While its plotting might seem too ‘neat’ to really satisfy, this deliberately-paced serial killer flick balances well the ‘procedural’ and ‘occult’ aspects as a greenhorn FBI special agent must solve a series of decades-long murders.
Review #2,835
Dir. Osgood Perkins
2024 | USA | Crime, Mystery, Horror | 101 min | 2.35:1 | English
NC16 (passed clean) for bloody violence, disturbing images and some language
Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee
Plot: In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.
Awards: –
International Sales: Black Bear
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Slightly Dark – Serial Killer; Occult
Narrative Style: Slightly Complex
Pace: Slightly Slow
Audience Type: Slightly Mainstream
Viewed: In Theatres – The Projector Golden Mile
Spoilers: No
I have had a morbid fascination with serial killer movies for a long time, particularly the ‘investigative procedural’ aspects like in Silence of the Lambs (1991) or Zodiac (2007). Longlegs is the latest buzzy title, perhaps way too hyped up, but also not a film to be so easily dismissed.
An FBI special agent, a greenhorn played by Maika Monroe, who can sense things beyond the natural, must connect the dots to solve a series of brutal murders over two decades that were ‘signed off’ by the elusive ‘Longlegs’ (played by a Nicolas Cage caricaturing himself as a satanic villain).
I would describe the it as a ‘halfway house’-type film, where the filmmaker makes his dark approach, scare techniques and tricks explicit, meeting you halfway. Whether you can go all the way with it depends on what kind of viewer you are.
Those who feel distanced—and hence alienated—by Osgood Perkins’ deliberate craft will feel the film’s pace rather grating, tension manufactured and storytelling contrived.
“There she is. The almost-birthday girl!”
I did feel some of these but also appreciated the strong exercise in mood and atmosphere, balancing both the ‘procedural’ as well as ‘occult’ aspects.
Longlegs is clearly a post-postmodern work, aware of what has come before in the genre and consciously avoiding some of its more classical trappings, but also eschewing the modern desire for constant stimulation. As such, it is a work that will find an audience rather than satiating an existing one.
If you are willing to overcome some of its ‘neatness’ in plotting that you won’t find in more organic films such as Cure (1997) and Memories of Murder (2003), Longlegs should generally satisfy.
Anything more provocative, radical and highly original, you’ll have to save an evening with Lars von Trier’s demented The House That Jack Built (2018).
Grade: B
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 
Great reviews as always. I recently had an opportunity to watch this film finally and loved it. I thought it was a spectacular serial killer thriller. It reminded me a lot of classic serial killer movies made during the 1990’s such as “The Silence of the Lambs”. In the same vein as that film, this film also focused on life of a female FBI agent tracking down a serial killer. I absolutely loved “The Silence of the Lambs”, which is an all-time favourite of mine. Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning movie was a classic that introduced the public to serial killers. “Longlegs” is a beautiful homage to that classic movie, which is one reason why I loved it so much.
Here’s my thoughts on “The Silence of the Lambs”:
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