Longlegs (2024)--My Take On The Movie With Spoilers

 Plot: FBI agent Lee Harker is given a case to find serial killer Longlegs. She soon learns that she has a personal connection with him.

Quick Movie Review

Since January 2024, NEON has been actively marketing an unknown movie.

The clips were 911 emergency calls and photos of a happy family with a young daughter.

It wasn't until February, that a new teaser revealed the title of the movie: LONGLEGS.

Ever since the teasers were released, there has been much hype around the movie with fans commending the fantastic marketing strategy NEON employed to entice the horror community.

Months later, and none of the teasers or trailers showed Nicolas Cage in them.

Nicolas Cage plays the titular character in the movie but all we caught were a few glimpses of him in the teasers and subsequent trailer.

Quick Review

Is Longlegs worth the hype?

Yes.

Longlegs is unlike any horror movie out there. It isn't stuffed with jump scares and spooky scenes. There's nothing popping out from anywhere in the dark. There's just a general sense of uneasiness you will feel throughout the movie but you won't understand why.

Director Osgood Perkins is known to create slow burners. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and The Blackcoat's Daughter are evidence of that. Perkins likes to tell his stories in parts and usually induces the creepiest moments when you least expect it.

While the aforementioned movies may be a little slow to get to the eventual creepy climax, LONGLEGS is different.

There's a continuous sense of dread that is backed with an ominous background score and grim visuals. But the onus of carrying the movie to its gradual, tense, climax, rests on Maika Monroe who plays Lee Harker.

While Nicolas Cage plays his small role with aplomb and infused with enough creepiness to make you flinch, it is Monroe who manages to steal your peace until the very end.

The director manages to pull off a feat, getting us to trust Lee Harker from the moment she enters the screen. From then on, we are captivated and completely involved with everything she experiences. If Lee Harker suspects something malevolent is at play, then we believe it too. If she thinks there is more to the Longlegs story, then you better believe she is right.

After all, her intuitions are right from the very first scene, isn't it?

It takes a while for us, the audience, to finally reach to the conclusion that there is more Lee Harker than even she knows about herself.

LONGLEGS Movie Plot Summary

One winter morning, a girl is sitting in her bedroom when she decides to take a walk out in the snow. She spots a car and heads toward it only to be approached by a man. All we see is his chin and lips. He's dressed in mostly white. He calls her an "Almost Birthday Girl" and tells her how he chose to wear his long legs today.

The voice is shrill and will make you feel uneasy. In the next second he bends to his knees and we catch a few seconds of Longlegs before the opening credits roll.

The opening scene is in 4:3 ratio which gives it a nice touch of the 1970s era.

Part One

We see Lee Harker in a meeting room. She gives an uneasy glance to Agent Fisk who is going to her her partner. They are assigned to a case and head down a neighborhood where they wonder which house to search first. Lee suggests a house nearby but Agent Fisk doesn't believe they need backup just yet.

To make her feel better, he heads to the house but is immediately shot in the head. Lee enters the house, armed and carefully navigates towards the bedroom where the killer is sitting on the bed. He surrenders.

Lee is later seen being questioned and subjected to a psych test. She is shown images and told to say the first word that comes to her mind. She replies with mother, father, piano, etc, all the things we eventually see later.

Since we never get to see who Lee's father was, we have to assume that she is talking about something else.

She also correctly guesses numbers and is later told by her boss Agent Carter that she is quite intuitive and therefore deserving of an ongoing, important case.

The case in question is a family being murdered by the father who then kills himself. Lee takes the files and diligently studies them. Agent Carter asks her to take a break and head to a pub but she tells him that she doesn't drink. Agent Carter replies that he will be drinking while she tells him about the case.

Lee tells him about the murders and that no outside DNA was found. There was no forceful entry either. And all of the families received coded letters signed by Longlegs.

Carter is impressed with her work so far and tells her to drive him home since he isn't fit to drive. He then invites her to come meet the family, something that Lee clearly doesn't want to do.

She is greeted warmly by Carter's wife Anna and their daughter Ruby. Ruby takes to Lee and brings her to her room. She asks Lee if it is scary being an FBI agent. She tells her that yes, it can be scary. When Anna comes to check up on them, Ruby asks her if Lee can come to her birthday party. Anna is weirded out by her daughter's request but tells her to ask herself.

Ruby doesn't ask. She only turns towards Lee. Lee agrees to come.

Later, Lee is in her cabin in the middle of nowhere when she calls her mother. Her voice seems strained, implying she may have an estranged relationship with her mother. Her mother Ruth asks her if she says her prayers to which Lee says she does but it is obvious that she is lying.

Later, Lee sees a figure outside and gets on her guard. She heads outside with her gun but doesn't see anything strange. When she turns around though, she spots a figure in the cabin.

Lee goes inside but doesn't find anyone. However, there's an envelope addressed to her with instructions to open after January 14th.

