunately have to agree with this… I’ll watch it again at some point.

Im honestly glad to hear that, I prefer that type of movie anyway!

@@lancewilson52psychological thriller and slow burns are great but there’s got to be a solid pay off, it’s not here sadly.

Wish I would have seen this comment before I saw it lmao

I’ve been telling my friends this. It’s by Oz Perkins and if you’ve seen his previous work it was always a slow burn, that’s his style

the story is not coherent or sensical enough to be considered a mystery or 'psychological,' imo

Yeah the exposition dump was a bit much the final like 5mins from that scene was disappointing

The explanation was convoluted af. Felt like trying to explain a pyramid scheme where the ultimate goal is murder lol. This movie needed a better conclusion. God I hated where the story went so much lol.

Oh you have an age appropriate daughter with a birthday coming up... Word. No way that's coming back up at all. Also the locked door and her mom asking about the prayers... This movie's plot is anything but subtle. Some of the writing felt stiff, not sure if it was the delivery or what but I often went "... Okay?". It felt like someone wanted to combine hereditary, the witch, and seven but didn't really know how to capitalize on what made those movies special in that movie smoothie. (I haven't seen silence of the lambs so maybe that should be in there too). The ending also confuses me as to what the goal is now that longlegs is dead. Who's going to make the dolls now? Do the dolls matter? Seems like the point is really to get the cursed sphere in the house, everything else was set dressing? Overall it's still okay, I'd give it a 6/10 maybe.

You found the movie slow? I was constantly on edge, curious where it was going. About halfway through I figured where it was going but wasn’t sure why. Never found this slow though. While I wish the ending had a different payoff, it didn’t ruin the rest of the movie, which was great.

@@Nelly34eNothing really happens for most of the movie - flashbacks and case studies. The whole movie is pretty much set up for the big explanation close to the end. Like Dan said, the payoff was not enough for the journey.

same

Same! I’ve heard many of the preview showings in my area were sold out or very close

Yes I felt like I had more questions at the end of it 😶 I’m all for ambiguity but I feel like there was just a bunch of plot points that were just thrown in there that make no sense. I agree that this movie will benefit from multiple viewings.

Let me offer some suggestions. Spoilers: Why is he called Longlegs? This is explained in the opening scene. He says something to the effect of "looks like I have my long legs on today" and then he bends down to speak to Harker. It's something he would say to little kids before he bends down to their level. What’s the significance of the 14th? I believe that's Harker's birthday, and her family was the first victim. Also, being in the middle of the month allows him to build the symbolic algorithm. If it was earlier or later in the month, he wouldn't have the 6-day buffer to build out the triangles. Why would Longlegs choose a family with no father when the father was integral to all of his other murders? Harker's family was presumably the first attempted murder, and he was going to do the killing himself (essentially assuming the father role). When he built out the serial plot with Harker's mom, it shifted to have the father do the killing instead of Longlegs. What’s the deal with all the glam rock music? The movie takes place in the 90's, but Longlegs is seemingly stuck in the 70s. With the dawn of bands like Black Sabbath, this was the beginning of the "Satanic Panic" era, which has largely been discredited as overblown. But what if Longlegs actually did find the devil in the music? What’s the point of the derivative Zodiac-style coded messages when they don’t really reveal much important information? They were used so Longlegs could speak directly to Harker, she was the only one who could decode them. Why didn’t Harker go after Longlegs when he broke into her house? Why didn’t she realize that Ruby was about to be the next victim? She had met Longlegs many times before but didn't remember him, so the spell he has over her blinds her to certain things. Admittedly, Harker acts very strangely throughout the film, but I think it can be chalked up to the orb controlling her. It's important to remember that Harker is a pawn on Longlegs first, and an FBI agent second. Why exactly does the doll make Harker psychic? As far as her psychic abilities, they are all tied to getting her integrated into the Longlegs case. Every time she is "highly intuitive," it impresses her superiors and gets her more integrated into the case. This is what Longlegs wanted. Was the murderer at the start part of the Longlegs murders? I don't think so. I think it was just a random serial killer. But it got Harker put on the Longlegs case, which is what Longlegs wanted the whole time.

I can answer all those questions, but they still give no answer to his motivations. The psychological underpinnings of the movie are very weak.

She just stands there in the living room while her boss takes his wife to the kitchen to stab her to death with comedic stabbing noises and screams.

@@CritterOverYonder Harker and her mother weren’t the first prospective victims. The Camera family were killed before Longlegs tried to kill them.

Same

Laughing in my theater too.

@@moxyent1354I was the only one laughing in mine, cuz Cage was finding new ways to deliver lines. He was absolutely incredible. The movie is great.

@@moxyent1354 I think the movie falls apart byt the end. The buzz from some of the people around us was "that's it" and the final scene seems like a blooper that would play under the credits of a Farrelly brothers film. Truly confused at the thype.

This is one of those movies where there's a fairly large disparity between the critics' rating and the audience's rating on RT (currently 91% vs 68%, respectively) so you're not the only one who felt that way.

I’m so happy you said this. I was totally confused while watching this. I’m like umm this is much worse than Blackcoat Daughter. This isn’t remotely close to scariest of the decade. To say it’s the new silence of the lambs is so stupid. It was very interesting and beautifully shot. I thought Cage was fun. But it didn’t hit me like Hereditary or Talk to me. This was a good movie that was seriously over hyped

“They can’t refuse…Because of the implication”….

@@kevinandrewsphoto lol god imagine Dennis in that makeup in the movie

@@GreaterGewd I haven’t seen the movie yet. So I’m still hoping it is Dennis. Have you seen the horror edits of the D.E.N.N.I.S system? Great stuff

It was very good​@@kevinandrewsphoto

I think it was the best part of the film. I should have left after that lol...

I watched this right after his blackcoat's daughter video lol

Me too.

I couldn't even tell it was Cage when I watched it his voice was so high pitched

Honestly I think I would've liked a more subdued performance instead of Nic Cage turned up to 11

Cage was acting like a cosplay actor in a Mall Haunted House ride. He stank and ruined an already dreadful movie.

Same. Thought it was whack

Same at the Bellingham theater 15 minutes south of the Canadian border

what was with the obviously fake Sig pistol she has...then it turns into a revolver when she finally uses it...wut??

​@@vominatortrue thats confusing me too

Yeah I second this. It looks filmic but I only see Alexa mini listed on IMDb and no promotion from Kodak

Spoiler talk!

What did the devil help her with other than the first house where her partner was shot?

@@andrewjudson3614he helped her find the doll at the farm, the secret room in the mom’s basement, etc

And decipher the code I think ​@@artheals8869

The hype from trailers does movies like this as much as harm as good in many cases.

That’s probably one of my only criticisms. Otherwise I absolutely loved the movie.

😂