Osgood Perkins’ film Longlegs understands that real fear isn’t about what’s on screen, but about what might be lurking just out of sight. It’s like the house at the end of the street, the phone ringing when no one should be calling, or a photo that looks normal until you stare at it too long. It’s that feeling that something is already in the room with you. This is horror built on atmosphere, suggestion, and a slow sense of dread. I loved every minute of it.

Maika Monroe plays Lee Harker, an FBI agent whose unique instincts draw her into a decades-old string of murders. While the cases seem unconnected, each one shares a strange signature. Behind it all is Longlegs, a figure whose reach goes far beyond the crimes. The official summary keeps things vague, and that’s probably for the best. Longlegs is most rewarding if you go in knowing as little as possible.

Perkins, who also wrote the screenplay, has created something that feels classic. The tradition isn’t about the setting, but about letting the audience’s imagination do some of the work. There are surprises, but Longlegs doesn’t rely on constant shocks. Instead, it builds a creepy world and invites you to sit inside it. The result is deeply unsettling.

Monroe is fantastic as Harker, bringing a calmness that’s almost unsettling. Instead of demanding attention, she quietly pulls you in, as if she’s listening to something no one else can hear. This gives the investigation a dreamlike quality. Blair Underwood brings warmth to Agent Carter, and Alicia Witt nails the uneasy vibe as Lee’s mother.

There’s also Nicolas Cage. It’s hard to talk about Cage’s performance without spoiling some of the film’s twisted fun, but it’s safe to say this is Nicolas Cage at his most Nicolas Cage, and it fits perfectly. Longlegs is grotesque, theatrical, absurd, and scary, sometimes all at once. It could have turned campy, but Perkins knows exactly when to linger on a shot and when to move on.

What really sets Longlegs apart is the filmmaking. The shots are precise but never showy, the colours are cold, and the soundtrack whispers instead of shouting. Perkins creates spaces that feel off, turning hallways into tunnels and bedrooms into traps. Even daylight doesn’t feel safe.

There’s also a strange sense that time has stopped. Even though it’s about a police investigation, the film doesn’t feel like a typical procedural. The FBI offices, country houses, and lonely roads all seem to exist outside normal reality. In the end, it’s a detective story slowly turning into a nightmare.

At times, the mythology can get a bit tangled, and some viewers might find the answers less satisfying than the mystery. But that didn’t matter to me; the film is so confidently made and the atmosphere so gripping that I was happy to follow wherever Perkins wanted to take me.

Longlegs isn’t just scary; it is uncomfortable and gets under your skin rather than just making you jump. You end up waiting for something to happen even when nothing in particular is frightening, and that might be the film’s greatest achievement.

It’s stylish without being shallow, disturbing without relying on gore, and strange enough to stick with you long after the credits roll.

Similar films

• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
• Zodiac (2007)

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