McDaniel
There is no amount of therapy that will help Special Agent Lee Harker after the events of “Longlegs.”
The intuitive Harker (Maika Monroe from “It Follows’) is assigned the case of a devil-worshiping serial killer known as Longlegs, who had evaded authorities for decades.
In the role of Longlegs, Nicolas Cage has never been so petrifying, to the point that you can’t look away. But there’s something else in the performance, at times overdone and nearing satire, Longlegs feels like the deranged lovechild of Buffalo Bill and Mrs. Doubtfire, both creepy and absurd.
If that isn’t twisted enough, Harker learns she has a personal connection to the killer. Lucky her, huh?
The script will be familiar to even the most novice horror fan: a killer who leaves coded messages at the crime scenes, and who somehow knows the secrets of the agent hunting him. Oh, and creepy, supernatural dolls with glowing eyes.
And it’s not made up of deep characters. Harker stumbles around as if in a daze most of the movie, socially awkward but laser-focused on work, and aside from her apparent psychic abilities that don’t end up super relevant, her character is a blur. For most of the movie, I felt frustrated and wanted to know more.
That said, by the end of the movie, her character comes into focus in a spine-chilling final act that I’m still replaying in my head.
If you’ve seen the headlines on this movie, you’ve seen it referred to as the scariest movie of the year — an honor that usually sets audiences up for disappointment. “Longlegs” doesn’t live up to the hype, nor does it really disappoint.
“Longlegs” is not a horror movie that will make you scream and cover your eyes. It is reliant on a suffocating atmosphere; the dreadful sense of genuine evil that this film achieves feels almost forbidden. And for that, it’s a movie people will remember.
3.5/5
Scott McDaniel is an assistant professor of journalism at Franklin College. He lives in Bargersville with his wife and three kids.
