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Longlegs

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Longlegs
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOsgood Perkins
Written byOsgood Perkins
Produced by
  • Dan Kagan
  • Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
  • Nicolas Cage
  • Dave Caplan
  • Chris Ferguson
Starring
CinematographyAndrés Arochi
Edited by
  • Greg Ng
  • Graham Fortin
Music byZilgi
Production
companies
  • C2 Motion Picture Group
  • Traffic.
  • Range
  • Oddfellows
  • Saturn Films
Distributed by
Release date
  • July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
Running time
101 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget<$10 million[3]
Box office$35.6 million[4][5]

Longlegs is a 2024 American horror thriller film written and directed by Osgood Perkins. It stars Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, who also produced the film through his Saturn Films production company. The cast also features Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby and Kiernan Shipka in supporting roles. The film follows an FBI agent tasked with tracking down an occultist serial killer responsible for murdering multiple families across America, without having been physically present in the crimes.

Longlegs was released in the United States by Neon on July 12, 2024. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1970s Oregon, a little girl with a Polaroid camera notices a car outside her house and follows a mysterious voice behind the house, where she is approached by an erratic man in white make-up.

In the 1990s, newly recruited FBI agent Lee Harker displays inexplicable intuition in the field, such as correctly assuming a nearby home houses a murderer. Through testing, she is theorized to have possible clairvoyance. As a result, she is assigned to a decades-spanning case of a series of brutal murder–suicides involving families throughout the state of Oregon. In each incident, the father murdered his wife and children before taking his own life, and left at each crime scene is a letter with cryptic, Satanic coding, that is signed "Longlegs." The handwriting belongs to none of the victims, despite no forensic evidence of any home invasion or outside parties present.

Lee swiftly connects similarities between the families: Each had at least one 9-year-old daughter born on the 14th of the month, and the murders all occurred within six days before or after the birthday itself. When written out on a linear calendar, the dates of the murders form an occult symbol of an inverted triangle, with one date missing to complete the shape.

Following a clue, Lee and her supervisor, Carter, unearth a doll buried beneath one of the former crime scenes, and inside its head, find a strange metal orb that emits high energy readings despite apparently being empty. Despite Carter's skepticism of the supernatural, Lee theorizes that each family received a similar doll from Longlegs, and he has been infusing the orbs within each doll with some sort of evil energy that can possess and influence those near it. Carter grows concerned that Lee is connected to Longlegs after seeing hints of Longlegs' knowledge of Lee and her mother Ruth.

Lee goes to visit her mother, who denies any memory of Lee's 9th birthday but subtly directs Lee to search through her childhood belongings. Upstairs, Lee finds a chest in her childhood bedroom containing a stack of Polaroids. Among them is a picture of the pale-faced man, revealing her to be the girl from the introduction. Knowing now that she was visited by Longlegs, she submits the picture, allowing the FBI to track him down and arrest him.

Fearful after realizing the missing date on the inverted triangle is that day, Lee believes Longlegs may have an accomplice. In the interrogation room, he tells her that he serves "the man downstairs." He tells Lee to question her mother's involvement in his crimes, proclaiming "Hail Satan" before repeatedly slamming his face and jaw into the metal table, eventually killing himself after shattering open his forehead and nose.

Driving back to her mother's home with a superior to apprehend her for questioning, Lee sees Ruth murdering her superior with a shotgun. Ruth then shoots the head off a doll resembling a young Lee, causing Lee to lose consciousness.

In a narrated flashback, it is revealed that Ruth has been Longlegs' accomplice ever since Lee's encounter with him. Longlegs returned in the night to attack and subdue Ruth, forcing her to make a choice—let her daughter be murdered as part of the ritual, or to do his bidding to spare her. She complied, leaving Lee to be the missing birthday on the triangle. Longlegs has lived in the Harker house basement ever since, creating dolls he would infuse with his Satanic magic. Ruth would pose as a nun delivering a gift from the church to bring the dolls to the families. Lee's doll has been guiding her with the Satanic influence of Longlegs since childhood.

Awakening in the basement, Lee answers the phone to hear a demonic voice proclaim, "You're late for Ruby's party." Realizing Agent Carter's daughter, Ruby, has her ninth birthday that day and that the Carters' deaths would complete Longlegs' triangle, Lee races to intervene, only to discover that Ruth had already delivered the doll to the family, who are all already possessed. After Carter murders his wife, Lee shoots and kills Carter to protect Ruby. Ruth brandishes a dagger, forcing Lee to shoot and kill her mother.

Lee attempts to shoot the doll's head but her gun jams repeatedly. Lee tells Ruby they need to leave but remains frozen, staring at the doll in anger and horror of Longlegs' victory.

