Osgood “Oz” Perkins’ Long Legs knocked on the doors of Philippine cinema on July 10. The story follows FBI Agent Lee Harker as she tries to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders that may be closer to home than she thinks. With clues pointing to a culprit that may be less than human, the film provokes the question: Can we truly trust our childhood memories?
Maika Monroe takes on the role of Harker, serving as the film’s anchor. Her controlled stoicism and unspoken dread keep the audience on edge throughout the hour and 40-minute runtime. Known as a veteran scream queen, having been in the cult-classic It Follows, Monroe expertly maintains her composure, contrasting with the more erratic performance of Long Legs, played by Nicolas Cage. Cage delivers a performance that will crawl under your skin and linger long after the credits roll.
Equipped with dark visuals and lingering camera shots, Oz Perkins captures the feeling of something sinister constantly lurking in the background. The film draws inspiration from The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, capturing the unsettling feeling of stumbling upon a gruesome crime scene you cannot look away from.
A film of revelation, no “s”
From the movie’s opening scene, one can tell that something is profoundly wrong. The environment is as much a character in the film as the actors, creating a stifling atmosphere where one can’t breathe for even a moment. The film avoids relying on jump scares, instead thriving on empty spaces and strategically framed characters. The titular Long Legs is rarely fully seen; his face is often obscured by stark lighting or glimpsed only briefly before the camera cuts away. There is no trace of his appearance in any of the movie posters or trailers, adding an enigmatic layer to the character and heightening the suspense.
Flashes of news clippings and screen-printed imagery occasionally interrupt the tense scenes, intensifying the viewer’s unease. Paying close attention to the film rewards viewers with additional details, from scribbled notes on polaroids to subtle movements behind windows. Second and even third rewatches may also merit the discovery of cleverly placed foreshadowing in dialogues and a better understanding of the air-tight plot.
Here’s to the birthday girl
The buzz surrounding the film can be largely attributed to its distributor, Neon’s, marketing efforts. Word of the film was spread in a multitude of creative ways, making Long Legs feel as if he was living beyond the screen. In one instance of virality, billboards in Los Angeles showcased a phone number viewers in the US could call. Dialing this would lead to a brief voice clip from Long Legs—ranging from him asking the caller’s name to his disturbing rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
They also released an interactive website akin to 90’s crime investigation blogs. Here, viewers can learn more about the in-universe murders that occurred in the film. Be warned, however, that it contains graphic pictures of crime scenes and their grisly details. This site is a treasure trove of content, even providing downloadable files whose contents are hidden by ciphers.
Though it is packed with information, a first glance at the site could already point the viewer to a major motif within the film: birthdays. Without revealing much, if your special day is due on the 14th, you may expect a visit from Long Legs soon.
It starts and ends with family
In an interview with NPR, Perkins detailed how he imbued experiences with his family within the film. He shared how parents would often shield their children from reality, offering to break down the world in a way they could better understand it. The example he used was that of his father, Anthony Perkins, who starred in the legendary horror film Psycho.
“... Living the life that I did as the child of famous people, especially a famous actor father who had sort of a—not a sort of—but had a closeted life, had a closeted sexuality life in the ‘50s and ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s,” he said.
This sentiment played a huge part in the horror-thriller’s plot. Beyond its victims, Long Legs zones in on the idea of how far a parent would go to protect their children. It also provokes the audience to dig deeper into their memories and question whether or not everything they were told as kids was true.
Backed by such a carefully woven narrative, it is best to watch this blind—perhaps with a friend of a friend of a friend.
