Longlegs (2024)

Plot of Longlegs: Agent Lee Harker joins a task force which is investigating a series of bizarre killing, where the father of a family has killed his wife and child then himself. No-one else seems to have been involved although there is always a message in code left, signed Longlegs. When she and another FBI agent are searching for clues she identifies the house where a participant is hiding. The other agent rings the bell and is shot dead when the door opens. Later when paired with Agent Carter he says that the case has been dead for years, and now that she in involved everything has come alive. Harker visits her mother and finds a polaroid showing the man who they think is Longlegs, and we have seen a strange man approach her when she was a girl. Harker starts deciphering the various Longlegs messages and is able to determine that the killings were part of a pattern relating to the birthday of the daughters which is on 14th of the month. However there is one date missing to complete the pattern. Using the photo, Longlegs is captured by the police and, during interrogation by Harker, kills himself by beating his head on the table. And it is not yet over.

Content: There is no sex or nudity or drinking smoking or drug taking. The atmosphere is doom-laden and we see Longlegs in the first scene as he drives up to the Harker residence in the snow, in an old American car. Harker’s mother seems to make him go away by threatening him with a shotgun. As an FBI agent Harker spends a lot of time decoding the messages. He and Carter go to interview a young woman who was the only survivor of any of the attacks. She had been comatose for years but suddenly has awoken, and later commits suicide. We see some of the killings, particularly one where the father has killed everybody with an axe. These seem to be in Harker’s recall. The killings appear to be demonic and it is gradually revealed how this is achieved and what part Harker plays in it all. (I’m trying to avoid spoilers). Parents should pay attention to the ratings

A View: This film easily achieved success, my personal criterion being that they should cover their production costs on their first weekend. This film did it on its first day with a box office of more than $10 million. There is a constant feeling of doom as the investigation takes place, although some aspects of the plot are a bit difficult to accept. But we are talking about the Devil here so any required logic can be dispensed with. For instance I don’t think we ever find out why these killings are taking place, and Longlegs in particular has no back story. But a view if you like that sort of thing.

Fun Fact: Because of Longlegs’s androgynous characteristics a CNN piece accused the film of transphobia.