Like a daddy longlegs spider: odd, slow and not very scary. Longlegs is Silence of the Lambs with too much silence and not enough lambs. This horror / thriller tried to be Seven but only got to a 5. Watching Longlegs felt more like someone telling me the story of a serial killer rather than watching a movie about one. The actors failed to live up to their roles and looked more like caricatures than threats, and the climax felt rushed and premature. The film definitely has a cool aesthetic, but style with nothing inside it is just an empty suit that should be kept in the closet.

His legs weren't even that long. 5/10

Longlegs wins for imagery and atmosphere. The creative shots, the sound design, and the theme all work together to make the film horrific and effective. Where it falls short is in the connection with the villain and insight into his character. Knowing there's a monster in the closet is scary, but feeling their motivations can turn your blood ice cold. This film has none of the latter.

It's best to ignore the hype when watching this movie because outside of raising your expectations, it might also just make you think this movie is going to be very different than it actually is. It's a slow-burn serial killer procedural in the vein of Silence of the Lambs that worms its way into you. I watched Os Perkins' earlier works in The Blackcoat's Daughter and Gretel & Hansel. I noted his excellent skills with the technical aspects of filmmaking, and they are as sharp as ever in Longlegs. This movie is extremely stylish, with excellent camerawork, cinematography, imagery, and sound editing. Maika Monroe's acting is phenomenal -- she inhabits the sharp-witted detective while still making her fear palpable through the screen. Nic Cage is...okay? I think a lot has been hyped up about his performance, but I think he acts exactly the way I was expecting him to act. The problem with Os Perkins' earlier movies was limp scripts, and I was wondering what he could do with something stronger. This movie is mostly that. The movie starts out incredibly strong, and the sense of dread, mystery, and atmosphere is well-developed. However, as the movie progresses, I did feel like it started to struggle to bring everything together in a satisfying way. Namely, it introduces an element late into the movie that I just did not think landed. Also, at times, the dialogue is a bit soft spoken and obtuse, leading me to be confused if I was supposed to understand what was happening yet or not. Even though the ending didn't work for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed this movie and think it is as strong as some of the other arthouse horror movies people visualize from the past 10 years (many of which share similar issues regarding obtuse elements). It might not be a 10/10, but it's still incredible. The imagery in this movie is really fantastic, but don't go in expecting a ton of jump scares or anything in your face. It's a much more atmospheric movie. Honestly, the biggest drawback to this movie isn't anything related to what is in it. The viral marketing and hype machine around it are going to set unrealistic expectations and lead to disappointment from people expecting another Conjuring-esque movie. However, I would still highly recommend it.

In short: Great. I feel like I'm going against the grain of the community. But I really enjoyed this. It was eerie. The cinematography, writing, performances, and aural atmosphere were all top notch. I love that the film doesn't go fully into the supernatural. It is ever-present but doesn't subsume the film and stays grounded. My hottest take is that Cage mostly detracts from the film. It's him. It's unavoidable. And in the first and second acts he comes off too crazy and it crosses over into humor. Which isn't all bad, and subjectively some may enjoy it. But I think a less recognizable actor would have sold the central villainous figure better. Definitely rewatchable. I would highly recommend to horror fans and especially those that miss the days of the horror tinted episodes of the X-Files.