Longlegs sets out to get under your skin, send chills down your spine, and haunt you for a very long time, and succeeds with flying colors. The direction and cinematography are terrifying, with brilliant editing and music. The film is a brutal indictment of a world in which nobody is safe from meaningless violence that roams freely and takes all hope and virtue in its path.
Maika Monroe gives a career-best performance as a lonely soul devoid of hope, joy, or peace due to the nature of her work. She’s captivating to watch. Nicolas Cage also delivers one of the best performances he’s ever given. He shocks, scares, and grabs onto you as if you were in the room with him. It never feels like an A-list actor transforming into a part, because no semblance of human soul is there. You’re simply watching the character as he is, not to mention, the makeup work on him is amazing.
The film blends the certain and ambiguous, the real and surreal, which pays off well stylistically and suspensefully. The violence is not only shocking but filled with despair and unwillingness to forgive its characters or audience. There’s just a bit too much exposition at the end. It’s a horror film that’s many things, but just the right amount of them to feel like a raw, unpredictable, endless nightmare.
4.5/5
Review by: Gal Balaban