Nicolas Cage's new horror movie Longlegs is certainly terrifying, but not in the ways you were probably expecting

Hype is a strange beast. Over the past couple of months, I’ve seen headline after headline describing new horror movie Longlegs as one of the scariest films of the decade. The acclaim has been endless, with the film debuting to a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and earning countless five-star reviews (including our very own). Online reactions on social media have also been extreme, to say the least, with some describing the film as being so evil they wanted to rip their skin off – yes, really.

Expectations had therefore been set for director Osgood Perkins’ latest work, which features It Follows star Maika Monroe as an intrepid FBI agent investigating a series of unsolved murder cases that all involve a mysterious killer known only as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage). But is it really that scary? Is it so terrifying you’ll be left forever changed by the experience? Is it indeed the work of Satan himself? The answer isn’t exactly simple. Longlegs is certainly horrifying, but not in the ways you were probably expecting – and, ultimately, that makes for a far more fascinating film.

Into the unknown

Perhaps the strangest aspect of Longlegs’ fear factor is that it doesn’t actually seem scary in the moment – but that certainly doesn’t mean it won’t be haunting your nightmares days after those credits have rolled. Many horror films, especially modern-day ones, rely on jump scares to give their audiences a real fright, and whilst Longlegs does feature the odd one, that’s not where the focus lies.

Instead, Perkins places the emphasis on the film's spine-chilling atmosphere, which is far more effective. Sharing more in common with great thrillers such as David Fincher’s Zodiac and Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia rather than fellow horror movies, a sense of dread lingers over every frame in Longlegs. 

As Monroe’s agent Lee Harker dives into the case, it grows increasingly more urgent and personal, which ratchets up the tension scene by scene. It also enters the realm of the occult as Harker uncovers seemingly supernatural connections to the murders, adding further layers to the threat that lies at the heart of the movie.

Ultimately, what scares us the most are things that we don’t understand, which is what Perkins smartly plays into here. Whilst you would think that we'd grow closer to solving the case as Lee uncovers more clues, the opposite is true: every discovery thrusts us further into the unknown, building to a thrilling climax. Longlegs understands that real terrors lie in the unexplainable, the inhumane, the twisted – things that are beyond human comprehension and always will be. And it’s this strangeness, this creepiness, that dominates the film, leaving you thoroughly unnerved (and freaked out) throughout.

Be afraid

Much is left to the imagination, which is also true when it comes to the movie's violence. Although other thrillers such as Se7en graphically depict their killers' crimes, the vast majority of that cruelty is obscured here. There are some grisly scenes, but the brutality of Longlegs’ murderous antics is implied rather than seen. Perkins simply isn’t interested in adding shock value to his film by showing us graphic murders – instead, he realizes that leaving it up to viewers to picture it for themselves is far more stomach-churning than anything he could show on the big screen.

That’s also the reason why we don’t see Cage’s killer Longlegs in all of his haunting glory until the final stages of the movie. Once again, the intention is that you come up with your own image, although it’s safe to say once his chilling face is unveiled, you will never forget it. The hype surrounding the actor’s phenomenal performance in the movie is definitely to be believed.

Longlegs’ marketing campaign provides the perfect foundation for all of this. From creepy clues scattered online for fans to uncover to the obscuring of Cage’s face in any clips, it’s all captured the attention of the internet. Who could forget the released audio track of Monroe’s heartbeat as she encountered Cage in make-up for the first time on set? Naturally, it’s all designed to promote the movie, but more crucially it also deliberately gets under our skin and presents a disconcerting mystery before we are even seated for the film, setting audiences up for an unforgettable experience.

Which is exactly what Longlegs is. Ultimately, whether or not it is the most terrifying film of the decade depends on what scares you, but what will be undoubtedly true is that this won’t be the film you were expecting – it’s a far more unique and strange beast that will long live (well, 'lurk' is probably more accurate) in the corners of your mind. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Longlegs is out now in US and UK theaters. For more on what to watch, check out the rest of our Big Screen Spotlight series.

We've also got our breakdown of the best upcoming horror movies to keep an eye out for later this year.