Longlegs

Name: Longlegs
Director: Oz Perkins
Released: 2024
Cast: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Nicolas Cage

Transcript

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LeeGood evening and welcome to Horror. I'm Lee.

ChrisI'm Chris.

AdamI'm Adam.

LeeAnd as promised, we are here this evening to discuss 2024's Longlegs.

Leethere will be swearing, there will be spoilers, there will be confusion.

AdamThere will be possible controversy, but we shall see.

LeeSo,

LeeChris, as this is your first viewing of the film today, what do you make of Longlegs?

ChrisYeah, well, you mentioned confusion there, preamble.

ChrisThere's a slight, I mean,

Chrissometimes when we watch these films, I think, am I getting thicker?

ChrisIt's quite possible I am, so that would be an explanation.

Chrisand I'd take that one.

ChrisHowever, like,

Chrisyou know, you follow it all the way through.

Chrisand we got to try not to spoil.

ChrisBut

LeeNow, it's fine.

LeeI think at this point we can say

AdamWe'll spoil away on this one, it's not going to

LeeOh, right.

LeeAnyone who hasn't seen it, stop now, go and watch it.

LeeI am 100% convinced it's going to be a recommend from all of us.

Leeso definitely go and watch it and then return.

Leeto spoil away, Chris, you're good to go.

ChrisOkay.

AdamOh, we're it's a big enough film, we're not going to get Nicholas Cage is gonna send us the link and then moan.

ChrisYou just pre-spoiled my spoiler that I didn't even know Nicholas Cage was in this and I was like

AdamThat's that's kind of fun. Wow, that's a

Leeshot in the fucking dark if you don't see that one coming.

ChrisIt might have even taken me a little while to realize it was him.

AdamYeah.

ChrisBecause

Adamlike Samuel L. Jackson.

Chriswell, yeah.

AdamI I prefer to think of him as a sort of albino version of Tiny Tim.

LeeYes.

LeeTim, through the tulips.

ChrisBut

Chrisbut wait, is he actually albino or

AdamHe's wearing porcelain style makeup. Yeah.

LeeOkay.

AdamLet's face it, Chris, who the fuck knows?

ChrisYeah.

LeeNobody involved in this film, I'm sure.

LeeBut it doesn't suffer for it, if you're honest.

Chris

ChrisSo, other things I've learned, spoilers, check people's IDs when they come into psychiatric hospitals.

Chrissounds like a good idea that.

AdamI'm glad.

AdamI'm glad you've mentioned that because there's so

Adamalthough there's quite a big, there's a there's quite a big cast list, but actually of intergal speaking roles, there's not actually that many key figures in the film.

AdamBut that guy who's like the head of the psychiatric hospital, Oh, he's fucking brilliant.

LeeYeah.

AdamAnd it's like, yeah, that that guy's in there for one scene and he's perfect.

AdamI fucking love that bit.

AdamWhen he's just so sort of vague and a bit so

Adamand sort of camp and

ChrisOh, I wasn't here that day, but let's have a look in the logs.

ChrisOh, look, it was you that came here.

ChrisOkay.

ChrisYeah, so like, so there must be quite a bit more going on with this.

ChrisNo, I,

Chrisso the other thing I had no idea about was that it looks like it's based on possibly a real world or it seems like it's taken from real world serial killers in parts.

AdamIt takes a bit, mostly it takes a bit from Zodiac, and the Zodiac killer is still unsolved, they've still not

Adambut the main thing that came from the Zodiac killer was that he would

Adamsend cryptic puzzles to the to the police and to newspapers.

AdamAnd interestingly enough, they even have the thing in this that he's got like poor grammar and spelling.

AdamBecause that was what happened with Zodiac is actually the reason that some of the I think only one of like one of them only got solved about three years ago or something like that.

Adameven though the case was sort of 70s.

AdamBut because this guy was being really clever and writing all these cryptic messages

Adamand you'd have to find the cipher and you can decipher it.

Adamit's like, yeah, it's a lot easier to decipher if you can spell correctly.

Adamif you're a passer.

ChrisYeah, yeah.

AdamAnd it's similarly, so they even include that in there.

AdamSo I think Zodiac's definitely in there.

AdamThere's an element of like BTK where it's like wiping out a whole family.

Adamand they mention like cult behavior because of like Manson and stuff like that.

Adambecause obviously the the mystery is, well how is he doing this without actually being there?

ChrisDoing it himself. Yeah.

ChrisWhich that is still a mystery to me in a sense.

ChrisBecause there's the obvious answer, but that doesn't quite seem enough.

ChrisBecause why would it have continued?

AdamWell, I I think the thing is is that certainly, and the thing that I I really enjoyed about this film was having loved, I mean, obviously Silence of the Lambs is a real big

ChrisRight. thing on it.

AdamYeah.

ChrisWell, and Seven. I thought it was going to get

Chrisas dark as that, but with

Chrismore children. I was like, this is going to be awful.

ChrisLike, this is going to be so hard to watch and it didn't go there.

ChrisIt was a lot more mainly focused on her journey.

AdamWell, because fortunately, it then it takes the it takes the turn because you because those films as like when we discussed seven as we said, it's like

Adamit's a police procedural dressed up as a horror film.

AdamAnd

ChrisBut yeah, it's pretty full on.

AdamIt's a horror film dressed as a police procedural.

AdamSo it tricks you into that feeling that you're in a sort of Silence of the Lambs Seven sort of.

AdamAnd then the rug pull is and and you've got like Agent Carter spends the whole time saying, oh, it's not voodoo, it's not all this.

