Writer/director Oz Perkins’ new masterpiece Longlegs is going to change horror forever. It’s an absolute knockout, eerie, haunting and disquieting while also just joyful enough to put several grins on your face.
Oregon, 1990s- FBI Special Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), after demonstrating what appear to be clairvoyant powers, is assigned to the case of a horrifying serial killer who murders entire families at a time while appearing to have never even entered their homes. The only evidence of his existence are the encrypted, hand-written notes he leaves at the scenes, signed “Longlegs” (Nicolas Cage, who also produces).
Longlegs is a horror masterpiece for several reasons, but the best is the most surface-level – this movie is trying really, really hard to scare and entertain you. As disturbing as the subject matter is and as challenging as the film ends up being, you’re also in for a real show. Cinematographer Andrés Arochi’s every shot is breathtaking, usually in a distinctly scary way but sometimes it’s just generically well-shot, and what moments there are of levity are palpably joyful. You can feel when the film is having fun with you.
Continue reading
Reel Entropy 