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Post by stephen on Jul 12, 2024 0:46:58 GMT
Vibrant, vivid and visceral, Osgood Perkins's latest film is as visually enthralling as anything he's made before, evoking The Silence of the Lambs by way of Nicolas Roeg. And while I wouldn't call it particularly terrifying, I do feel it to be one of the most portentous, anxiety-laden movies in recent memory.
Much in the way that characters in Lynch or Cronenberg movies feel like they are operating on an entirely different plane of existence from "normal" people, we see that play out in similar fashion here. Maika Monroe plays our Clarice Starling surrogate, Agent Lee Harker, who is co-opted into the decades-spanning serial killer investigation known as the Birthday Murders, which were perpetrated by a cryptic killer known only as "Longlegs." Harker exists perpetually in a limbo state, chalked up to an apparent latent psychic ability by her superior (a very fine Blair Underwood). Harker also seems to have a warped past of her own, which may or may not find itself tangled in Longlegs's deadly web.
There are some very strong supporting performances in this film, especially from one-scene wonder Kiernan Shipka as a traumatized survivor of Longlegs's reign of terror, and Alicia Witt as Lee's overly religious mother. But of course, the headline act in the film is Nicolas Cage as the movie's titular slayer. And while we are all attuned to Cage's outre tendencies, this one hits surprising and unsettling heights. Knowing that he based much of his performance on his own mother makes it all the more bizarre; it feels very much a counterpart to Robert Blake's similarly pale Mystery Man of Lost Highway.
I'll want to chew on this film for a while but my audience seemed absolutely thrilled and delighted by it.
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Jul 12, 2024 9:53:20 GMT
This impacted me a lot and it might be, the best horror movie in the last five years.
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Drish
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Longlegs.
Jul 12, 2024 11:29:39 GMT
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Post by Drish on Jul 12, 2024 11:29:39 GMT
This impacted me a lot and it might be, the best horror movie in the last five years. How gory is it? |
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Post by stephen on Jul 12, 2024 11:35:39 GMT
This impacted me a lot and it might be, the best horror movie in the last five years. How gory is it? Not extremely so. Most of the violence takes place off-camera. There's only one sequence that I would say is truly gory, and you see it coming. EDIT: Oh, there is a second sequence that is pretty graphic but very brief. |
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Jul 12, 2024 15:19:19 GMT
Not extremely so. Most of the violence takes place off-camera. There's only one sequence that I would say is truly gory, and you see it coming. EDIT: Oh, there is a second sequence that is pretty graphic but very brief. Couldn't have said it, better myself. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 12, 2024 20:25:06 GMT
* Remember when I said T.Rex made TWO albums better than Bowie's best album (Ziggy).......and everybody had an aneurysm? Well that was true - and not a diss ether......and you know who else thinks so?..........Oz Perkns  * A far better film than The Blackcoat's Daughter - which was a great endng attached to a meh move.........but it s also lesser than that endng because the endng here is too protracted * There is a scene in this movie that is fncking brilliant - Monroe is talking to her Mom on the phone........in back of her appears to be a door.....the foreground has a shaft of light........her mother asks "Do you still pray?" .......because prayer "keeps the devil away" (hmmmmmmmm)........a great visual choice * Oz Perkins is so obsessed wth Satan that it's almost funny * The best parts of this are magnifcent AND somewhat Christian actually ......... Martin Stett may like it.......or not.......who can tell?  * The film also mercilessly MOCKS Christianity and some of it is quite funny..........in retrospect........um  |
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Post by stephen on Jul 12, 2024 20:46:47 GMT
* Remember when I said T.Rex made TWO albums better than Bowie's best album (Ziggy).......and everybody had an aneurysm? Well that was true - and not a diss ether......and you know who else thinks so?..........Oz Perkns * A far better film than The Blackcoat's Daughter - which was a great endng attached to a meh move.........but it s also lesser than that endng because the endng here is too protracted * There is a scene in this movie that is fncking brilliant - Monroe is talking to her Mom on the phone........in back of her appears to be a door.....the foreground has a shaft of light........her mother asks "Do you still pray?" .......because prayer "keeps the devil away" (hmmmmmmmm)........a great visual choice * Oz Perkins is so obsessed wth Satan