"Longlegs," the 2024 horror film directed by Oz Perkins, has received swaths of attention online after a viral and mysterious marketing campaign. However, horror fans remain torn on whether it meets its lofty expectations.
The film follows an FBI agent, played by Maika Monroe, hunting down the serial killer, Longlegs, played by Nicolas Cage.
Filled with throwback aesthetics, religious references and plenty of darkness, "Longlegs" is an anxious and patient film that lets viewers unpack the mystery alongside the detectives.
Due to similarities in plot structure, "Longlegs" received a lot of fan comparisons to iconic David Fincher crime mystery films such as "Zodiac" and "Se7en," or even Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs," but it's undoubtedly incomparable.
Cage gives a divisive performance as the main antagonist, which split fan opinions immediately. He's menacing and terrifying at some points, but he can also be silly and get laughs from audiences.
"The inclusion of Nic Cage is obviously going to invite a camp aspect," said Savannah Goodman, a local horror fan. "I don't think that Oz Perkins was going for camp at all. I don’t think he was going for something funny."
But regardless of intent, some fans felt taken out of the story during moments when Cage belts into song and has over-the-top deliveries.
The film itself took his performance very seriously, including these ridiculous moments. Though it can be perceived as camp, the film's tone indicates these goofs as scary: an uncomfortable look into the insanity of the character.
Balancing camp and horror is a fine line. For some, choices like these make the experience more haunting, but taking the 'strange' route is never going to appeal to all audiences.
Most fans can agree on the excellence of the cinematography and sound design. Many shots use emptiness as an advantage. The bleak colors match the tone and the camera movement feels intentional and unique.
"The cinematography was its best aspect, for sure," said Payton Hankins, a sophomore studying business data analytics. "I'd like to see more movies filmed with the same cinematography style."
As for the sound, its eeriness and use of texturing stuck in the minds of many viewers.
"I never got comfortable," said Amaiya Scott, a senior studying film. "To hear every noise, breath, movement that they make, it was just very, very — you're in it."
Perhaps the most important part for most horror fans was the "scare factor" of the film, which was initially propped up by its notorious marketing.
"Longlegs" used more immersive tactics than simply releasing trailers. The film took out entire pages of real newspapers to print a Zodiac-like code, released terrifying mini-teasers, had a phone line for viewers to call, and more.
Critical online reviews, before the official theatrical release, called it the "scariest movie of the decade," and other sensational high praise.
This strategy and execution created such an atmosphere around the film that viewers' expectations going in were indeed sky-high. And when it was released, it even scared some seasoned horror fans to their core.
"I was just anxious. The whole time I was scared," Scott said. "It's been a long time since I've been scared (by a film)."
These expectations didn't land for all viewers though.
"The worst aspect of it for me would probably have to be the scare factor, or the horror that was advertised," Hankins said. "I didn't find it super scary. I found it more of a thriller than anything."
Others found the biggest success of "Longlegs" — regardless of its quality or lack thereof — is the standard it can set for other films. The unique and terrifying marketing campaign was memorable for a reason, and fans hope that other movies will employ similar tactics in the future.
"I want to see more marketing come back," Scott said. "I'm just gonna be real, a lot of films have failed in marketing ... people were literally saying, 'This marketing is so good, I need Longlegs to come out and kill me.'"
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at adirst@asu.edu and follow @andrewdirst on X.
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