Review: Longlegs

-


Official Synopsis: In pursuit of a serial killer (Nicolas Cage), an FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.

Ever since the trailers debuted, Longlegs has been one of my most anticipated films of the year. I was gutted that I couldn't get to it on opening weekend, so I had to spend extra time avoiding reviews. I wanted to go in as blind as possible, and I'm glad I did.

My immediate thought after watching this is that director Oz Perkins probably really likes Se7en, and I do too! It's in my top 5, but I was reminded a lot of the structure of that film watching this. Longlegs doesn't compare to Se7en's greatness, but it wants to. What this film lacks is the character development to supplement the atmosphere. You need both, and Perkins chose to rely on atmosphere alone. 

Thankfully Blair Underwood, who plays Lee's boss is there to breathe some life into this film. I like Monroe, but the only emotion she shows here is "unsettled." I felt like we should've known way more about who Lee was and why she acts the way she does before the "big reveal" is shown 15 minutes before the movie ends. Lee is no Mills or Somerset. Nic Cage is very creepy as the villain, but he probably has 10 minutes of screen time total, so he's not the biggest factor here.

I still liked the film overall. There are some unsettling scenes that will stick with me for a while and the story was effective, it just needed a bit more to make it great. 

Grade: B-



Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 19, 2024 at 10:16 AM

    yeah, Maika Monroe is deeply mediocre in this. And yeah, it ain't no Se7en. Funny, I never even thought to compare the two films. I think this one struggles narratively by the end

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 21, 2024 at 7:08 PM

      I think I just think about Se7en too much lol. Deeply mediocre is right.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99July 19, 2024 at 4:32 PM

    I still want to see this but I want to see The Blackcoat's Daughter first that Perkins did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 21, 2024 at 7:08 PM

      I had that in my Netflix disc queue for so long when that was a thing. I kept skipping over it.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJuly 22, 2024 at 1:12 PM

    I gotta admit, this one blew me away. From the storytelling to the filmmaking, it had me in its clutches.

    ReplyDelete
  4. BirgitJuly 23, 2024 at 10:37 AM

    I'll watch this but my expectations are low which is good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Linda WaltersJuly 24, 2024 at 7:03 AM

    I recently purchased the Longlegs shoes and paired them with one of my favorite Ryan Gosling jackets. The combination is fantastic! The shoes are incredibly comfortable and stylish, with a sleek design that complements any attire. The sturdy build and excellent grip make them perfect for both casual wear and adventurous activities. Whether you're dressing up as Colt Seavers or just looking for a versatile pair of shoes, Longlegs are a great choice.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more