that it's almost funny * The best parts of this are magnifcent AND somewhat Christian actually ......... Martin Stett may like it.......or not.......who can tell? * The film also mercilessly MOCKS Christianity and some of it is quite funny..........in retrospect........um If I had a complaint with the movie, it is the Satanic angle. I would've loved this even more (and it would've perfectly tied into the way that Christianity was perceived in the '90s, with the moral majority sinking its fangs into politics, pop culture being policed, and of course your cults) if the movie had just been about Christian extremism. I know they're two sides of the same coin, two extremes who eventually meet in the middle, but I feel like this film lacks the indulgent evil vibes a good Satanic flick needs, instead relying on a warped and misguided "purity" conceit that works much better with fundamentalist Christianity. |
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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on Jul 13, 2024 14:49:14 GMT
* Remember when I said T.Rex made TWO albums better than Bowie's best album (Ziggy).......and everybody had an aneurysm? Well that was true - and not a diss ether......and you know who else thinks so?..........Oz Perkns * A far better film than The Blackcoat's Daughter - which was a great endng attached to a meh move.........but it s also lesser than that endng because the endng here is too protracted * There is a scene in this movie that is fncking brilliant - Monroe is talking to her Mom on the phone........in back of her appears to be a door.....the foreground has a shaft of light........her mother asks "Do you still pray?" .......because prayer "keeps the devil away" (hmmmmmmmm)........a great visual choice * Oz Perkins is so obsessed wth Satan that it's almost funny * The best parts of this are magnifcent AND somewhat Christian actually ......... Martin Stett may like it.......or not.......who can tell? * The film also mercilessly MOCKS Christianity and some of it is quite funny..........in retrospect........um If I had a complaint with the movie, it is the Satanic angle. I would've loved this even more (and it would've perfectly tied into the way that Christianity was perceived in the '90s, with the moral majority sinking its fangs into politics, pop culture being policed, and of course your cults) if the movie had just been about Christian extremism. I know they're two sides of the same coin, two extremes who eventually meet in the middle, but I feel like this film lacks the indulgent evil vibes a good Satanic flick needs, instead relying on a warped and misguided "purity" conceit that works much better with fundamentalist Christianity. I agree and the twist in the third act downgraded the movie for me. I still quite liked it and loved the atmosphere and performances, but I think it could have stuck the landing much better. |
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Post by stephen on Jul 13, 2024 14:55:24 GMT
If I had a complaint with the movie, it is the Satanic angle. I would've loved this even more (and it would've perfectly tied into the way that Christianity was perceived in the '90s, with the moral majority sinking its fangs into politics, pop culture being policed, and of course your cults) if the movie had just been about Christian extremism. I know they're two sides of the same coin, two extremes who eventually meet in the middle, but I feel like this film lacks the indulgent evil vibes a good Satanic flick needs, instead relying on a warped and misguided "purity" conceit that works much better with fundamentalist Christianity. I agree and the twist in the third act downgraded the movie for me. I still quite liked it and loved the atmosphere and performances, but I think it could have stuck the landing much better. I quite enjoyed the third act for what it was. Of course, it does open up the question of why Blair Underwood failed to clock that his own daughter's birthday fell on the date in question (which is also apparently Maika's birthday), but I just chalk that up to Satanic influence throughout the movie. Which, yes, can be maybe a lazy handwave but in this case I feel like it's what Perkins was going for. |
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Post by TylerDeneuve on Jul 13, 2024 15:08:38 GMT
I'm really intrigued by this movie, but I'll admit that I'm cautious to see it at the cinema only because I worry it would just be too stressful for me, lol. I think I'll have to wait until I can see it at home... Where I can control the volume. Does the film rely heavily on "jump" scares or is the terror derived from its atmosphere? |
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Jul 13, 2024 16:39:44 GMT
TylerDeneuve I was very stressed, but because of the calmness of my surrounding audience, I hesitated to react strongly to the movie and because of that I lost the film's full throttle near the ending. Which is why I am looking at new showings, to experience it again on the best format possible. 