Cast

  • Maika Monroe as Lee Harker, an FBI agent assigned to Longlegs' case
    • Lauren Acala as young Lee
  • Nicolas Cage as Longlegs, an elusive serial killer whose real name is Dale Cobble[6]
  • Blair Underwood as Agent Carter, one of Lee's superiors
  • Alicia Witt as Ruth Harker, Lee's religious mother
  • Michelle Choi-Lee as Agent Browning, one of Lee's superiors
  • Dakota Daulby as Agent Horatio Fisk, Lee's partner
  • Kiernan Shipka as Carrie Anne Camera, Longlegs' only known survivor
    • Maila Hosie as young Carrie Anne
  • Jason Day as Father Camera
  • Lisa Chandler as Mother Camera
  • Ava Kelders as Ruby Carter
    • Rryla McIntosh as an adult Ruby
  • Carmel Amit as Anna Carter
  • Peter James Bryant as senior FBI agent

Production

In November 2022, it was reported that Osgood Perkins would direct from a script he wrote.[7] Nicolas Cage signed on to produce (under his Saturn Films banner) and star in the horror thriller film as a serial killer.[1][8] In February 2023, Maika Monroe signed on as FBI agent Lee Harker.[1] The following month, Alicia Witt and Blair Underwood joined the cast.[9]

On a production budget of under $10 million,[3] principal photography was scheduled to take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, from January 16 to February 23, 2023.[10][8]

Music

The film's soundtrack was conceived by Zilgi, a pseudonym for Elvis Perkins (the brother of director),[11] credited as composer of the score compositions on the digital soundtrack album.[12] There were contributing tracks by sound designer Eugenio Battagila and Melody Carrillo with Elizabeth Wight. The soundtrack was released on July 12, 2024 on streaming platforms and on vinyl.[13]

Marketing

To promote the film, Neon utilized guerilla marketing tactics similar to those that led to the box office success of The Blair Witch Project (1999).[14] Perkins credited Neon for the film's marketing, saying the studio "really responded strongly to the movie, the raw materials of the movie really excited them, the way it looks, the way it feels, the way it sounds. They asked me early on, 'Do we have your permission to kind of go nuts?' And I said, 'What else are we doing here? Go for it. Do your thing.'"[15] The film's total marketing budget was under $10 million, focusing on digital content and not having television ads.[3]

Promotional materials included teaser trailers that first appeared in January 2024 and did not mention the title until February, building speculation through clips, images, and coded messages using symbology created for the film.[16][17] Neon posted 11 videos on YouTube leading up to release, accumulating 30 million views. A trailer was also attached to every horror film released in theaters since January 2024.[3] A paid advertisement featuring a cipher was published in the Seattle Times on June 14, a reference to Zodiac Killer. The ad directed readers to an in-universe website detailing murders committed in the film.[18]

Release

In February 2023, Neon acquired the film's North American rights at the European Film Market.[19] The film had a screening at Los Angeles's Beyond Fest on May 31, 2024.[20] Longlegs premiered at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles on July 8, 2024.[21]

It was released in North America and the United Kingdom on July 12, 2024.[8][22]

Longlegs held several special screenings across the United States throughout July 8-13, 2024.[23] This also included a 'parent-free' RSVP screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn, New York on July 12, 2024.[3]

Reception

Box office

As of July 18, 2024, Longlegs has grossed $33 million in the United States and Canada, and $2.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $35.7 million.[5][4]

In the United States and Canada, Longlegs was released alongside Fly Me to the Moon, and was initially projected to gross $7–9 million from 2,510 theaters in its opening weekend.[24] After making $10 million on its first day (including $3 million from Thursday night previews, both records for Neon), weekend estimates were raised to $20–23 million.[25] It went on to debut to $22.4 million, finishing second at the box office behind holdover Despicable Me 4.[26] The opening marked the best opening weekend for Neon and the biggest total for an original 2024 horror film. It was Monroe's best domestic opening as lead (excluding 2016's Independence Day: Resurgence, for which she was billed) and Cage's first live-action film to open above $20 million since Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in 2012.[3]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 218 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Saturated in disquieting mood while leveraging a nightmarishly gonzo performance by Nicolas Cage, Longlegs is a satanic horror that effectively instills panic."[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 70% overall positive score, with an average 3 out of 5 stars.[29]

David Rooney writing for The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, saying "It might be argued that he stirs too many elements into the mix here — crime procedural, occult mystery, mind manipulation, Satanic worship, scary dolls, a Faustian bargain and a 'nun' not fit for any convent. But Longlegs is [Perkins'] most fully realized and relentlessly effective film to date".[30] Bob Strauss of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Most impressive is how Perkins blends psychological and supernatural horror in a manner not quite seen before. Longlegs is a conjuring of dark, poetic cinema where the devil is definitely in the details".[31] Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson thought the film was disappointing, writing "Longlegs is stylish but vacuous, a prettily foreboding picture with nothing behind it. As Hannibal Lecter might say, it's a well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste".[32]

J. Hurtado of Screen Anarchy declared Longlegs "a masterpiece; an unholy, horrifying confluence of high art and anxiety, a film in which every frame is a nightmare, and it's beautiful."[33] Writing for Bloody Disgusting, Meagan Navarro praised Longlegs' performances and atmosphere, concluding, "Longlegs is as stylish as it is timeless, dripping with claustrophobic dread and rot."[34] Bill Bria of /Film called Longlegs "the most terrifying horror movie of 2024," noting the film's "rock n' roll spirit."[35]

