spoiler review
It’s been almost a year and a half long legs Released, and the dust has settled. The film had a ridiculously impressive viral marketing campaign, generating a whirlwind of discussion when it first came out, but also some strong opinions. Now, with Halloween approaching, it’s a good idea to see if Longlegs is worth the hype.
I believe you should not be kept in suspense long legs Was exaggerated. Not that it was a bad movie, but I think the movie lost itself in the weeds and took a simple story and made it overly complicated for no apparent reason other than to subvert expectations. But first, the story. Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, long legs The focus is on Lee Harker, an FBI agent with incredible powers of deduction (she may be clairvoyant) who is assigned to the Longlegs case, involving a series of familial murder-suicides with satanic messages and notes signed by the titular killer. Thanks to her abilities, she is able to quickly decode Longlegs’ codex, revealing secret messages and clues that lead her down rabbit holes and into the traumas of her own past.
So what works? The sense of unease that permeates the entire film is quite impressive. It has a sinister, evil, and uncomfortable atmosphere that doesn’t really let go throughout the runtime, and it’s quite effective at creating an unsettling atmosphere. The film also utilizes creative cinematography and the jump between aspect ratios (2:39.1 and 1:33.1). Many shots have terrible photographic quality. Then Nicolas Cage is the main character of the film. I’m sure opinions on his performance will be mixed, as the actor certainly “caged” it more than a few times, but I thought that level of madness worked for a character like this, even if it did leave me confused a few times. Cage is unrecognizable, dressed in prosthetics and makeup, but these quirks expose the actor from time to time. Maika Monroe is also good as Lee, even if her character’s cold, reserved personality makes it hard to get close to her. However, I wish his deduction abilities were explored more. All we’re told is that she can sometimes figure things out, implying that she may have some sort of psychic abilities, but like many aspects of the film (next paragraph!), I think having her be naturally brilliant, similar to Sherlock Holmes or Will Graham, would have been more interesting than giving her vague powers of deduction. Making him actually smart would have been stronger. I understood long legs Possibly teasing the supernatural elements of it, but since his skills are never explored or explained, what’s the point?
The film is divided into three parts, each part starting from where the last part ended. I thought acts one and three had great pacing, but the middle act, which is also the longest, suffered from pacing problems. Now, into spoiler territory. The film bills itself as an FBI/serial killer film, but perhaps is afraid of its parallels. the silence of the Lambs, The film embodies the satanic elements found throughout the film, meaning that the film turns from a grounded film with unstable killers to a supernatural film where Satan plays an active role in the plot. I felt it ultimately took me out of the film. There’s nothing wrong with supernatural horror; Cheat And Magic For example, these are great examples, but the film keeps its supernatural elements hidden until the very last moment. This changes our perspective on everything that came before, which is the majority of the runtime. The audience begins to see Longlegs as a terrifying creature that could be part of this world, distorted by mental illness, paranoia, and/or fanatical worship, toward something that is more abstract and abstract. Lee’s mother is also involved in the plot as part of a Faustian bargain, but once again, I think that’s horrifying. Thinking It is even worse to be under the influence of Satan In fact Being under the influence of the devil, at least when it comes to a movie presented like this. It’s ironic, I’m playing too alan wake ii Now, which is a supernatural horror video game involving the FBI, but the supernatural elements are introduced too early and feel integral to the plot, whereas I actually feel long legs It would have been a better film if it had been based on a traditional killer/investigation story.
So finally, I thought long legs It was good, but not great. It was well shot, and the sense of dread was really effective. I think the film itself becomes overly complicated when a simpler and more logical story would have not only streamlined things, but also made for a horror story.
