Longlegs - Slow Burner of a Thriller

Longlegs is a strange, slow burn of a movie, but man did it stick the landing.

The aesthetic of the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. We begin in the 1970s where Nic Cage's character (and I'll be honest, DID NOT even recognize him until later in the movie) with a 4:3 aspect. Just a square to set up the difference between the past and the present. This small prologue sets up everything for the rest of the movie.

Then, we meet our lead actress, the little girl all grown up: Special Agent Lee Harker. She and her partner are on the hunt for another killer. She figures out where he's hiding out (magic? intuition? divineness?) and gets asked to work on a 30 year case, the Longlegs killer.

She's brilliant as an agent, but came across a bit socially awkward. Moreso around her boss Agent Carter (no not the badass Marvel character, Blair Underwood). Where together some of the pieces start coming together and Harker is at the center of it all.

Nic Cage dials up the crazy as the satanic psycho killer. It's hard to gauge the level of Nic Cage crazy because, like Hannibal Lector, his scenes are limited. But when he dials it up its pretty high.

The story was smartly written and had the wheels in my head turning the entire time. Because just when you think you have it figured out, it all comes together and it's not quiet what you were expecting.

There were a lot of long quiet moments that matched with the wide shots that filled the screen. It's a slow burn, but it knows what it's doing. It's an interesting thriller that takes it time to build to the horror aspect. It keeps you thinking and guessing to the very end.

3/5 For the Movie

9/10 For Nic Cage level of crazy