He’s Always Watching – Longlegs (Movie Review)

“In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.” – Letterboxd Synopsis

There are a lot of things that can I can praise Longlegs for. It’s very well shot, the acting is great, the atmosphere is amazing, the story is really strong for the majority of it. When the credits rolled, my initial thoughts were I really enjoyed it. As I type and edit this, my thoughts are that I loved it. The highest praise I can give a movie or really anything, is that since I’ve watched this movie a week ago, it has almost not left my mind. It’s very easy for horror movies in particular to be bad and forgettable with cheap and uninteresting scares. Which I was kind of afraid this movie would trend towards given how it was talked about leading up to its release. Thankfully, this movie was genuinely something great.

In a movie with a lot going for it, the atmosphere really shined brightly as its defining feature. As we watch Maika Monroe’s character Lee Harker (who I’m just realizing played the lead in another horror movie that I adore, It Follows) get brought onto this serial killer case that is actually more dark, sinister and heinous than what it appears. It is a very gloomy and cold movie. From the flashbacks to the present day, it felt like in every shot there was some combination of darkness, snow, and emptiness or like just open space. Which really enhances that constant sense of unease. Like there’s always someone or something watching.

I know Nic Cage is like the big name for this movie and while I came to actually appreciate his performance and how it almost completely clashes with the established tone of the movie while also fitting right in somehow. The bizzaro-ness of his character ends up really working, even though at times it kind of teeters that line of being a bit too much. It’s really Lee that sells everything. Her reactions, her revelations and our revelations about herself unwinding really make this movie. Especially since I feel past the one hour mark, it started to drag just a bit until the very end where everything is revealed and it’s a big moment that made me and has made me replay the entire movie in my head since the credits rolled. Also, there are a lot of cool aspect ratio changes that denoted whether it was a flashback or not. Some really damn good framing and my biggest praise for the direction of this movie is the amount of held shots there are. They are so effective in horror movies in general and especially in this one. It makes you paranoid, like yeah nothing’s there, or is there something? It’s just very well done.

So yeah, the most effective mysteries are the ones that the audience can solve along with the characters by connecting the dots just as they are. The most effective horror (sometimes) is what is there just beyond what we see, but it’s always there. This movie combines both of those things perfectly for my tastes and I think if I rewatched it I would give it a perfect score, but even as it still haunts me at night and a good 3/4s of it is amazing, that lull in the middle is still something that sticks out. I’ve already seen that the ending is a bit divisive. It may come off as too much exposition for some, but as someone who thoroughly enjoys mystery genre, the big reveal at the end is par for the course and welcome. I loved it and I loved this movie.

Longlegs: 9/10