Longlegs is a horror/thriller set in the 90's that follows Lee(Maika Monroe) an FBI agent in Oregon on the hunt for a mysterious killer.
Monroe gives Lee a raw and effecting humanity, reserved yet vulnerable, skittish but determined. Its an intricate web of emotion that Monroe weaves and serves to anchor the story as it gets wilder. The supporting cast is excellent, Blair Underwood(as Lee's boss) brings some absolutely necessary charm and an easy authenticity which the movie needs, Alicia Witt(as Lee's religious mother) is appropriately and disconcertingly alien, and Nicolas Cage as the titular villain, in his typical style, is wonderfully baroque creating not so much a character but a legitimate monster out of a child's nightmares.
The film looks great with communities/neighborhoods/homes that feel real and the locations and the manipulation of light in those locations furthers the films themes. The use of the changing aspect ratio is effective and the simple but ever present score sets the oily but seductive tone. There is flair in the production design, no question, and overall its an intriguing immersive ride. But the film stumbles in the third act with some reveals and plot twists that seem either unnecessary or not completely thought out, overly simplistic. The story and the characters are rich and the ending although not bad enough to undermine the experience and promise of the film certainly pulls it up short.
A queasy, biting, hypnotic horror flick undercut by a lackluster finish.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
See It.
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