Gore and shock in brutally effective serial killer movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Guns and shootings, sometimes at close range and sometimes fatal. Spurts, spatters, and pools of blood; blood-soaked clothes. A character bashes own head on table repeatedly, leading to lots of blood, a smashed-in nose, and eventually death. Decomposing bodies covered in maggots. A man chops people up with an axe; blood sprays. A woman is hog-tied. A woman is knocked unconscious with gas. Character chops off a cow's head. A person runs a knife over their own belly. Jump scares, threats, a figure lurking in the woods. Graphic descriptions of murder-suicides, a husband stabbing a wife 61 times, and more. Dialogue about someone jumping off a roof and dying of suicide. Dialogue about a woman bleeding profusely during birth. Gory crime scene photos. Violent screaming. Flashes of writhing snakes.
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Lee Harker excels at her job, solving puzzles and finding clues. But she also frequently seems sad or unsatisfied. She also has a complicated relationship with her mother, keeping things from her and lying to her.
Diverse Representations
a little
Lee Harker (White actor Maika Monroe) is a strong, smart, independent female FBI agent (not a common occurrence in the 1990s) who takes the lead in a serial killer case and finds new clues. She's ostensibly partly psychic, which she uses in one scene; otherwise, she relies on her smarts. Her immediate supervisor, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood) is Black and is a talented agent and capable leader. Another agent is played by Michelle Choi-Lee, an actor of Asian descent. Several other performers of color are seen in smaller or background roles. A minor character, the director of a psychiatric hospital, displays mannerisms that could be seen as reinforcing stereotypes about gay people.
Murders occur for no reason other than "Satan made me do it." Efforts are made to solve the puzzle before more lives are lost, but this effort only partially succeeds.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Longlegs is a crafty, unsettling horror movie directed by Osgood "Oz" Perkins about an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) who finds new clues in a decades-old case involving a serial killer (Nicolas Cage). Violence is intense and includes guns and shootings (sometimes at close range, and sometimes fatal); characters being killed in shocking and gruesome ways; blood spatters, spurts, and pools; decomposing bodies covered in maggots; characters slashed with an axe; and a woman being hog-tied. Characters are also frequently in peril, knives are used, and there are jump scares and graphic descriptions in dialogue. One character bashes their head on a table, smashing their nose and spattering blood, until they're dead. Language is infrequent but includes uses of "f--k," "t-ts," "goddamn," "bitch," "Jesus Christ," and more. There's cigarette smoking, and a character has one whiskey too many in a bar. Faded Playboy centerfolds are seen on a wall, but details are vague. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
LONGLEGS is a psychological serial killer horror movie. Many scenes include: fighting, shooting, a gory suicide, and more. There is barely any romance and there is no drug use. This movie is okay for ages 15 & up.
What's the Story?
In LONGLEGS, it's the 1990s, and FBI Special Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is transferred to the case of the serial killer known as "Longlegs" (Nicolas Cage) after she demonstrates psychic abilities. According to Lee's supervisor, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood), Longlegs—who's responsible for murdering families with daughters whose birthdays are on the 14th of the month—has been at large for decades. Longlegs somehow influences the fathers in these families to do the actual killings, leaving no trace of his own involvement other than coded letters that no one has been able to crack. Lee gets a mysterious envelope from the killer in which he promises to murder her own mother (Alicia Witt) if she tells anyone she's been contacted. But as Lee continues to find new clues, the case grows stranger and stranger.
A cat-and-mouse thriller in the grand tradition of great serial killer movies, this one uses familiar elements but ramps them up to nightmarish levels with its stark angles and chilling rhythms. Written and directed by Osgood "Oz" Perkins—the son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins—Longlegs goes a long way toward proving his status as a top horror filmmaker. It begins with what looks like old 8mm home movie footage, with just a suggestion of what's to come. (Cage appears only from the mouth downward, and his sudden shriek is truly disquieting.) Then the frame stretches out to wide, making nerve-rattling use of its choice of composition, sound, and cutting. It's so expertly crafted that standard jump scares play more like genuine shocks.
The puzzle is crafty and clever, keeping viewers riveted, although—unlike its spiritual inspirations The Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and Zodiac—Longlegs also flirts with the supernatural, which sometimes works and sometimes feels like a shortcut. The performances are solid, especially a heavily made-up Cage as an even more over-the-top character than we could have possibly imagined. Monroe also delivers, although her character, by design, comes across as a bit chilly, which gives the movie a distancing quality. But the end result is still brutally effective, effortlessly worming its way into the part of your brain where the dark things live.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Longlegs' violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Why are people often fascinated with stories about serial killers? Does the movie glorify Longlegs, or are viewers repelled by him?
How does Lee Harker compare to Clarice Starling (from The Silence of the Lambs)? How do others see her? How is the fact that she's a woman a benefit? A challenge?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
Do women and characters of color have agency? Did you notice any stereotypes being used?
MPAA explanation:
bloody violence, disturbing images and some language
Last updated:
September 1, 2024
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By Jeffrey M. Anderson
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