As a movie whose surreal, isolating sense of dread that is persistently palpable throughout its slender runtime, Longlegs demonstrates the significance of tension as the catalyst for fear.  Oz Perkins accomplishes this with confidence and a dark panache that permeates its viewer long after the credits have rolled.

In this film, we see Maika Monroe’s lead Agent Lee Harker pursue the title killer through a series of enigmatic encryptions.  During her submersion into the satanic themed depths that this case inhabits, it can be observed that phenomena of her past are slowly brought into view, drawing its inevitable connections to the present mystery.  These identified connections are of course a familiar trope. However, Perkins’s delivery of this concept through narrative that doesn’t waste time on extraneous world building succeeds in effectively amplifying the established tension.  As a result, the sense of dread slowly being fostered throughout the film is rewarded with compelling, albeit predictable, plot twists.

Unique cinematography further enhances the aforementioned sense of dread and tension through its implementation of bleak tones, claustrophobic spaces and minimalist settings.  This yields a stifling feeling of suspense as we slowly learn the killer’s craft and explore the locales of his victims, soaking up intriguing evidence along the way.  This film style succeeds in aligning itself with its inhabitants’ characteristics fluctuating between disturbed, eccentric, and cynical, leaving little room for optimism.

Nicholas Cage’s portrayal of the title character provides much of the film’s entertainment value, primarily due to his outlandish, fiendish and unsettling performance.  He excels in establishing a unique villain in a genre saturated with the already established archetypes of his kind such as Hannibal Lecter or the Zodiac Killer.  He conceives a potentially iconic character worthy of inevitable pop culture references.  Once we observe him on full display, the film is elevated to a memorable tale that becomes difficult to shake.

While it can be argued that there are some ambiguous plot points that inhibit the film from reaching the heights of those that inspired it, such as Silence of the Lambs, Longlegs still manages to provide a compelling lens into its grim, desolate and sinister landscape.  The notion of ambiguity in its storytelling, especially at the very end, can either resonate with the viewer who ponders its meaning, or may simply lead to frustration.  Despite this caveat, Longlegs remains a thrilling tale that delights more than it invariably puzzles you.

Longlegs is now showing in cinemas.