Longlegs (2024)

Longlegs, directed by Osgood Perkins of Blackcoat's Daughter fame, is a complicated movie to talk about. 

The marketing campaign is absolutely genius. I love solving puzzles and the use of a substitution cipher in various points made it feel like I was a part of the mystery. The trailers didn't give us anything but more clues and they let horror build in eerie moments instead of jump scares. The posters are beautiful too. They work so well at a glance and the longer you look at them the weirder they seem.

When you actually sit down to watch the movie you're treated to a fantastic show of vintage aspect ratios, beautiful set designs, and great acting. There's a lot to love about the first two halves of the movie. 

The music is great. It's not great on it's own as a musical achievement the same way 2018's Suspiria's is, but as an incredible uplift to the visuals in the movie. Every track that plays with the scene improves what's on screen. 

"If they don't die then we will burn and twist, and burn and twist in hell. Forever and ever."

Maika Monroe does a fantastic job playing the awkwardly repressed FBI agent Lee Harker as she discovers her own disturbing connection to the supernatural crimes happening in her area. She is supported by talented people like Blair Underwood (Agent Carter), Alicia Witt (Ruth Harker), and Nicolas Cage (Longlegs). They're all very good at building the strangest atmosphere possible. 

The second half unfortunately falls flat. The movie becomes overrun with tired horror tropes. Characters begin chanting Hail Satan! as black and red imagery flashes across the screen. The climax is just okay because it's all been done before. A horror film about trauma takes a hard right into devil worship where spectacle replaces impact. Can everyone stop ripping off Ari Aster's Hereditary? 

"Let me in now, and it can be nice! Make me go now, and I'll have to come back! Not once, not twice, but as many times as I like!"

All the way through, this is a very competent film. It's objectively well made, it just fumbles the ending. It's worth a watch, I even picked it up on DVD since it makes a fantastic October watch.