Osgood Perkins, son of the famous Anthony Perkins of ‘Psycho’ fame, takes the horror mantle from his father and runs with it in ‘Longlegs.’ The Psycho inspirations and respects are there, but this film definitely leans more into a hybrid of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and the eeriness of ‘Hereditary.’

I highly recommend the movie and in my opinion, the less known about this film before you check it out the better, but if you must know… Maika Monroe stars as Lee Harker, a FBI agent with some unique brain talent similar to that of ‘Rain Man,’ but what she lacks for in personality during the film, she elevates with her portrayal of a stoic agent clearly not delivering all the information to us or her fellow FBI Agent, Carter played by Blair Underwood. The first hour of this movie is a non stop thrill that pulls you in immediately with a tease of Cage’s Longlegs but never abruptly showing him throughout the majority of the first half, as you along with Maika’s Lee Harker unravel more and more about the man and what these murders really are. Like the previously mentioned ‘Silence of the Lambs’ the lack of Nic Cage’s serial killer’s screen time elevates when you do see him as he swings for the fences with his often humorous scenes that will still leave you double checking the next dark corner you come across.

I had the pleasure of watching (when my eyes weren’t covering my face) ‘Longlegs’ on 35mm in a packed theater, an extremely fresh experience for one of the best horror films of the past few years. Living, dying, and oddly laughing along with hundreds of people packed into the crowd definitely elevated my experience for ‘Longlegs’. Monroe and Cage both deliver effective performances for what they are directed to do, however if what each one is doing doesn’t work for you the film will be lost along the way. The film never loses the intensity that leaves you holding your breath for scenes on end, but when the plot itself does start to unravel the destination doesn’t reach the highs of the journey.

4/5 Stars