As the leaves are starting to change on campus, the Notre Dame community is starting to prepare for spooky season. Halloween is approaching, and that means painted pumpkins, scary costumes and most importantly, horror movies! Fellow students and I alike are thrilled to see what new films will be released in cinemas this October, but hopefully none will be like the horror film of the summer, “Longlegs.”
I was very excited coming into this movie — the trailer was eerie, the soundtrack gave me goosebumps, and the movie seemed like it would actually be frightening, which is important to me as I am not easily scared by horror movies. My friend and I really felt that this film would do the trick. I must admit, I had initial skepticism walking into the theater, because my other friends who saw the movie prior warned me about the linear plot and lack of suspense. I soon learned that I couldn’t agree more!
We meet the main character Lee, who gives the audience, as a character, not much. The actress (Maika Monroe) portrayed the character well, but was clearly limited. Lee was completely unappealing as a protagonist and most of the time had a dreary, monotone demeanor. As a viewer, I felt no sympathy or care toward her discovering Longlegs’ identity because I wasn’t able to empathize or sympathize with her. My only reason for caring about Longlegs’ identity was my curiosity as someone who spent the time to see this movie, and I expected more suspense from the film. After law enforcement captured Longlegs, the film stopped having suspense early on. Although the plot twist in the end was shocking, I felt that as a viewer I waited too long for that twist and therefore was disappointed by it — especially since we never discover who Longlegs really is. To heed your curiosity for those who haven’t seen the film, the plot twist is simply that Lee’s mother worked with Longlegs to protect her daughter, and so Longlegs always knew who Lee was. Lee’s mother was eerie and creepy — very “horror-esque,” yet she was almost too creepy, and her character became more off-putting than scary as the film progressed. As a viewer, I wished there were a deeper connection of Lee herself to Longlegs and a fulfilling revelation of his identity. By not knowing this, the audience is left on a loose end that will never be tied up.
Aside from the unresolved question and lack of suspense, I must applaud “Longlegs” for its downright blood-curdling imagery. For instance, in the scene where Longlegs kills himself, he smashes his skull open and you can see his face deforming more and more as he keeps slamming his head on the table. This gore made me queasy, which I enjoyed as I usually expect more gore from horror movies than I should and am usually disappointed. For such a bizarre scene, the imagery was oddly realistic. Though I have been quite critical thus far, I must commend the film for the scenery, props, setting, costumes, and soundtrack. While this story isn't engaging, its presentation is excellent and terrifying.