Part Two

Lee doesn't care about instructions and puts on her gloves before opening the envelope. She removes a birthday card for a child that's turning nine years old. Inside is symbols and a signature by Longlegs. The ink smudges indicating that the killer has just written it recently.

Lee gets a hunch and opens the Holy Bible. She guesses the numbers and letters may refer to the book of revelation. She manages to decipher the message and sees that there is graphic violence depicted in it.

The next day, Lee doesn't tell Carter about the envelope she received. She is taken to a house where decomposing bodies were found and are supposedly Longlegs' victims. Agent Carter let's Lee see the bodies and Lee is obviously disgusted by the maggot-ridden bodies.

She gets to work on the case again, this time finding dates corresponding to the girls' birthdays as well as the murders. She manages to come to the conclusion that the killer has been forming an inverted triangle that is a symbol for satanism.

She brings her research to Carter who doesn't understand it until she points out that the murders of the families take place within six days before the birthdays of the girls. She thinks they need to look into the Camera family where the daughter Carrie Anne survived, although is in the mental institution.

They also decide to look into the place where the murders took place which was at the barn in the farm.

While this is going on, we meet Longlegs who is driving about and stops by a store to get supplies. The teenage clerk isn't too happy to see him and is less than impressed to see his antics. Longlegs covers his eyes and says Cuckoo (the title of another NEON backed movie). The girl calls for her father to check on the gross guy.

Longlegs gets into the car and mutters something about Mother and Father unmaking a child. Cage manages to deliver his lines without looking like a caricature of Marilyn Manson.

Lee and Carter arrive at the barn. The lightning and overcast skies add to the foreboding situation. The two agents may just be walking towards a barn but a small pause as they enter the barn, yet the scene stays on the forest behind them is laced with chills.

The two investigate the barn and happen to come across some loose floorboards with a cross laid on top of it. They uncover a doll underneath that is almost human-sized.

They bring her to a lab and the examiner tells them that the doll seemed to have human hair and that when he opened the head, he found a large ball inside. He also tells them that when he brings a mic close to it, strange sounds can be heard. He states that he heard the name of his ex-wife.

When he plays it for the agents, Lee sees a visual of rattlesnakes that greatly disturb her. She shudders.

Lee and Carter next visit Carrie Ann. They are told that Carrie Ann has been in a catatonic state until recently and that she has already had a visitor called Lee Harker.

Lee asks whether the visitor's ID was checked but is laughed at and then told that in the future that would be a good idea.

Lee visits Carrie Ann but she seems to be distracted and talks in a monotone. She recounts how a doll became a subject of fascination for the family. But then one day, while a priest was visiting them, her father suddenly picked up an axe and bludgeoned every one.

Lee asks Carrie Ann about her previous visitor and she tells her that she can never forget that face and that she would do anything for that person.

Later, Carter pulls aside a report where Lee was accosted by a stranger. Since Longlegs appears to know Lee Harker which is why he has been using her name, he questions her about her childhood.

We now learn that the girl from the first scene was Lee. She claims not to remember what happened but Carter tells her that her mother might and that she needs to go visit her.

Lee is reluctant but she heads to see her mother anyway. Once inside, we understand that Ruth is clearly a hoarder. There is just too much stuff in the house laying about, including Lee's toys and even her baby teeth.

Lee meets with Ruth who keeps staring at a distance and appears to have a foggy mind. Ruth asks Lee if she has been lying about saying her prayers. Lee admits that she has been lying which makes Ruth laugh. Lee joins her until she can no longer understand why it is so funny.

Ruth the cryptically tells her that Lee should consider herself fortunate because she was allowed to grow up and that the world is cruel and not everyone gets to. Lee doesn't understand why her mother would be talking in riddles.

She goes to her room and we see that Ruth has kept her bedroom intact. There's even a small piano in her room, indicating that Lee's answers during the psych test came from repressed memories.

She finds a box in which there are Polaroids. As she goes through them, she finds one that jolts her.

She heads back to Carter immediately. Carter is out jogging but when he sees the urgency in Lee, he grows alert.

She shows him a photo of Longlegs and tells him that this is the guy they are searching for. Carter asks if she really wants to start a manhunt based on this and she tells him she is sure this is the man.

We then see Longlegs abandon his room which is always bathed in red light. He is now on the road, carrying two bags when the police have him surrounded.

Longlegs is brought in for questioning and he behaves in a nonchalant yet hyped-up manner. He doesn't care he has been caught.

Lee and the other agents watch his interrogation on a TV. Longlegs mentions Lee Harker and that it is almost her birthday. He begins singing the happy birthday song for her. Lee asks how much longer the video is and the agent tells her that Longlegs goes on for more than twenty minutes.

Lee is certain that Longlegs has an accomplice because the family would not open the door and welcome him inside considering that he looks like he stuck a doll mask on his face but it made him look creepy instead.