Justin Chang of NPR wrote of Longlegs' many similarities to The Silence of the Lambs. When making Longlegs, Perkins was inspired by his experience of watching The Silence of the Lambs for the first time:

"I figured the way to connect with a bigger audience would be to trick them into thinking that they were watching Silence of the Lambs, and then do a thing where it was obviously not that at all."[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Ravindran, Manori (February 6, 2023). "Nicolas Cage Horror 'Longlegs' Casts 'It Follows' Star Maika Monroe, Black Bear International to Launch Sales at EFM (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "Longlegs (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 27, 2024. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 14, 2024). "How Neon Made Longlegs Sexy At Box Office With Distrib's Record Opening Of $22M+, Best Start For Original Horror Pic YTD – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Longlegs". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Longlegs – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  6. ^ McCluskey, Megan (July 12, 2024). "Making Sense of Longlegs Terrifyingly Ambiguous Ending". Time. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (November 11, 2022). "Nicolas Cage To Star In Horror-Thriller 'Longlegs' For C2, Automatik & Cage's Saturn Films; 'Sinister', 'La La Land' Producers & 'Joker' Exec Among Team". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Lattanzio, Ryan (February 2, 2024). "Longlegs Teaser: Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe Star in Neon's Mysterious Serial Killer Horror Movie". IndieWire. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Grobar, Matt (March 6, 2023). "Alicia Witt & Blair Underwood Join Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe In Longlegs Horror-Thriller". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "In Production - Creative BC". Creative BC Film Commission. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Pilley, Max (July 16, 2024). "Here's every song on the 'Longlegs' soundtrack". NME. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  13. ^ "Longlegs Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. July 10, 2024. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  14. ^ "Horror movie 'Longlegs' has gone viral with its creepy marketing campaign. But is it more than just a stunt?". Northeastern Global News. 0707. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  15. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (June 24, 2024). "'Longlegs' Director Oz Perkins Says the Wild Marketing Campaign Is All Neon: 'I Would Be a Jackass to Take Too Much Credit'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Wampler, Scott (January 19, 2024). "NEON Releases Third Teaser For What Is Clearly Oz Perkins' LONGLEGS". www.fangoria.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  17. ^ Wampler, Scott (February 2, 2024). "The First Trailer For Oz Perkins' LONGLEGS Is Finally Here". www.fangoria.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Squires, John (June 14, 2024). "The Birthday Murders: Viral Marketing Website Launches for 'Longlegs'". Bloody Disgusting!. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  19. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 19, 2023). "Neon In Pole Position For Nicolas Cage Horror-Thriller 'Longlegs' Marking First Sizeable Domestic Deal Of EFM". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  20. ^ Peters, Daniel (June 1, 2024). "Nicolas Cage horror movie Longlegs gets rave reactions following surprise screening". NME. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "LONGLEGS". American Cinematheque. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  22. ^ Travis, Ben (June 17, 2024). "Longlegs UK Release Date Confirmed For July". Empire. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "LONGLEGS | NEON". neonrated.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 9, 2024). "Gru To Rule With $33M+ As 'Fly Me To The Moon', 'Longlegs' Provide Depth To Weekend Box Office – Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  25. ^ Moreau, Jordan (July 12, 2024). "Box Office: 'Longlegs' Makes $3 Million in Previews, Surpassing 'Immaculate' to Set Neon Record". Variety. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  26. ^ "Domestic 2024 Weekend 28". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  27. ^ "Longlegs". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 17, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  28. ^ "Longlegs". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  29. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 12, 2024). "'Longlegs' Kicking Up Surprise Record Opening For Neon With $20M-$23M, 'Fly Me To The Moon' Drifting To $10M+ – Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  30. ^ Rooney, David (July 6, 2024). "Longlegs Review: Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage in a Mesmerizing Serial Killer Chiller That Burns With Satanic Power". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  31. ^ Strauss, Bob (July 8, 2024). "Review: In Longlegs, Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe go to impressively disturbing extremes". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  32. ^ Lawson, Richard (July 10, 2024). "Longlegs Is a Grueling Collage of Far Better Films". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  33. ^ "Longlegs Review: Every Frame Is A Nightmare In The Year's Best Horror Film To Date". ScreenAnarchy. June 10, 2024. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  34. ^ Navarro, Meagan (June 10, 2024). "Longlegs Review – Oz Perkins' Latest Gets Under Your Skin and Festers Like a Putrid Nightmare". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  35. ^ Bria, Bill (June 10, 2024). "Longlegs Review: Osgood Perkins' Masterpiece Is The Most Terrifying Horror Movie Of 2024". /Film. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  36. ^ Melanson, Angel (July 11, 2024). "LONGLEGS Origins With Maika Monroe And Oz Perkins". www.fangoria.com. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
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