LONGLEGS
Blurb: FBI Agent Lee Harker is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
Starring:
Maika Monroe
Nicolas Cage
Blair Underwood
Alicia Witt
Michelle Choi-Lee
Dakota Daulby
Directed by:
Osgood Perkins
Written by:
Osgood Perkins
BEN'S REVIEW:
Scariest movie of the year? One of the scariest pictures ever? Sadly, nope.
This was however one of the creepiest movies I've seen in years. Very unsettling, skin crawling, oh, yes. It gave me a feeling of dread.
The two main stars blew me away, both Maika Monroe as FBI agent Lee Harker and Nicolas Cage as Longlegs knock it out of the park. The cinematography is all but groundbreaking, although the face that the entire film is dark in shade will be irritating to some. Director Osgood Perkins has created something that reminds me of Clive Barker in that I was drawn in and felt as if I could escape. It cast a spell over me. It made me believe. And the twists were well done and surprised me that I didn't see them coming. There was enough slight-of-hand that I wasn't looking for what was right there in front of me.
For once, I don't want to say much about this film except that I am sure it will be different than about anything you have ever seen. This could be considered an art house film by some, certainly by me. It was carefully constructed by choices of angles, colors, focus, shade, lighting, and more.
Will this movie scare you? It didn't scare me. But it did creep the hell out of me and I will be looking over my shoulder for Longlegs for a few more nights to come....
BEN'S RATING: ☕☕☕☕☕☕☕ X X X
SYNOPSIS:
Warning: The following is a complete synopsis of the movie. It's nothing but spoilers. Read at your own risk!
In a brief prologue, a little girl notices an unfamiliar car parked outside her house from her bedroom window. She grabs her Polaroid camera and goes outside to investigate. There is a cloaked figure in the passenger seat, but before she can probe further, she hears a voice behind her house. She turns around and is greeted by a person with a pale, white face.
FBI agent Lee Harker and her partner are on a manhunt for a serial killer. While knocking on doors in a neighborhood, her partner gets shot and killed. Harker captures the man through pure intuition. Later, tests reveal that she possesses psychic abilities. As a result, Harker is assigned to the open case of Longlegs, the main suspect in a series of brutal murder-suicides targeting families. All the victims are connected by having a daughter born on the 14th of the month - with the murders occurring within the 6 days before or after the birthday itself - and each crime scene features a cryptic letter signed "Longlegs." There are no other traces of the killer at the scenes. Harker's task is to decipher the letters, which contain satanic symbols and codes. Following a long first day, Harker brings her supervisor, Agent Carter, home and begrudgingly meets his wife Anna and their daughter Ruby where she agrees to attend Ruby's birthday party in a week's time.
Following a clue that says "X marks the spot," Harker discovers a cross on the floor of a former crime scene. They unearth a doll buried beneath it, and inside its head, they find a strange metal orb. When an ultrasound is performed on the orb, it emits whisper-like noises and triggers Harker's psychic abilities.
Harker visits the lone survivor of the former crime scene Carrie Ann in a mental institution. Carrie Ann received one of Longlegs' dolls as a birthday gift. Soon after, her father murdered her family while she was away on a field trip. She could hear voices from inside the doll, instructing her what to do. She professes her unwavering obedience to Longlegs, stating she would do anything for him including committing suicide or even murdering Harker.
By combining all the collected data, Harker realizes that the dates of the murders form an upside-down pentagram, with one date missing to complete the shape. After visiting her mother, Harker finds a chest in her childhood bedroom containing a stack of Polaroids. Among them is a picture of the pale-faced man, who she believes to be Longlegs. This picture leads them to track him down and arrest him in broad daylight as he waits for a bus.
During the FBI interrogation, Longlegs expresses his desire to see Harker. In the interrogation room, Harker confronts him directly. Longlegs claims to serve "the man downstairs," referring to the Devil. After wishing her a happy birthday and telling her to ask her mother about potential accomplices, Longlegs praises Satan and gruesomely smashes his head on the table, killing himself.
Outside the room, Harker’s boss questions how Longlegs knew who she was. He also informs her that, while she was interrogating him, Carrie Ann committed suicide by jumping from the roof of the mental institution. Harker realizes that she first encountered Longlegs at her house, making her the little girl from the prologue. Wanting to confront her mother about her connection to Longlegs, Harker drives to her house with another agent. From her bedroom window, she witnesses her mother shooting the colleague with a shotgun. Harker goes outside to find her mother, who is ready to shoot a doll that looks like Harker. Her mother shoots the doll’s head off, causing Harker to faint.
In a flashback montage, it is revealed that Harker's mother was Longlegs' accomplice all along. She posed as a nun, delivering the possessed dolls to the families that would later be murdered. She made this pact with Longlegs to spare Harker's life when she was young. Harker's own doll, still intact and unused, gave her psychic powers and guided her in life. Longlegs lived in the family's basement during her childhood, earning him the title "the man downstairs."
Waking up in the basement to the sound of a ringing phone, Harker stumbles upstairs to answer it. A deep voice on the other end tells her, "You're late for Ruby's party." Harker steals Longlegs' car from her mother's garage and races to intervene. She finds her mother already at the Carter's, and the family is under a trance in the presence of the doll. After Carter murders his wife in the kitchen, Harker shoots and kills Carter to protect his daughter. Her mother still intends to kill Carter's daughter to complete the ritual, so Harker is forced to shoot her own mother to break the trance and stop the killings. However, she is unable to shoot and destroy the doll as she has run out of bullets, leaving Harker’s fate ambiguous.
The movie ends with a shot of Longlegs in the interrogation room, once again saying "Hail, Satan" and blowing a kiss to the audience.
Comments