Carter doesn't think so but Lee requests him to question Longlegs.

Lee is nervous before meeting him but eventually enters the interrogation room. Longlegs greets her happily in his shrilly voice. Lee tries to not let him get to her.

He remarks how he found it funny that she decided to be an FBI agent and how "they" had laughed but also that he was the only one who was laughing. He even tells her how he chose her house because it was white and in his mind, immaculate for the work he had to do.

Lee wants to know who was aiding him but Longlegs is talking about the man downstairs and that she needs to ask her mother about what is going on.

Then he says Hail Satan and begins to smash his head against the table.

Lee is shocked and gets up. She pushes herself against the wall as blood splatters on her.

Longlegs dies.

LONGLEGS Movie Ending Explained

Outside, Carter admonishes Lee for provoking Longlegs. He doesn't believe he had an accomplice. He informs her that Carrie Ann jumped off the roof too and so she couldn't be involved either.

Lee tries to put her points across but he storms off since their only suspect killed himself.

Agent Browning takes pity on Lee and offers to drive her home. As Lee goes to see her mother, she finds the house empty. Outside, Ruth is roaming about with a shotgun that she uses to kill Agent Browning.

Lee reacts the way in the poster, then goes outside the confront her mother. She sees Ruth next to a doll that resembles a young Lee Harker. Lee tells her to stop but Ruth pulls the trigger and the doll's head is smashed, along with the ball inside her.

Dark smoke emanates from Lee's head as well as the doll's.

It is now understood that Lee has been in a trance all this while because of the ball in the doll. Lee collapses.

Part Three

The flashback is once again told in a 4:3 ratio with Ruth narrating a story.

We see the scene from the beginning with Longlegs approaching a young Lee. She is reluctantly taking his photo when Ruth arrives and demands to know who he is.

In the next scene, Longlegs has tied up Ruth while Lee watches from her bedroom but doesn't react as much. Ruth narrates how she begged Longlegs to spare her and her daughter's life. Longlegs then recruited her to be his partner.

While he crafted the dolls and used satanic magic on them with the ball, Ruth disguised herself as a nun and went to the families' house claiming that they had won a special prize at the church raffle.

The families welcomed her warmly and Ruth had to stay back and witness the murders taking place before her. Ruth is clearly shaken after the murders but she continues to aide Longlegs and provide him with shelter too. Turns out he has been living in Ruth's basement.

Because she was helping Longlegs, Lee was spared and allowed to live. But Ruth wasn't too happy that Lee was no longer religious and that may be because of the doll that had her likeness and the ball inside her.

But Lee was probably psychic because of that too even though she was no longer inclined towards religion.

Lee finally wakes up but can't find Ruth anywhere. The clock seems to be stuck on 6:30. Or rather, the clock shows two sixes.

The phone rings and a creepy voice tells Lee where Ruth could be.

Lee realizes it is Carter's daughter's birthday. She takes her mother's car and drives to his house. Along the way, we finally see Lee scream out her frustrations. The influence ball was probably responsible for her lack of emotions.

She goes to Carter who welcomes her inside. In fact, Anna practically takes her hand and pulls her in.

Lee finds Ruth already inside and Ruby sitting next to the doll. Lee tells the family that the woman is not a nun but her mother. Carter has already been corrupted and stops Lee. Anna seems to be in a state where she complies with everything Carter tells her even though she is trying to resist.

When Ruth asks them to get the cake, Carter takes Anna with her, saying that while they both will go, only he will return.

Lee sees Ruby mesmerized by the doll. In the background, we hear slashing sounds and Lee is too frozen with shock to actually help. Or perhaps she understands that Carter is too far gone.

Ruth tells Lee that she intends to continue this work as it may save her from punishment. Lee tries to tell her that Longlegs is dead and she can stop but Ruth doesn't want to.

Carter returns, intent on killing Ruby but Lee shoots him. Ruth is enraged that Lee put an end to the killing and decides to get to Ruby herself. Lee tries to reason with her mother but eventually shoots her in the head.

Ruby doesn't care about anything that is going on and is immune to the violence, much like Lee was when she was a kid and saw her mother all tied up.

Lee drags Ruby away and tries to shoot the doll but she has run out of bullets. She could have found an alternate way to destroy the doll but decides to leave instead.

This could imply that Lee is still under the influence or that the task to kill for Satan, has now fallen on her.

She did allow Carter to kill his wife, did she not?

In the end, we see Longlegs in the interrogation room, hailing Satan.

The movie ends.

My Take On The Movie

Clearly, Longlegs' work is going to be continued.

The movie doesn't explain why Longlegs was ready to get caught so easily or why he killed himself. Perhaps he realized it was time for someone to take on his tasks. Maybe Ruth shooting Lee's doll had something to do with removing the influence and getting Lee to continue Longlegs' work.

Longlegs is one creepy movie that you will be unable to shake off long after you've finished watching the movie.

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