Longlegs | A Horror Flick worth viewing

Link

The latest horror film from director Osgood Perkins is a surprise hit. The R-rated thriller follows Micah Monroe as a fresh-faced FBI agent in the 1990s, who must uncover a series of occult clues to end an unexplainable murder spree by a mysterious serial killer known only as Long Legs. The movie relies more on its unsettling atmosphere than traditional scares, but the results are literally hair-raising.

I was both fascinated and enjoyably uncomfortable the entire time. Monroe is fantastic in the lead role, as she attempts to hide her unraveling anxiety behind a wall of intelligence and stoicism. Her subtle performance is a brilliant mix of nervous and confident, and so much of the film's vibe succeeds as a result. In regular phone calls home, her mother is quick to remind Micah, our prayers protect us from the devil.

Link

As her FBI boss, Blair Underwood primarily serves as a mouthpiece for exposition, but is positively chilling during the film's inspired final scenes. We follow their twisty investigation of a decades-long string of confusing murder suicides as they interview witnesses, decode cryptic ciphers, and explore creepy abandoned buildings.

The demonic underpinning notwithstanding this is a fairly compelling crime procedural and its own right, and if you like the TV shows X-Files or Fringe, you're definitely going to have interest in this movie as well. Last and certainly not least is the venerable Nicholas Cage as the title character. Although only glimpsed for a few total minutes of screen time, he makes the best of it with a truly go-for-broke performance.

Despite with deep white makeup, cowboy clothes and a prosthetic nose, he resembles a sort of porcelain clown and is as memorable as he is creepy. He is making some incredible choices that are wholly unique, that only Nick Cage could deliver. By the conclusion of this movie, the hair on my hands were standing straight up, and I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin, a truly effective descent from a normal human drama into the frightening realization of a new, dangerous reality. All bolstered by steady cinematography and pitch-perfect sound design.

Mixing aspect ratios for different time periods, Perkins adeptly uses wide-angle lenses at eye-level, with just enough movement to keep the viewer off balance. Oz's brother, Ziggly, provides the score, a steady stream of moody tones and strengths with the occasional bolts of noise to arrest the audience's attention anew. I seem predisposed to be affected by a good, demonic possession story, they're usually
my favorite of this genre.

So this movie may be uncomfortable throughout, in the best possible way. If that isn't for you, I doubt long legs is good to win you over, but for me, it was a chilling experience thanks to its A-plus performances and moody atmosphere.
I thought it was a very cool film.
Fans of psychological horror or serial killer mysteries should definitely enjoy this one.