Primary Country (Mandatory)

United States

Other Country (Optional)

Set News Language for United States

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language[s] (Optional)
No other language available

Set News Language for World

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language(s) (Optional)

Set News Source for United States

Primary Source (Mandatory)
CNN
Other Source[s] (Optional)

Set News Source for World

Primary Source (Mandatory)
AajTak
Other Source(s) (Optional)
  • Countries
    • India
    • United States
    • Qatar
    • Germany
    • China
    • Canada
    • World
  • Categories
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Special
    • All Categories
  • Available Languages for United States
    • English
  • All Languages
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • German
    • Chinese
    • French
  • Sources
    • India
      • AajTak
      • NDTV India
      • The Hindu
      • India Today
      • Zee News
      • NDTV
      • BBC
      • The Wire
      • News18
      • News 24
      • The Quint
      • ABP News
      • Zee News
      • News 24
    • United States
      • CNN
      • Fox News
      • Al Jazeera
      • CBSN
      • NY Post
      • Voice of America
      • The New York Times
      • HuffPost
      • ABC News
      • Newsy
    • Qatar
      • Al Jazeera
      • Al Arab
      • The Peninsula
      • Gulf Times
      • Al Sharq
      • Qatar Tribune
      • Al Raya
      • Lusail
    • Germany
      • DW
      • ZDF
      • ProSieben
      • RTL
      • n-tv
      • Die Welt
      • Süddeutsche Zeitung
      • Frankfurter Rundschau
    • China
      • China Daily
      • BBC
      • The New York Times
      • Voice of America
      • Beijing Daily
      • The Epoch Times
      • Ta Kung Pao
      • Xinmin Evening News
    • Canada
      • CBC
      • Radio-Canada
      • CTV
      • TVA Nouvelles
      • Le Journal de Montréal
      • Global News
      • BNN Bloomberg
      • Métro
KODAK PIXPRO AZ405 Digital Camera (20MP, 40X Zoom) Buy Now
Real Essentials: UV Sun Shirt Buy Now
Workout Running Shorts Buy Now
Vinsguir Ab Roller Buy Now
Carhartt Odessa Cap Buy Now
PELADN Mini PC Intel N5095 Buy Now
Spray Screen Cleaner Kit with Microfiber Cloth Buy Now
Kate Spade Aviators Buy Now
Della Premium Shower Steamers Aromatherapy Buy Now
4K Dual Screen Camera with 18X Zoom Buy Now
Men's Casual Blazer Buy Now
Digital Resin Strap Watch Buy Now
Workout Set: 5-Piece Exercise Outfits Buy Now
Men's Straight-Fit Pant Buy Now
COOFANDY Men's Wrinkle-Free Dress Shirt Buy Now
SHEWIN Womens Fashion Oversized T Shirts Buy Now
BZB Women's Ribbed Tank Tops Buy Now
2024 Ultrasonic Pest & Insect Repeller (6-Pack) Buy Now
Basics Household Tool Kit With Storage Case Buy Now
ONESO Wide Leg Jeans for Women Buy Now
KODAK PIXPRO AZ405 Digital Camera (20MP, 40X Zoom) Buy Now
Real Essentials: UV Sun Shirt Buy Now
Workout Running Shorts Buy Now
Vinsguir Ab Roller Buy Now
Carhartt Odessa Cap Buy Now
PELADN Mini PC Intel N5095 Buy Now
Spray Screen Cleaner Kit with Microfiber Cloth Buy Now
Kate Spade Aviators Buy Now
Della Premium Shower Steamers Aromatherapy Buy Now
4K Dual Screen Camera with 18X Zoom Buy Now
MoreBack to News Headlines
Longlegs isn't bad. It also isn't scary

Longlegs isn't bad. It also isn't scary

CBC
Friday, July 12, 2024 3:44 PM GMT

The Zodiac Killer. BTK. The "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez. And, Tiptoe Through the Tulips singer Tiny Tim. 

On the surface, it may seem like these things don't exactly suit each other — the high-pitched crooning of a long-haired loner mixed with some of the most heinous acts of the past half-century.

But it's that ping-ponging set of circumstances that Longlegs attempts to caulk together: forcing a creeping tale of subtle suspense alongside a typical over-the-top Nicolas Cage appearance. Though this time with Cage seemingly taking vocal — and costuming — inspiration from Tim himself. 

