LONGLEGS Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Osgood Perkins
Stars: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby, Kiernan Shipka.
This disturbing thriller about a female FBI agent on the trail of a creepy serial killer has been compared by many critics to the Oscar winning classic The Silence Of The Lambs. But for me it is a little derivative and not in the same league.
A creepy preopening credits sequence set on January 13, 1974 sets the tone for Longlegs. In this sequence a mysterious and pale figure in make-up confronts a young girl on the eve of her birthday and chants some strange words. It’s enough to make audiences cringe. Then the film cuts to early 1990s. A massive FBI manhunt is underway. There is a serial killer at large who has been responsible for the deaths of ten families in bizarre murder/suicides over the course of thirty years across the state of Oregon. Each of the families was killed by the father who seemed possessed by some outside force. In each case, at the site of the slayings a coded letter was left, containing Satanic references and signed by someone calling themselves “Longlegs”. There is little forensic evidence left at the scene.
Amongst the team is FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe, from It Follows, etc). Early in the film we learn that Harker possesses some kind of clairvoyant ability when she is assigned to conduct door to door searches with her partner while seeking a killer. Her abilities lead her instinctively to a house where a suspect is holed up. This results in the violent death of her partner.
This brings her to the attention of veteran FBI agent Carter (Blair Underwood) who assigns her to this serial killer case which has grown cold until a new murder sparks a manhunt. She soon figures out that the families were all killed on the eve of their daughter’s ninth birthday, which fell on January 14. However Lee is also plagued by disturbing nightmares and visions. And she soon learns that she has a connection to the killer. We discover that she was the young girl in that prologue. Lee also has a tense and complicated relationship with her devoutly religious mother Ruth (Alicia Witt), a former nurse who is also somehow connected to the crimes.
A psychological thriller, Longlegs is the fourth feature from writer/director Osgood Perkins (I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House, etc) and it effectively blends elements of police procedural with horror and supernatural elements. Perkins, the son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins, gives us some bloody imagery and disturbing visuals and even some creepy giant dolls. The film even has some sinister undertones involving the occult. But unfortunately Perkins cribs ideas from far superior thrillers and throws them into a vaguely disappointing mix. He also signposts the “twist” ending.
Perkins has constructed a tense and unsettling thriller with its evocative sound design, dark and gloomy cinematography from Andres Arochi and some impressive and immersive production design. This is the first feature for Arochi, who hails from a background in short films. He employs a boxy academy ratio format for the flashback sequences, which adds to the claustrophobic feel of the material. His camera is often static, and deliberately frames Monroe in the centre of the shot. He also uses a lot of red colours throughout which is symbolic of blood and the supernatural, and muted lighting which will remind many of the dark, ominous rain swept locations of David Fincher’s superior Se7en. Arochi also imbues the rural settings with a mood of menace and increasing dread. The eerie electronic music score from Elvis Perkins further heightens the nightmarish mood of the film.
Monroe is impressive as the driven, haunted FBI agent, a sort of spiritual companion to Silence Of The Lambs’ protagonist Clarice Starling. She manages to convey the emotional and physical toll that this manhunt is taking on her. But most surprising is an almost unrecogniseable Nicolas Cage, hidden beneath layers of prosthetic makeup, who really delivers an unsettling, maniacal performance as the titular serial killer. Even though he features in only a handful of scenes he leaves a lasting impression. This is one of his most disturbing performances in recent years.
A surprise box office hit in the US, Longlegs is not a film that will appeal to everybody. Indeed many may find it a bit too dark and confronting.
★★☆
