The Film Buffa Reviews: Authentic 'Longlegs' brings out a new freaky blend of Nic Cage

He's unreal. The film is a sinister psychologically horror mix shot to the tilt by Osgood Perkins. Let's talk.

Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) has a unique sixth sense about dreadful things. She’s the kind of up and coming FBI agent who can walk into the middle of a street of similar-looking houses, and tell you where the boogeyman is hiding while her partner goes door to door. How she got it and how it pertains to her new case-chasing a serial killer who leaves dead families in his wake-is the reason Osgood Perkins gets to perform cinematic inception on his audience with latest, Longlegs--which is the killer’s moniker in the film.

What about the film? Holy cow, as Harry Caray would say if he saw ten minutes of this inventive flick. You won’t soon forget about this one after leaving the theater, and you may never look at Nicolas Cage the same way again.

That’s when a horror film nips a nerve, blending enough psychologically warfare in our brain with some devilish intentions. The writer/director has a pale, white moon filter on his lens, painting neighborhoods and offices as eerie as a 24/7 cemetery lobby. It fits the terrain, which includes some satanic beliefs, incredible makeup and wig work, and some of the most genuine jump scares.

Mr. Cage made a woman sitting near me jump at least two inches in the air during the first five minutes. The opening scene properly sets you up for a tour of the screenplay ballpark, establishing a tone that gets more stressful and sorrowful as the running time zooms along. The 101 minutes are all used wisely, setting us up for something big that isn’t as complex as it is horrifying. We’re here for a real kick, not some realistic morality play.

Perkins somehow reinvented Cage decades after his initial launch. Starting with Pig and a hilarious parody film with Pedro Pascal, the longtime one-of-a-kind has enjoyed another renaissance--taking the kind of chances that made him one of Hollywood’s true heavyweight. At the very least, one that can endure any personality switch.

Without giving too much away, I’ll tell you that his makeup and facial designs brings to mind a blend of Cher mixed with older Mickey Rourke to form a scary Cage concoction. In slow reveals that go full throttle at the start of the third act with an interrogation sequence (scene of the year candidate), we are introduced to his Longlegs. We get the frantic Cagey rants and screams, but also a real creation.

But that’s only half the pie. Kudos to the soulful Blair Underwood for carving an FBI chief overseeing Lee’s work that we come to admire and love… maybe a little too much. Monroe hasn’t done much until now, but she’s on everyone’s radar after 2024. She brings our heroine, one with unruly connections to the central character, to a slow-boiling light without giving much away along the ride.

Perkins doesn’t wholly reinvent the wheel here, as much as he subverts it. Some of the horror genre intentions will be noticed, and certain plot twists and threads won’t exactly blow your mind. But it’s the mint cinematography, alarming score, and general aesthetic of Longlegs that will get your attention. This is Perkins’ Reservoir Dogs, or his Blood Simple. It’s watching this NEON gem that you start to wonder what his Pulp Fiction/Fargo will look like.

Those Silence of The Lambs comparisons fit, especially when the two leads share a room. Monroe’s Harker is our compass in the film’s strait-laced plot, a human soul waging a war between heaven and hell, trying to ward off desires that have become ingrained in her identity. Everything she’s chasing just feels too familiar, like a page she ripped out of a book that found its way back in.

One can’t forget the other indelible performance. If Cage is reinvented for the who-knows-what time, Alicia Witt gets a nice reinvention herself. She plays a vital role in the wrap of this sinister kid of a summer film. You won’t see her coming, even after I tell you.

I wouldn’t call Longlegs a traditional scary film, just one that puts a fresh coat of pain on the genre. In a day and age where studios are binding together to do the same thing, NEON keeps doing different things. That’s a reason for hope. After watching this one, you’ll need all of the optimism you can find.