LONGLEGS
****
Directed by Osgood Perkins.
Starring Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood.
Horror, US, 101 minutes, Certificate 15.
Released in cinemas in the UK on 12th July by Black Bear Pictures
The hype has steadily been building over the past couple of months for Osgood Perkins and Nicolas Cage's collaboration. Teaser trailers have hinted at a sinister mixture of serial killer procedural in the vein of SE7EN mixed with possible occult elements while other cryptic marketing elements have kept Cage's titular character hidden from view. This elusive approach has led into advance word that LONGLEGS is one of the most terrifying films of recent times. A cinematic abyss of darkness that leaves viewers cowering in the seats of their darkened cinema screens. It has been hard not to get excited. Does it pay off?
While hardly anything close to being as terrifying as some folk may lead you to believe, LONGLEGS is still an immensely enjoyable horror film with several moments of expertly executed shocks that stand out from the run of the mill jumpscares. It delivers on the promise of Perkins previous, and underseen, films cementing his slow-burn, doom-laden style along with yet another entertainingly off the chain performance from Cage that is in equal turns sinister and goofy to always unnerving effect.
Perkins immediately pulls the rug from under the audience's feet by kicking off proceedings with a Marc Bolan quote quickly followed by the rocking strains of T-Rex's Jewel played over near subliminal images of carnage through a blood red solarised lens. With the tone thus set we meet Maika Monroe's "half psychic" FBI agent Lee Harker. After an investigation takes a shocking turn, she is quickly recruited into the search for an elusive serial killer who has been targeting and murdering families over the years. With her particular talents unearthing his coded cryptic messages leading her closer to the evil mastermind known as Longlegs, Lee begins to suspect that she may have been closer to him for a lot longer than she realises.
Set in the early 1990's, comparisons can also be made with THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, another tale of the close relationship between a female FBI agent and male embodiment of pure evil. While Hannibal Lecter was an urbane, witty and seductive figure, Longlegs is anything but. Cage's first full appearance is a jarring one, with his pasty alabaster skin and sing-song style of conversation bringing a totally unnatural atmosphere to his already unpleasant vibe. After his affecting and more down to Earth performances in PIG and the darkly comic DREAM SCENARIO, it feels odd, but still fun, to see Cage throw himself into gonzo mode once more, making this his most exciting and distinctive film since MANDY.
Monroe's performance counters Cage's, offering a more grounded and reserved character, leading us along an increasingly darker path to true evil alongside the underrated Alicia Witt as her addled mother. Perkins slow burn style pays off to massive effect with the film ending up in a very different place from where it started but never to jarring effect. The shift when it comes causes Monroe, and ourselves, of what to realise has been lurking under the surface all along leading to a darkly effective and satisfying conclusion that closes out on a darkly humorous and killer punchline.
All in all, LONGLEGS delivers on its promise as a distinctive, original and creepy film that lingers long in the mind afterwards. Scary, fun and odd, it is unique enough in this packed out summer season to stand on its own and hopefully provides a launching pad for Perkins to infect the mainstream with his own sinister style.
Iain MacLeod
