THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sometimes, destiny is not what you can imagine.
PLOT
2024’s Longlegs takes place in 1994 Oregon and follows FBI agent Lee Harker who has possible clairvoyance, get assigned by her supervisor William Carter to a series of murder-suicides. Each case involves a father killing his and himself, leaving a letter of Satanic coding signed ‘Longlegs’ with handwriting that belongs to none of the family members. Lee notices another pattern where there is always a nine year old daughter born on the 14th of the month and the murders happen before or after the birthday itself, which in turn create an occult triangle symbol on a calendar with only one date missing. The following night, she gets a letter from LongLegs that has a code implying her mother Ruth will die next. The next day, Lee and Carter get a clue that directs them to a doll with a high energy metal orb inside. After this, they meet the sole survivor Carrie Anne who was previously met by someone using Lee’s name, recollecting the trauma of her dad taking her mom’s life. Carter suspects Lee to connected to LongLegs due to how 20 years prior, Ruth filed a police report on an intruder approaching her daughter the day before her 9th birthday. When going through her belongings, she finds a Polaroid of the same man she saw that day as a child. When submitting the photo to Carter, it leads the arrest to the man who’s name happens to be Dale Kobble. Upon his arrest, Lee & Carter suspect there is an accomplice that’ll commit the next murder. When being interrogated, Kobble admits that he serves for ‘the man downstairs’ and implies that Ruth is involved before he takes his life slamming his face on the table. Shortly after this incident, Lee gets informed that Carrie killed herself as well. When Agent Browning takes her to her mom’s home, she would be suddenly shot by Rudy with a shotgun. The protagonist is unable to stop this from happening because investigating the house, she loses consciousness when finding a doll resembling her. When she wakes up, she finds proof that Kobble was living her mom’s basement being forced as an accomplice to do his bidding in exchange for her to be spared. She has done so by posing as a nun and deliver the satanic dolls to households in which the patriarchs commit famili-cide as planned. Lee’s own doll has blocked her own memories of when she met Kobble but has simultaneously influenced her with its magic. As she leaves the basement, she gets a phone call from a demonic voice confirming that Carter and his family are next which will complete the triangle. By the time she reaches William’s house, he has already been possessed thanks to Ruth arriving first with another doll. When he kills his wife Anna, he shoots him down to protect his daughter Ruby and with no choice, she shoots her mom when she attacks with a dagger. The film ends with Lee and the child leaving when her gun doesn’t discharge on the gun she aims at.
THOUGHTS
With horror being unpredictable lately, all I can do is prepare for the unexpected because that is how original the genre has been getting this decade. From the get go, writer/director Osgood Perkins was able to make something frighteningly impeccable because it takes a course you’re not prepared for and you appreciate it for going there. Every second you hear Zilgi’s oozing score and digest Andrés Arochi Tinajero’s bone chilling cinematography where you gotta capture every possible moment that the devil is lurking, you’re haunted in a way you never thought you’d feel. Fucking with the devil ain’t anything new, yet every person who does makes sure we’re in for a ride which is no different here. With such a scenario, you start to worry that the world can end as we know it and that’s what makes the stakes here so personal. And in such a setting, you pick on this being a case on the fear of growing up not as a child but as a parent. Parents are so afraid of seeing their kids grow up because it’s a part of life that happens so fast you wish it can slow down at your wisp. That is where Satan comes in because he manipulates that vulnerability to let unnecessary carnage happen at his pleasurable dispense. However as long as you realize you do not have to be scared to confront the issues in life around you, you don’t need to be held back by those who love you. That is the case when we focus on Lee. Maika Monroe is spectacular in this lead performance presenting her as one who’s accurately reserved in her line of work which is as much of an advantage as her clairvoyance. The latter indeed pays off because it paves the way for her to find the unholy truth whether she likes it or not. Since she didn't remember Longlegs, she joined the FBI instead of be an actress like she once dreamed because she ended up becoming drawn to the hunt. And despite everything unraveling, she is able to remain nuanced enough to regain whatever control she had in her pocket. Since she is indeed a strong willed protagonist, it guarantees that we're set with a disturbing villain that we'll never stop thinking about. Nicolas Cage is undeniably fascinating as Kobble due to how unhinged he is and doesn't cage it up but instead antes it up to make our skin crawl. Besides the transformative makeup to give a paleness feature to him, he is so accurately disturbing due to his unexplainable commitment he has to the devil that he would kill himself to prevent anyone knowing the extent of his plan. With all the bodies piled up, it made sense for Longlegs to have an accomplice but there was no way we'd expect it to be so personal. Alicia Witt was also able to catch us off guard with the amount of involvement Ruth was to the story, from decepting us into thinking she's a harmless lady only to unravel she's a devout mother who was willing to go so low for her protection. That in turn proves the point in how overprotective a parent can be that they refuse accountability that they're doing more harm than good. Although Lee put her out of misery when necessary as she saves Ruby, there is no doubt the devil will find another way to wreak havoc. At this point, evil is defeated but not destroyed. In short, Longlegs is the best horror film of 2024 for knowing exactly how to get you of the comfort zone and that is your preference, see this now.
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