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Pasquale
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Post by Pasquale on Jul 13, 2024 16:53:53 GMT
If I had a complaint with the movie, it is the Satanic angle. I would've loved this even more (and it would've perfectly tied into the way that Christianity was perceived in the '90s, with the moral majority sinking its fangs into politics, pop culture being policed, and of course your cults) if the movie had just been about Christian extremism. I know they're two sides of the same coin, two extremes who eventually meet in the middle, but I feel like this film lacks the indulgent evil vibes a good Satanic flick needs, instead relying on a warped and misguided "purity" conceit that works much better with fundamentalist Christianity. I agree and the twist in the third act downgraded the movie for me. I still quite liked it and loved the atmosphere and performances, but I think it could have stuck the landing much better. A reaction I read, said and I am paraphrasing "The end shows that evil/Satan is not to be taken seriously." My reaction is that the director made the ultimate troll movie, where seriousness and fun blend in a disturbing way. |
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Post by Pavan on Jul 13, 2024 18:16:49 GMT
Some beautiful wide shots, a few unsettling moments and brief Nic Cage going bonkers performance. That's it. The film didn't do much for me beyond that. Lot of it is just flat and uninteresting.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 14, 2024 13:47:22 GMT
Thinking back on Shipka's scene - the contrast between what she says and how she says it - is extremely well payed by her and Monroe's reaction.......it could have seemed like a tonal botch but instead is even more sinister....... That's another thing the movie is about imo - the evil in the ordinary - there's a lot of that in the film.......or in this case in ordinary conversations Fascinating scene that one.......where Monroe does that "swallowing" thing I mentioned I liked so much in the Great Performances Thread  |
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Post by finniussnrub on Jul 16, 2024 0:25:12 GMT
If Cage was trying to be hilarious, mission accomplished, if that was supposed to be scary though....woof.
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Longlegs.
Jul 16, 2024 11:33:56 GMT
via mobile
Post by infernalpleb on Jul 16, 2024 11:33:56 GMT
It's a really good film in spite of a pretty bad screenplay. The second you start thinking about things like, why does Longlegs go to the Harker home in the first place when it has no father figure, or what the hell happens to the Lee is psychic plotline after its used to get her onto the Longlegs case - it brings that aspect of the film down.
However with incredible performances, an insane amount of heavy lifting by the cinematography, and the overall creepy factor that looms large, the experience managed to pretty easily make up for its shortcomings narratively.
Aside from Maika's all timer in subtlety, Cage's mastery in toeing the line of absurdity and dread-making. I was really impressed with how fucking creepy a performance Shipka managed to put in with her limited screentime. Haven't been impressed with something on that level since Mia Kirschner in The Black Dhalia.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 29, 2024 20:19:24 GMT
"As anticipated on Friday, Nicolas Cage starring Longlegs, pushing a $6.7 million weekend on 2,730 screens — for a cume of $58.6 million in week 3 — has surpassed Parasite’s $53.37 million to become the indie distributor’s highest grossing film ever."
Hail Satan
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Aug 1, 2024 6:18:49 GMT
7/10
Pretty good... don’t really get the hype though. Basic screenplay somewhat elevated by the direction, especially the sound design. The 5-minute exposition dump at the end felt very Psycho-esque.
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Post by JangoB on Aug 31, 2024 13:39:58 GMT
Very well-made all the way through and with an excellent first half. The further it developed, the less interesting it became... but having slept on it, I'm kind of fine with where it ended up. The filmmaking does its best to elevate a somewhat messy script.
The Cage of it all is a double-edged sword for me: as a huge fan of his, I was certainly happy to see him go crazy and add another splashy performance to his oeuvre... but as much as I enjoyed his portrayal, I'm not sure if it benefits the movie itself. Well, it kinda simultaneously does and doesn't: the former because it spices things up and brings some color to a fairly dreary emotional palette (and because it's Nic fuckin' Cage), the latter because it works against the film's desire to be properly scary. I was surprised and a bit bewildered that Perkins had the man go into full Cage Rage mode a few times. To me that's a source of laughter and joy, not creepiness! But maybe Perkins wanted a bit of that cheeky feeling too (the very last shot certainly suggests it).
