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Warning – this post contains spoilers for Longlegs
Over the last 10 years or so, there’s been a spate of horror movies that have been “missold” via the marketing materials used to promote the movie. Trailers are often cut to make the movie seem terrifying and to be full of jump scares. One of the best examples is the movie ‘Hereditary’ – based on the trailer, many people went into the movie expecting a more straightforward horror movie than what they got.
‘Longlegs‘, the latest movie from Oz Perkins, has suffered a similar fate – the marketing for the movie has been very effective and the trailer makes the movie seem as if it’s the most terrifying thing ever made.
In the case of ‘Hereditary’, I’d argue that although the marketing slightly missold the end product, the end product was still very good. I don’t feel the same way with ‘Longlegs’.
Let’s start with the positives. The movie looks great, and Perkins does manage to build a sense of dread throughout the 1st half or so of the movie. You’re intrigued as to where it’s going, and I’d also say that the central performance from Maika Monroe is excellent.
Now to the things I didn’t like about this movie. Firstly, Nic Cage. Don’t get me wrong, I love Nic Cage when he goes full Nic Cage. But when Nic Cage is supposed to be the villain in your movie, and he’s going full Nic Cage, it doesn’t make him scary – it makes him funny. And there are plenty of scenes throughout ‘Longlegs’ where Nic Cage goes full Nic Cage.
Secondly, the story just didn’t work for me. I feel like people who are expecting a murder mystery a la ‘S7even’ or ‘Zodiac’ will be disappointed, and people expecting a horror movie will be disappointed. There isn’t enough cryptic puzzle-solving, nor are there enough scares.
It almost felt like this movie was anti-jump scare, to the point where I feel like it actually could have done with some jump scares to make it a bit more effective. There were plenty of opportunities for them – when the mum appears next to the car and blows the brains of the cop, it’s done in a very clunky way that doesn’t feel surprising or shocking.
I feel quite bad being so negative about this movie, but when it is marketed as “one of the scariest movies of the last decade” (a real quote I heard), I feel it’s necessary to provide some balance.
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