Shadows on the Wall

Longlegs

dir-scr Osgood Perkins
prd Nicolas Cage, Dave Caplan, Chris Ferguson, Dan Kagan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
with Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby, Lauren Acala, Kiernan Shipka, Maila Hosie, Jason Day, Lisa Chandler, Ava Kelders
release US/UK 12.Jul.24
24/Canada Neon 1h41

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Relentless dread infuses every frame of this pitch-black thriller, so even when filmmaker Osgood Perkins indulges in bonkers archness or throwaway humour, the audience can never relax. This heightened menace keeps us on edge from start to finish, setting us up for several jump scares and lots of yucky violence. But without emotional resonance or properly constructed suspense, the terrific style never quite overcomes the lack of substance.

Branding herself as a "half-psychic", new FBI recruit Lee (Monroe) uses her heightened intuition in her job, proving that she has extraordinary skills. Now working with Agent Carter (Underwood), she is assigned to a cold case involving three decades of violent murder-suicides within families. She immediately notices some patterns, and they begin hunting for a wildly colourful guy who calls himself Longlegs (Cage) and seems to have the ability to possess people and convince them to violent murder their families. And it also becomes apparent that Lee's mother Ruth (Witt) knows something about Longlegs.

From the opening shot, Osgood deploys Andres Arochi's disorienting cinematography and nerve-wracking film and sound editing, carefully designed to keep the audience tied in knots. Longlegs himself is revealed in offbeat frames, then proceeds to behave in inexplicably nutty ways, singing random songs and praising the devil. Cage is virtually unrecognisable in the role, and camps it up to the absolute hilt, delightfully defying everything we expect from a demonic villain. He even stirs in some strong waves of underlying yearning.

By contrast, Monroe plays things straight as a young woman who is very obviously concealing something about her past. And perhaps she has hidden it from herself as well. Her scenes with Underwood have a superb relaxed camaraderie that is pushed in various comical directions when she meets his family. And the excellent Witt is also unrecognisable as Lee's unhinged mother, who repeatedly reminds Lee to say her prayers. Ruth's story arc carries the film's strongest kick.

Essentially, there's not much to the plot, but for many viewers the gonzo freak-out atmospherics will be more than enough to keep them thoroughly entertained. Osgood skilfully includes well-worn tropes from religious mania to abandoned barns to creepy dolls. But whether this becomes a classic is another question, because it's grotesque and unnerving without actually being scary. This means that it elicits more laughter than shrieks, simply because it's all so fabulously over the top.

themes, language, violence 4.Jul.24

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