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Post by stephen on Aug 31, 2024 13:47:44 GMT
Very well-made all the way through and with an excellent first half. The further it developed, the less interesting it became... but having slept on it, I'm kind of fine with where it ended up. The filmmaking does its best to elevate a somewhat messy script. The Cage of it all is a double-edged sword for me: as a huge fan of his, I was certainly happy to see him go crazy and add another splashy performance to his oeuvre... but as much as I enjoyed his portrayal, I'm not sure if it benefits the movie itself. Well, it kinda simultaneously does and doesn't: the former because it spices things up and brings some color to a fairly dreary emotional palette (and because it's Nic fuckin' Cage), the latter because it works against the film's desire to be properly scary. I was surprised and a bit bewildered that Perkins had the man go into full Cage Rage mode a few times. To me that's a source of laughter and joy, not creepiness! But maybe Perkins wanted a bit of that cheeky feeling too (the very last shot certainly suggests it). I think the Cage-ness of it all is entirely by design. We expect Cage to be this terrifying boogeyman, but in reality, he's an impish little trickster in service of the Devil. He's not meant to be the source of terror in this film, but the harbinger of this hugely cosmic joke. |
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Post by JangoB on Aug 31, 2024 14:06:51 GMT
Very well-made all the way through and with an excellent first half. The further it developed, the less interesting it became... but having slept on it, I'm kind of fine with where it ended up. The filmmaking does its best to elevate a somewhat messy script. The Cage of it all is a double-edged sword for me: as a huge fan of his, I was certainly happy to see him go crazy and add another splashy performance to his oeuvre... but as much as I enjoyed his portrayal, I'm not sure if it benefits the movie itself. Well, it kinda simultaneously does and doesn't: the former because it spices things up and brings some color to a fairly dreary emotional palette (and because it's Nic fuckin' Cage), the latter because it works against the film's desire to be properly scary. I was surprised and a bit bewildered that Perkins had the man go into full Cage Rage mode a few times. To me that's a source of laughter and joy, not creepiness! But maybe Perkins wanted a bit of that cheeky feeling too (the very last shot certainly suggests it). I think the Cage-ness of it all is entirely by design. We expect Cage to be this terrifying boogeyman, but in reality, he's an impish little trickster in service of the Devil. He's not meant to be the source of terror in this film, but the harbinger of this hugely cosmic joke. I don't know if I entirely agree with that. I think he's mainly meant to be creepy (in a 'What the fuck...' kind of way) in his bizareness but I couldn't help but laugh. The movie's all serious and dread-filled and suddenly there's Cage going "MOMMY! DADDY!" in the car and I'm instantly plucked out of the world of eeriness and thrown into Cage Paradise. Which is great for me... but maybe not the best thing for this movie Longlegs. But maybe it is? I really don't know |
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Post by finniussnrub on Aug 31, 2024 14:16:27 GMT
Very well-made all the way through and with an excellent first half. The further it developed, the less interesting it became... but having slept on it, I'm kind of fine with where it ended up. The filmmaking does its best to elevate a somewhat messy script. The Cage of it all is a double-edged sword for me: as a huge fan of his, I was certainly happy to see him go crazy and add another splashy performance to his oeuvre... but as much as I enjoyed his portrayal, I'm not sure if it benefits the movie itself. Well, it kinda simultaneously does and doesn't: the former because it spices things up and brings some color to a fairly dreary emotional palette (and because it's Nic fuckin' Cage), the latter because it works against the film's desire to be properly scary. I was surprised and a bit bewildered that Perkins had the man go into full Cage Rage mode a few times. To me that's a source of laughter and joy, not creepiness! But maybe Perkins wanted a bit of that cheeky feeling too (the very last shot certainly suggests it). I think the Cage-ness of it all is entirely by design. We expect Cage to be this terrifying boogeyman, but in reality, he's an impish little trickster in service of the Devil. He's not meant to be the source of terror in this film, but the harbinger of this hugely cosmic joke. Well when they literally marketed the film as "LOOK HOW HIGH MAIKA MONROE'S HEARTRATE GOT WITH NIC CAGE", it does make it harder to believe the filmmaker's intentions were that he wasn't supposed to be scary. |
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Post by stephen on Aug 31, 2024 14:18:48 GMT
I think the Cage-ness of it all is entirely by design. We expect Cage to be this terrifying boogeyman, but in reality, he's an impish little trickster in service of the Devil. He's not meant to be the source of terror in this film, but the harbinger of this hugely cosmic joke. Well when they literally marketed the film as "LOOK HOW HIGH MAIKA MONROE'S HEARTRATE GOT WITH NIC CAGE", it does make it harder to believe the filmmaker's intentions were that he wasn't supposed to be scary. I mean, Perkins himself said he had no input in the marketing. Neon took it and ran with it. And look, when you end a movie with a "Hail Satan!" kissy-face, you have to expect that they were going for dark humour. |
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Post by finniussnrub on Aug 31, 2024 14:23:01 GMT
Well when they literally marketed the film as "LOOK HOW HIGH MAIKA MONROE'S HEARTRATE GOT WITH NIC CAGE", it does make it harder to believe the filmmaker's intentions were that he wasn't supposed to be scary. I mean, Perkins himself said he had no input in the marketing. Neon took it and ran with it. And look, when you end a movie with a "Hail Satan!" kissy-face, you have to expect that they were going for dark humour.Well for me that's bungled tone given how aggressively self-serious the film is every other second, and again for me he wasn't just not scary he was a full blown joke. Blake in Lost Highway, I think is the "correct" version of the performance where there is a darkly comic quality to it, but he's always genuinely terrifying at the same time. Though Lynch is a better director than Perkins, and wouldn't just have one extremely comic element in an otherwise extremely serious film. |
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