“Longlegs”: Continuing the Trend of Overrated Horror Films

Nicolas Cage stars and produces this indie project that has been a surprising financial success.

Summary

FBI agent Lee Harker has been tasked with tracking down a serial killer responsible for the deaths of several families in the state. This individual has a peculiarity: he is never physically present in the crimes.

Lee must decipher a trail of occult clues that go back to her own childhood, if she wants to have a chance at ending the killing spree.

Is the Bar Too Low For Horror Films?

That is precisely what I was wondering once I finished watching Longlegs. This film has been receiving glowing reviews from critics these past few weeks, and it was marketed as one of the scariest movies of the year.

And it’s not the first time this has happened. A few months ago, Late Night With the Devil was the chosen one, resulting in a lot of people getting disappointed in the theater. Not because the film was in itself bad, but because the critics advertised something different.

Have we reached a point when anything that is slightly above average is a candidate for masterpiece status? Or are most of the critics just disconnected from the general audience and their expectations?

Let’s get things straight: Longlegs is not a bad film, at least in terms of quality. But treating it as a masterpiece of the genre… is a bit too much.

An Invitation to Boredom

In an age when content has to be fast-paced to appeal to the modern audience, a film that takes its time, and does not need a jump scare every five seconds is appreciated. However, in this particular case, the slowness was taken too far for my liking.

It would be understandable if the film were something like a character study, but this is supposed to be a horror mystery with supernatural elements. And instead of being at the edge of my seat, I got sleepier by the minute. The running time is only an hour and forty minutes, and it felt like an eternity.

The whole story with the dolls, which could have been more interesting with a more dynamic rhythm, falls completely flat, and ends up looking stupid. Lee’s mother’s involvement is not very shocking, it does not feel important, even though it was supposed to be the greatest plot twist of the story.

And that open-ending was underwhelming. What is the point of watching an entire film if, by the end, nothing gets solved? Longlegs is dead, the mother is dead, and the girl’s parents are dead. What does that mean? Has the evil disappeared? How does it affect the survivors? It was not a satisfying conclusion.

Nicolas Cage’s Villain

The only captivating aspect of this project was the villain, Longlegs himself, played by Nicolas Cage. This character, also referred to as “the man downstairs”, is the center of a grim conspiracy to end lives.

Cage gives a very disturbing performance. What a pity he is only on the screen for roughly fifteen minutes, maybe less. Of course, Longlegs’ thing is that he kills people from afar without being on the crime scene. But as he is the title character, I was expecting him to receive more attention. 

Box Office Results

With a reported budget of around $10.000.000, Longlegs had an extraordinary performance in theaters, reaching $74.045.655 at the domestic box office, and surpassing the $100.000.000 globally. An example of the miracles of good marketing, I guess. 

As far as I can tell, there is no reason for such hype around this project. It’s just one more indie production, perhaps better than many, but still pretty average.