Longlegs

Osgood Perkins is in complete control of the style, as we learn within the first few minutes, and without a doubt in control of the content, as his satanic-tinged crime horror works very well, is suspenseful, surprising, and is already one of the genre events of the year. I was almost taken aback by how it really grabbed me. Nicolas Cage and his creations are once again the stuff of legends. It's also quite funny that Perkins is able to use in such a focused film the properties that we would attribute more to James Wan (a demonic doll, a character with glowing eyes under a black veil, houses with many dark corners, a recurring pop song), but uses them in a completely measured, non-shallow and clever way (which is also why his next film will be produced by who else but James Wan). A great surprise, a quality horror film, and definitely an achievement worthy of a visit to the cinema. (08/20/2024)

An atmospheric delight. The pacing is murderously slow, but it’s perfect for the bleak story; the vast majority of the film takes place at night, or in the darkness of houses, or - as in, say, The Silence of the Lambs - in the brisk autumn weather with overcast skies. Osgood Perkins works with the picture format in interesting ways and varies it, and it's all complemented wonderfully by the ominous music and shiver-inducing sound design. Admittedly, for the less knowledgeable, it would be a mistake to go into this as a "Nicolas Cage movie", he's only here for about five minutes in total, but his creation is still memorable and wrung to the marrow. Towards the end it was a little too contrived for me, but you can forgive such nits in a film when you're having such a great time. The fact that the main character is a woman then adds an extra layer of tension because you do worry about her. Perkins is a talent, his dad starred in one of the greatest thrillers of all time, and he makes great thrillers, so the cycle has come full circle. I'll continue to watch him, he’s one smart kid. (08/21/2024)

Hail Satan! Osgood Perkins delivers a gripping experience for those willing to step out of their comfort zone and dive into 101 minutes of devilish unease and despair. If Longlegs excels at anything, it’s the menacing and depressively suffocating atmosphere that grips you from the first shot and doesn’t let go until the credits roll. The film doesn’t offer a single scene that eases its tension – you might chuckle at a few of Nicolas Cage’s phenomenal moments, but it never undermines the film's oppressive tone. Perkins cements his place among the most intriguing genre filmmakers of today, with his masterful handling of atmosphere and mise-en-scène standing out in a crowded field. Kudos to Neon for their brilliant marketing campaign that smartly made Longlegs the horror event of the year. While some might feel let down by the hype, I approached it with caution and ended up very satisfied with what was delivered on the big screen. (08/06/2024)

I regarded Longlegs as the dark horse of 2024 and was looking forward to it like a little kid, but the result was so disappointing that I couldn't even imagine it. I don't see Osgood Perkins as a particularly good director, and so I considered this to be another classic film that could have been a successor to A-listers like Se7en in the crime genre, and together with the atmospheric aspect and technical style could make for a film of the year that will be long remembered. But, unfortunately, I can only rate the technical side positively, as the cinematography is unusually good in places and the music, along with the haunting mystery in the air, lets you know that "something is going to happen". The problem is that nothing happens, so the content is literally disastrous. The story doesn't make the slightest sense, there's a cast of five actors, the opening line with the FBI agents is lame, no one explains who Longlegs is or why, why there's so much magic, why all this is happening, everyone behaves illogically and kind of staggers in place for 80 minutes in which nothing actually happens and, lo and behold, we have a rushed finale that throws us a few scenes and leaves us without an explanation. The ultimate disappointment and the only saving grace is that the film came out the day before my scheduled cinema visit. And this is supposed to be the scariest film of our time, featuring Nicolas Cage with the best mask in the horror genre, and that this is his role of a lifetime? I don't think anyone can be serious... (08/24/2024)