I forget who said this (@macrogers.bsky.social?) but whoever said that Longlegs is a terrible script saved by outstanding acting and direction was correct. A testament to the pure power of image and Nicolas Cage doing his thing
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Yeah, Perkins is genuinely very skilled at suggesting unspeakable menace just outside of every frame, and establishing a hollowed-out world where no one in any one house cares what's happening to the people in any other. But the script felt like a dashed-off first draft.
me at the pitch: ok, so satan has silver balls.
exec: uh huh. so what do those end up having to do with anything?
me: nothing! they don't really come up again! ok, so now about the chronology. you'll love this, it's so muddled
That may be part of the problem: Perkins' previous films were clearly meant to be mood pieces that didn't necessarily have to hang together plot-wise. And I did find some of them evocative, but it may not have helped him build the tools for a story that needs to somewhat follow procedural rules.
Acting is good but I don’t think direction was anything to write home about, plenty films that execute a good ambiance for a film with no point. Maybe it would have been more enjoyable as a campy fun romp, rather than Blackcoat's Daughter 2.
there were a lot of choices I liked. notably, I loved the way we cut away from Cage's face a half second after we saw it up until the end of the movie. creates this disquieting feeling of seeing but not quite seeing. I think the direction and cinematography did a lot of the work
I'm not knowledgeable enough to know anything about how good the script was but I enjoyed the movie well enough, it had basically everything i wanted in a mostly vibes based horror movie but the ending was a bit of a let down
the script is bad to me because it manages to be both deeply predictable but also kind of incoherent. Nothing hangs together, but every "twist" is telegraphed from almost the start. just not structured well
Perkins is at his best directing other people's work - Gretel and Hansel is the only one of his films I didn't end up hating. When he's writing and directing he gets self-indulgent, all atmosphere and no point. See I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House for proof positive.
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exec: uh huh. so what do those end up having to do with anything?
me: nothing! they don't really come up again! ok, so now about the chronology. you'll love this, it's so muddled
me: [long pause] sure!
around on this movie.