Longlegs - The scoop and digest

Writer-director Osgood Perkins' latest horror is scored by his brother Elvis Perkins, under the pseudonym of Zilgi.

Maika Monroe - Lee Harker

Blair Underwood - Agent Carter

Alicia Witt - Ruth Harker

Michelle Choi-Lee - Agent Browning

Nicolas Cage - Longlegs

Summary

Film is divided into three parts.

In 1974, a mysterious voice leads a young girl to a pale-faced man, telling her it's almost her birthday.

1995.

Special agent Lee Harker is assigned to investigate a series of murder-suicides, which began nearly 30 years ago.

At every scene, a letter written in cryptic coding is left, signed Longlegs.

Harker realises that each of the ten families had at least one 9-year-old daughter born on the 14th day of whatever month, with murders occurring within six days before or after.

Whilst interacting with a doll buried in one of the houses, Lee experiences psychic visions, connecting her to Longlegs.

X marks the spot

There's probably too much going on (mind manipulation, crime procedural and creepy dolls infused with Satanic magic), but shit still works.

Ignoring the obvious similarities to The Silence of the Lambs and Zodiac, this was basically Seven wearing supernatural pants.

Heck, even end credits scroll down rather than up.

This isn't unique to David Fincher's classic, as tactic was earlier employed by Carnosaur (1993), Bird on a Wire (1990) and more recently, the excellent Polish horror Hellhole (2022).

Fascinating, right?

Ha ha ha!

Cutting a long story short, Lee's mother Ruth was Longlegs' accomplice all along, since January 13 1974 no less.

Longlegs (real name Dale Ferdinand Cobble) returned on said night and forced Ruth to decide to either let Lee die or carry out the murders herself.

Before committing suicide by bashing his head against a table several times, geezer defiantly proclaims "Hail Satan!"

When Browning misquotes the Book of Revelation (13:1) as Revelations, Harker rightly corrects her.

Satisfying.

A decoded birthday card reads "Stood upon the sands of the sea", referencing the King James version:

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."

But the actual revelation (clever pun intended) - is Nic Cage.

Fleeting performance takes all the memes, mannerisms and jokes, and makes them terrifying.

Knowing that Cobble's triangle will be completed if Carter's daughter Ruby is killed, Lee races to Carter's already possessed family, shooting superior and her mother dead.

For reasons unexplained, Lee's gun doesn't go off, leaving latest doll untouched.

Ending was a bit meh to be honest.