SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains significant spoilers for the movie Longlegs. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!
When we look back at the cinema of 2024, Nicolas Cage’s transformation into the titular horror show in Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs will be reflected upon as one of the year’s most memorable performances. As he has been known to do throughout his career, Cage takes some wild swings portraying the satanic serial killer Dale Kobble, and it’s deeply effective at generating chills. So how did this standout turn come about? Per the writer/director, the most important thing he did was just to stay out of Cage’s way.
Today being Halloween has inspired reflection on one of the best horror movies of the year and my conversation with Osgood Perkins and Longlegs star Maika Monroe this past summer during the film’s virtual press day. During the interview, I asked about Perkins’ relationship with the actors digging into his work on the page, and in the case of Nicolas Cage’s performance, he likened his approach to directing the actor to trying to direct the actions of a dangerous, wild animal. Said the filmmaker,
It's presenting him with a text that I think describes a lot of what I think this thing is. At that point, I don't bear down. I don't then take him by the shoulders and say, 'Sir, you must understand that I need you to do it like this.' It'd be like getting into a tiger cage and being like, 'Tiger, I really need you to understand. I want you to behave like this.' It just isn't... It's counterintuitive, right? So at a certain point, I just become an observer and a curator. It's a word I use a lot.
Osgood Perkins left Nicolas Cage with the responsibility of finding out who Dale Kobble was based on his screenplay, and the results are obviously intense. His physical transformation is one thing, but his high-pitched voice – seemingly an attempt at being cuddly – and extreme emotional swings make him special levels of arresting (and let’s not forget his insane ambitions as a musician either). You don’t want to take your eyes off him on screen because he is liable to do anything.
Expanding beyond his approach to working with actors, Osgood Perkins explained that he treats filmmaking as a true collaborative endeavor that sees a lot of talented people all contributing and working toward the same goal. He understands that being a director means having the final say when it comes to important decisions, but he says that he emphasizes everyone on his set having initiative, agency and impact. He continued,
We're just all making something, and someone at the end of the day has to say yes and no. And that's what it comes down to; I get the final yes and no. I get to choose. It's that door or it's that door. But so much of what's happening is being generated by other people. Do you know what I mean? There's hundreds of people on a movie set, and they're all doing their best. And so you just let it happen. You go loose.
It’s hard to argue with the results. I gave Longlegs a five-star review for CinemaBlend, but the film earned widespread acclaim from critics and it ended up being one of the most significant box office hits of the summer. If you haven’t seen it or are itching to see it again, it is certainly appropriate Halloween viewing, and you can now easily watch it from the comfort of your own home. The movie isn’t on any subscription streaming services, but it is available on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray, and you can purchase or rent it digitally from outlets including Prime Video, Google Play, Fandango at Home and Apple TV.
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