NEON
Despite being a modestly budgeted horror film, Longlegs is one of the most anticipated movies of the summer among cinephiles given its astounding marketing campaign and rave reviews (97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing).
The latest stroke of marketing genius from the Longlegs team, released just days before the film hits theaters on Friday, July 12, with a video posted to social media that lead actress Maika Monroe saw her heart rate increase by nearly 100 bpm — jumping from 76 bpm to 170 — when she saw Nicolas Cage in his Longlegs makeup for the first time.
Directed by Oz Perkins — who is also an actor who featured as David Kidney in Legally Blonde and most recently had a small role in Jordan Peele’s Nope — Longlegs also stars Alicia Witt, Blair Underwood, Kiernan Shipka, and Dakota Daulby alongside Cage and Monroe.
The review embargo for Longlegs was lifted on Monday, July 8, and critics have hailed the project as “one of the most unsettling films in years” that “hijacks your subconscious.” The character of Longlegs has also been added to Cage’s “Hall of Fame gallery of psychos,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“In the moment, it’s considerably less scary than the ecstatic early buzz would have you believe,” Variety says in their review of the movie. “Less than 12 hours after seeing it, however, the demented Nicolas Cage character resurfaced in my nightmares, popping up out of nowhere to screech, ‘Hail Satan!’ in that unnerving, high-pitched voice of his. How many horror movies can claim to hijack your subconscious?”
Here is the official synopsis and trailer for Longlegs, via NEON:
“FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.”
Check out the official trailer for Longlegs, which hits theaters on July 12, below.