Spoilers don’t want to crack this code.

I think horror itself is a niche genre since its inception. Creating an unsettling atmosphere in itself is an art so much harder to pull that the payback itself, but often enough horror films are all about the scary release. Not so with this feature, where the focus is on staging dread and making you feel unsafe. This might not necessarily aim to please the mainstream horror fan who’s just looking for a scare, but count me into the niche audience that will appreciate the setup.

(Credit: NEON)

Longlegs (2024) is written and directed by Osgood Perkins. The FBI is on a manhunt of a mysterious serial killer who calls himself “Longlegs” (Nicholas Cage). Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is canvassing for clues and witnesses when her uncanny intuition guides her to a specific house. The agent in charge does not believe her and ends up getting himself killed. Now the senior agent in charge, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood), believes Harker might be psychic enough to led them to the killer.

I want to tell you very little about this film because the ambience of dread and fear drips from the screen. That being said, if you’re expecting gory payback this is not going to be the film for you. There will be violence and the creep factor that Cage brings is one of his finest, but you won’t get a kill per every ten minutes. However the cinematography with overhead angels and camera work is one of the best. This is reinforced with Monroe’s superb performance. Don’t expect Cage to steal the screen, he’s actually going to be featured very sparingly, but his character seems to saturate the film with his presence. Also an amazing performance by Alicia Witt as Ruth Harker, Lee’s mother.

Extremely recommended to that horror niche audience that appreciates a good frightful ambiance. Mainstream horror audiences might be turned off by the subdued and restrained storytelling but I believe it just enhances the worldbuilding. Excellent cinematography, storytelling and performances make this one an amazing watch for appreciative audiences.

That will do for now.