I have never experienced a film that right from the first frame made me uncomfortable or anxious. But low and behold, the 101 minute rollercoaster ride known as Longlegs did exactly that and set ablaze an internal tension that revved so high, that there were points where I was sweating during the film. So let that be a verbal testament to how amazingly well crafted this visceral piece of horror filmmaking is, because folks, Longlegs is one of the best films of 2024 and I cannot wait to tell you about it.

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Set in the 1990’s, the film follows new FBI recruit Lee Harker, played by horror vet Maika Monroe, who is seemingly new to the Bureau and still very much in training. She is quiet, kind of awkward, seemingly introverted yet possesses a keen eye for forensic investigation or so she thinks. Without giving too much away, Harker’s knacks and hunches seem a little …..too accurate for somebody to not ask questions - so Harker (Monroe) finds herself quickly pulled into an investigation about a series of unsolved murders involving the serial killer aptly known as Longlegs. Spanning nearly four decades, the case remains a smudge on the Bureau’s record and Harker’s boss, Agent Carter (played by Blair Underwood), is hell bent on solving it with Harker’s help after a recent addition to Longleg’s murderous legacy.

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And so begins the labyrinth of storytelling red herrings that weave a ferocious and sinister timeline of a serial killer with an insatiable appetite.

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Writer/director Osgood Perkins' script feels like a total homage to films that have come before it - with most critics giving it a direct comparison to Johnathan Demme’s Oscar winning Silence of the Lambs (1991) or David Fincher’s ZODIAC - both of which I see and agree with. But where I saw the greatest comparison to is my favourite TV series of all-time, Season 1 of True Detective and here’s why.

 

Instead of seeing the gore and murderous rage of our killer as it unfolds, we are instead injected in a years old case - with only evidence and flashbacks to help us piece together the crimes that have been committed. The skeletons in the closet are shown to us, leaving our protagonist(s) to backtrack the killer’s moves and motives. We see them weave the intricacies and piece the clues together, as the clock ticks, with them wondering when the next victim will pop up.​

 

It’s psychological serial killing at its finest and what makes Longlegs stand out from other films in its horror sub-genre.

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Perkins’ and his cinematographer, Andrés Arochi, are evil in their choices to use the combination of long lens shots and close up first person low angle shots to amp up your anxiety while watching. Calling back to the opening first frame sequence I started my review with - its this combination of things mentioned that work PERFECTLY together to start the film off in an ominous tone that leads to a genuinely good and gut punch of a scare.

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Their choices to flip flop aspect ratios for different parts of the film was a very unique way of distinguishing timeline events for Longleg’s killings and I loved it. It made it easier to understand what we were watching without feeling spoon fed. To top it off, the combination of their use of natural lighting and color grading and you get not only a genuinely terrifying film to watch on the big screen, but a gorgeous one as well.