Longlegs

Longlegs is an interesting film. It's sometimes good, sometimes scary, and sometimes laughably goofy. The marketing for the film was undoubtedly the greatest thing about it. It was so overhyped and well sold that I was convinced I'd be seeing a movie completely different than the one I just saw a few hours ago. The end result wasn't bad at all, it's just.. not the ultimate horror fright fest it was made out to be. The critics, filmmakers, and Nicolas Cage all raved about how Cage is unrecognizable and how he gives a skin crawling performance that you wouldn't be able to tell was him. I'm just gonna break the news and say that you can definitely tell it's Cage and he absolutely makes it a very Nicolas Cage role. He did a great job but I really wasn't quite sure if I was supposed to find him hilarious or terrifying. It was a memorable performance but I was way more puzzled and confused than scared. The rest of the movie is beautifully shot, scored, and paced. The story is riddled with plot holes galore and the twist veers into pretty silly territory. It's a good movie but it's not the scariest film of the decade or even the whole year.

As a lover of horror/thriller movies I cannot even stress how disappointed I was with this movie. The way plot was convoluted, the dialogue was lame and it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen! I actually left before the end because I was so bored. How anyone could compare this to silence of the lambs in greatness, astounds me. I tried to make sense of the film but just couldn't. I really can't even say there is one redeeming element of the movie, it fell flat on all aspects of a horror/thriller movie. I am shocked it has had so many good reviews. I have seen scarier true crime shows than what this was.

I am really open to all shenanigans, but this was unimaginative, acted badly and the story was completely incoherent. After a somewhat promising lukewarm start it just descended into nothingness.

Manila Monroe did her best to add a bit of acting towards it, but it wasn't enough. Nicolas Cage unfortunately was Completely consumed by his silly mask and one could have put any Hollywood star behind it without making a difference. So disappointing. Again a movie that was hyped by a clever marketing campaign and will be forgotten in a heartbeat. The only positive were the sometimes aesthetic and atmospheric camera shots.

Just got back from the film. Here's my quick breakdown of the positives and negatives without spoilers.

Pros: Cage is great for the time he's in the film. Great cinematography if you're into visual flare and style. Some decent elements of horror that are very interesting.

Cons: Hardly any visceral horror or gore whatsoever, feels incredibly "safe" for a film like this. Story is really competent and well-written until the very last act of the film and feels like a cliched trope we've seen in too many horror films in the last few years.

Overall, you'll have a good time. It's got moments of pure horror that can be easily expanded on or brought to light more, but the story itself takes a massive nosedive that just felt really jarring and too on the nose as if the audience wasn't intelligent enough to figure it out themselves. Just felt too safe to me to be considered the horror film of the year. There are significantly far better horror films that easily can make Longlegs run for its money and honestly the hype glorified this too much to be enjoyed as it set out to be. It's got great moments that show the potential of what it could have been, but it just detoured into something that everyone has seen already.

I was way too hyped for this, obviously the comparison upfront (Se7en, Silent of the lambs) and the whole style and atmosphere from the trailer lead to my over excitement.

Considered that this genre is pretty rare (mystery, thriller, horror), it's a good movie. It's slow, however I don't mind that at all. Cage and Monroe are outstanding. It just don't help the rather predictable plot & the huge missed opportunity to give this movie an ending it deserves. Especially the ending is unbelievable, doesn't really tie in and as mentioned above was kinda obvious (however I was hoping throughout the movie that there is a better and bigger twist). I like that the mystery and psychic personality components are absolutely up to the viewer. There's lots of atmospheric stuff in the background which is beautifully visually captured, reminds a bit of 'It Follows'.

To sum it up, lower your expectations, this isn't Se7en, which isn't the point anyway as comparisons are usually not helpful, and still we often rely on them or put too much measurement into it. It definitely entertains.