Longlegs (Oz Perkins, July 12, 2024) • Page 14

Okay so I mostly loved this. The filmmaking itself was INCREDIBLE, the cinematography and sound design was some of the best I've seen in a long time. Loved how unsettling the whole thing felt, but the surprising moments of levity were nice too (though few). The whole thing really did have a very intense and unnerving feel to it, and some of the shots were incredibly creative.

Acting was really great. I didn't really find Cage scary lol but I still loved his unhinged performance and wish he was in the movie more, although I could see the argument that too much of him would have made the whole thing feel a lot campier. Still loved the interrogation scene and I was cracking up at him singing in that one part.

However I definitely agree that the third act brings it down a few points. I actually don't mind at all that it leaned so hard into the supernatural/satanic elements, I think it makes sense and feels properly set up for by the rest of the movie, I just wish that a) that exposition dump with the mom at the end was done in a different way and that b) they explained some things a bit more, like why Satan (I guess?) wants to kill all of these families in this particular way. Just to be a dick? I was fully expecting that it was a part of a ritual or evil plan or something. And also how/why do the dolls work like that (and what is the significance of using dolls exactly)... and who/what exactly even is Longlegs? A possessed guy or just a devoted satanist that Satan actually speaks/appears to?

Not that I wanted them to overexplain and take away any ambiguity (it was already very much lacking in subtlety by the end anyway), but at least a LITTLE more worldbuilding would have gone a long way for me. I'm also not sure if I can see how the audience could have any reaction to the "hail Satan" ending other than laughing... it definitely made me smile but that feels like a weird note to end this particular movie on if it was intentional?

Overall though those small plot complaints won't outshine how much fun I had watching this though, I thoroughly enjoyed it

 

Just saw this. It was good. Still have to sit with it for a bit. Immediate reaction is the dread in the penultimate shot was so good and the goofy final cut to "Hail Satan" did not land for me.

The trailer for this was quite possibly the best horror trailer I've ever seen, so I must admit I'm disappointed this didn't hit me anywhere close to something like Hereditary (which IMO delivered even more than it promised in its terrific trailer).

Too early, but I can see this being similar to Talk to Me which was very competent and better the more I thought about it, but still a few notches below my personal favorites of the genre.

 

I think being a dick is just kind of Satan’s thing in general lol

 

The more I think about this the less I like it. Bummer.

 

this completely lived up to the hype for me. absolutely astonishing movie. not getting the third act complaints at all, the ending feels like it could be iconic

will definitely have more thoughts on it once I have more than 3 hours sleep in me. but shoutout to the lady in the back row of my cinema who kept getting up and walking in front of the projector, she jumpscared the entire audience probably 4-5 separate times

 

Not that everything needs completely explained but they over explain a ton of shit except these magic satan balls inside the dolls heads that some how control these people to kill. And someone said earlier that’s how Harker was able to find the murderer in the first scene which makes no sense because why would longlegs control her to find that murderer?

 

i call bullshit on that latter explanation too

 

i get suspending disbelief but everything about the plot falls apart once you spend two seconds thinking about it

 

I think he had 2 different ideas for a movie and combined them into one. We spend time at the beginning with her looking over all his letters which she then just explains away with one line

 

Really enjoyed this. Love Oz's earlier films and this is up there for him. This certainly went off the rails with marketing. All the "me before longlegs, me after longlegs" stuff was annoying since this wasn't scary at all. What it did do between great filmmaking and sound design was make me feel like I was being suffocated a lot while watching. The third act feels like a less subtle way The Blackcoat's Daughter ended, and I loved that film too.

 

The more I sit with this after seeing it the more I like it. I've honestly haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Now I want to rewatch Blackcoats Daughter tonight.

 

feel like I watched a different movie than some of y'all when you say this wasn't scary lol. first scene alone is the scariest thing I've seen since probably Suspiria

 

Like I said, he seems to be a vastly better director than a writer imo. That being said, I really liked the "Hail Satan" cut at the end. Fun wink and a nod to the audience after a roller coaster ride of a film (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse).

 

It is funny that the primary criticism I keep hearing about MaXXXine is that Ti West "tried to do too much" when that seems to be the biggest issue I have with this, lol. And for what it's worth, I did enjoy this!

 

I guess I consider "scared" and "unsettled/uncomfortable" different. I was unsettled most of this. Felt under my skin. Not scared though. I also didn't consider Suspiria scary.

I highly doubt Maika's heart rate got to 170bpm seeing Longlegs for the first time.

 

Not to say that a physical threat is the only thing that gives me fear in film, but once it’s determined that Longlegs himself not really a threat at all (very early on), it felt like there was nothing else to keep me on my toes in that way. The black silhouette was the closest thing visually and they barely did anything with it

 

For me most of the tension comes from the framing of most of the shots. Always makes me feel like there like is something looming.

 

Ya the framing and wide angle shots are great in this. Creates this constant sense that Harker, who seems disconnected and isolated, is never truly alone, which makes sense given the third act revelations.

 

Yeah that's why to me, when it goes "off the rails" it kind of makes sense. She's been plagued by this presence for a lot of her life, because of the orb.

 

"because of orb" is the Longlegs version of "because of woke"

 

is the orb woke??

 

I had assumed that if the orb thing was in fact guiding Harker, and is what led her to find the unrelated killer, it was because Longlegs needed to be found to set the final act of his plan in motion, and getting her to solve a big case would likely land her on the big cold one.

 

I was hoping the whole time that the orb would suddenly activate lil blades and boom it's a Phantasm sequel

 

Hmmmmm

 

Can't tell if I like this more or less the more I sit with it, but Longlegs did show up in my dream last night and the more I think about the opening scene the more it sticks with me.