‘Longlegs’ Will Leave You Terrified

Scary moves are a dime a dozen. I think we have had a new horror movie at least once a month this year. So when a film really stands out in the genre, you take notice. And that film is Longlegs.

Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs is an eerie story about Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) investigating a string of murders for the FBI. Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) is a man who uses the occult to seek out his victims and as Lee begins to discover that she has her own connection to him, we see a story unfold of a woman trying desperately to stop a killer while he is almost taunting her.

I watched this movie both on the edge of my seat and hidden behind my fingers. I was so captivated by what Perkins had created but at the same time, I felt like my skin was crawling every time Cage was on screen. Lee is often standing in a room with dark hallways or corners and I found myself yelling at her to turn on a light.

Agent Carter (Blair Underwood) is the beam of light in that darkness. He cares for Lee, invites her into his home, and wants to solve the case with her. Lee is determined, odd, and someone who separates her feelings from what she is working on. Their dynamic is a fascinating thing to see play out on screen.

Because Lee is a female FBI agent trying to stop a killer, the comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs write themselves. But Longlegs’ eerie energy isn’t because of what you know Longlegs can do but instead because you don’t know why.

A frightening feat

It isn’t easy to scare an audience anymore and I found myself just terrified. There were so many moments within Perkins’ Longlegs that had me wondering what was going to come next. Whenever I felt “safe” for a moment, I knew that it wouldn’t last and it left me so unnerved that I haven’t stopped thinking about Longlegs. You never quite know where it is going, you’re on edge the entire time, and the end of the movie resolves and doesn’t necessarily give you the release that you want and that makes it all work together.

Monroe plays Lee’s detachment with such a cold yet sincere approach that I couldn’t help but be captivated by her. Whenever Lee was too involved in the case and not about the people around her, I knew it wouldn’t work out but I still was invested.

This might be one of my favorite horror movies of all time and you need to see Longlegs as soon as possible.