It's an audacious pairing, a fresh and daring reinvention of the horror genre that (if we're to believe the almost inescapably bold marketing) could have led to the scariest movie of the year, decade and even the more nebulous timeframe of "recent memory."

So it is a particular honour to report that, given that high expectation, Longlegs triumphantly steps up to the plate, calls its shot — then remembers we're playing hockey. 

Because despite its impressive performances, beautiful cinematography and carefully crafted atmosphere, Longlegs gets caught up in its own cleverness, then wholly undercut by its big-name star. Any time it manages to build up the necessary feeling of the uncanny by which the genre lives and dies, Cage smash-cuts in to undo it, in what appears to be a zany impression of Jason Alexander in Criminal Minds — hairdo and all. 

Though a good callback to the suspenseful serial-killer mysteries of yore, Longlegs never quite figures out what game it's playing, or which goal it wants to fulfil. It juggles supernatural horror, neo-noir and hard drama, and director Oz Perkins only seems able to succeed at one of those at a time — before dropping them all in a bizarre and disappointingly underwhelming close. 

But most egregious of all: It's just not scary.

That is not to say the horror is an outright failure. In fact, it's far from it.

Set in the de-saturated, hazily nostalgic office buildings and townhouses of the 1990s, Longlegs is at its heart a psychological thriller, mixed up with a police procedural: a mishmash of occult-obsessed The Omen with the crime formula of Primal Fear. Focusing on any one of those pursuits in a vacuum, Longlegs does fairly well, and with all their entrenched genre markers on full display. 

We follow FBI recruit Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), an eager but naive newbie with obvious parallels to Silence of the Lambs' Clarice, Sicario or — with an execution so similar it's hard to believe it's a different actor — Shailene Woodley in To Catch a Killer. 

The tropes don't end there. Knocking on doors of rural Oregon, Harker is soon on the trail of the eponymous Longlegs (Cage): a serial killer amalgam of all the most horrible losers of the 20th century. He invades families' homes like Dennis Rader's BTK, leaves coded, taunting messages for the police like the Zodiac and, of course, professes an avowed love for Satan like Ramirez. 

Heaped on top of that true-crime smorgasbord is the supernatural. Brought onboard due to her mystical ability to identify a killer's home based on bad vibes alone, Harker quickly proves to have some connection to the other side. Her unclear and mostly useless power just helps her occasionally guess things like the number you were thinking of, and mostly exists to tie up the third act. 

But that's all undergirded by the surprisingly powerful family drama at Longlegs's core. Interspersing Harker's investigation are frequent phone calls home to her mother Ruth (Alicia Witt), whose frequent references to their shared past do a lot to ratchet up the tension. 

Read full story on CBC
Share this story on:-
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running GamePlay Run 3, the ultimate space tunnel running game with 300+ challenging levels!Adv.
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing GameTraffic Jam 3D is a game where you’ll be driving through heavy traffic.Adv.
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic GamePlay the classic 1984 light gun shooter game Duck Hunt on your browser.Adv.
More Related News
Parking Slot | Free Parking GamePlay Parking Slot, the best online 3D car driving and parking game.Adv.
Slope Ball Run - Play OnlineSlope Game takes you on an exciting journey of a ball on special paths.Adv.
Oasis kick off long-awaited reunion tour in Wales

Oasis ended a 16-year hiatus on Friday with a punchy, powerful trip through one of Britpop's greatest songbooks, kicking off a reunion tour in Cardiff, Wales, to a crowd ecstatic for the band's 1990s hits.

Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill actor Michael Madsen dead at 67

Michael Madsen, whose menacing characters in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill made him a standout in Quentin Tarantino's films, has died. He was 67.

What the Diddy verdict could mean for the rap mogul — and the entertainment industry at large

After a landmark case spanning weeks of witness testimony and arguments, rap mogul and entrepreneur Sean (Diddy) Combs got his verdict.

Jury reaches verdict on all but one charge in Sean (Diddy) Combs trial

WARNING: This story contains allegations of ​​​sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced​ it or know someone impacted by it.

© 2008 - 2025 Webjosh  |  News Archive  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us