LONGLEGS had the potential to be a modern horror classic but squanders an excellent setup with one of the worst payoffs I’ve seen in a while. I wanted to love this movie; the marketing touted the film as incredibly scary, to the point where I was genuinely considering avoiding it – but you shouldn’t worry too much. For me, the scariest horror movies are the ones that let your imagination fill in the blanks and unfortunately, LONGLEGS gives an almost comedic amount of exposition.
All that being said, there are a lot of good things about this movie. For one, I love the Pacific Northwest setting and there’s a sense that this film also takes place in somewhat of an alternate reality. There’s a palpable sense of eeriness; the locations in the film feel unsettling. The cast is overall great, Maika Monroe, Alicia Witt, and Blair Underwood shine in their roles. Nicholas Cage, as the titular Longlegs, is inconsistent; horrifying in some scenes and underwhelming in others – but, to be fair, his performance itself wasn’t close to the main issue in the movie.
I could imagine an alternate version of this movie sitting alongside THE WITCH, HEREDITARY, or even THE CONJURING, but as it stands, LONGLEGS doesn’t quite have the legs to stand on.
LONGLEGS is now available to buy wherever you get your movies.
