Longlegs (2024) - Atmospheric Psychological Thriller That Isn't Exactly Worth the Exaggerated Hype - 7/10 (11/09/24)

Longlegs is an American psychological thriller that tells the story of a mysterious serial killer of the same name. The film takes place in the nineties and revolves around young female FBI agent Lee Harker with a dark past and strong social awkwardness who is however excellent at analysis and intuition. She tries to solve several murder-suicide cases involving seemingly stable local families and soon realizes that these cases might be related to her very own childhood.

This movie convinces on numerous levels. First and foremost, the plot is clever and comes around with a few interesting twists and turns that should get viewers hooked until the very end.

Up next, the film convinces with an oppressing atmosphere from start to finish. This is enhanced with gloomy light effects, bare landscapes and a moody soundtrack.

The acting performances are great. Maika Monroe is a strong lead actress who becomes one with her complex role. Nicolas Cage uses his remarkable charisma to efficiently portray the antagonist.

This film shouldn't be classified as a horror movie. There are no noteworthy jump scares and the movie's intensity relies on tense atmosphere alone. Despite the topic dealing with a violent serial killer, this film isn't particularly graphic and could thus even be watched by mature teenagers from my perspective. The fact that this film takes place in the nineties will however rather appeal to an audience that has grown up in that decade and thus to viewers in their thirties, forties and fifties.

At the end of the day, Longlegs is a good psychological thriller with excellent actresses and actors, intense atmosphere and a creative plot. The massive hype around the movie is however greatly exaggerated as I wouldn't call Longlegs material for movie of the year. Genre enthusiasts should certainly give it a try while others can focus on a different genre and movie without any regrets.