ChrisYeah.

AdamEven though, even though he does seem to be quite pleased that she's kind of psychic.

LeeYeah.

AdamDo you know what I mean?

AdamIt's like, you can't you can't have it both ways, Agent Carter, I don't think you can be like that sort of dismissive of, you know,

Adamif you're going to be, well, maybe she's a psychic, that's how she can find people.

AdamBut equally, you can't then just go, no, that's absolutely crap. There's there's got to be a reality to it.

AdamWhereas actually the turnaround on it is that it's this is, you know, this is genuinely a cult.

ChrisYeah.

AdamWe've asked that they're trying to fucking investigate like a straightforward murder.

AdamSo,

AdamWhich in in many ways kind of is

Adamthere's elements of that with Zodiac. I'm not for one moment suggesting that the Zodiac crimes were in any way supernatural or

ChrisBut it does make you feel

AdamBut they they developed that sort of notoriety and

ChrisOkay.

Adamaura around them.

AdamAnd especially because he's not been he was never captured.

ChrisRight.

AdamHe was never found.

AdamSo, and there's sort of like, like there were reports

Adamwhere he would tell like one of the letters that he wrote was saying that he was like

Adamidentifying stuff that was taking place at the crime scene when they were investigating.

AdamSo they were like, well, he was obviously there when that took place.

ChrisYeah.

AdamSo why didn't we find him?

AdamWhy didn't we spot him?

AdamAnd so you get these sort of weird, you know, it then mythologizes.

ChrisYeah, it's hard. Yeah.

AdamYeah, and goes like that.

AdamAnd I think it's kind of like that almost plays into that side of it.

AdamBut this is without a shadow of a doubt.

Adamsupernatural.

ChrisYeah.

AdamVoodoo bullshit to quote the thing.

AdamYou know.

ChrisSo that's why, so he's yeah, so he's convinced her mum to be involved and she is fully involved now.

AdamYeah.

ChrisLike pretty much on board with it as in it needs to play out no matter what.

AdamYeah and it's it's sort of feels a bit like what's it like Stockholm Syndrome thing almost?

ChrisYes, right. Yeah.

AdamAnd and but also as you watch it, you realize that Harker, like Lee might be in because obviously

ChrisWell, that's so yeah, I thought it would be her doing it.

AdamYeah, oh, I see. Yeah.

LeeOkay.

ChrisSo I thought she was going to be way more involved than she realized she was, but yeah, go on.

AdamBut I think because because she sort of certainly initially with the first sort of like time you watch it,

Adamshe comes across that you think, oh, is she like

Adammaybe like on the spectrum in that she's sort of like, you know,

ChrisYeah.

Adamshe doesn't have sort of social skills, interpersonal skills and things like that.

AdamBut she's obviously brilliant at what she does and, you know,

ChrisYeah.

AdamBut then you sort of relate that back to the fact that Longlegs has apparently been living in the basement since she was a kid.

AdamAnd it's like, oh, is this trauma response?

LeeYes.

AdamOr is this mind control?

LeeSee that's what I got. I thought the whole way through I was like, she's clearly got some form of PTSD.

LeeSo something has happened somewhere.

LeeBut yeah, I didn't realize that it was going to turn out that she was as integral in the investigation she's been brought into look at as she ended up being.

AdamAnd because the curious thing is as well, because I it was only watching it this time around that I suddenly sort of thought of it is because obviously the whole what the the mechanics of it that I can see are

AdamLonglegs builds a doll that is the image of a child who's born on the 14th, yeah, the Ruth takes it round or before Ruth, presumably just Longlegs takes it round and here's a present.

AdamThey take it in, it's filled with.

ChrisWasn't she the first one?

AdamNo, I don't think she is because they actually back it dates back to the 60s, I think they say in the

ChrisOkay.

AdamBecause this is because it's set in 95.

ChrisRight.

Adamand otherwise that'd be really weird to have Bill Clinton on your wall, wouldn't it?

LeeYeah.

AdamHe just be like, yeah, no, I just think I just thought he was a good saxophonist, okay?

AdamYou know, what's your problem?

AdamBut

Adamyeah, and so I think the so like Longlegs basically builds the the builds the the doll.

LeeYeah.

AdamThe sphere contains his demonic energy or possibly some form of capturing the soul of the Because the golden orb is like, that's a old ancient

Adamartifacts like for sort of like trapping of souls and things like that in certain mythologies and stuff.

AdamAnd so presumably the doll turns up, the doll essentially replaces the child in the father's eyes.

AdamAnd that's why the fathers are all like, that's not my daughter, like when you hear the 911 call from one of them and it's like, that's not my daughter.

AdamSo they don't recognize the actual real child anymore.

ChrisYeah.

AdamThe mother attempts to defend, the mother gets killed and then the child gets killed.

AdamAnd

AdamI wondered, is the reason that Longlegs sort of interesting enough, Cuckoos his way into the Harker house,

Adamis because there wasn't a father.

ChrisRight.

LeeOh, yes.

AdamThere wasn't anyone to to perpetrate the the plan, you know, to effect in that sense.

AdamSo, I don't know if that's like, you know, that's why Longlegs could would infiltrated their home.

ChrisYeah.

AdamAnd sort of became part of that, he essentially becomes the father.

AdamAnd yeah, very it's yeah, some very

ChrisYeah, well, interspersed with the the the singing and some somewhat different styles.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisAnd you're trying to work out what does any of that mean anything particularly or is it just a sign of his being essentially somewhat insane, I suppose?

LeeSo is it part of an actual ritual or is it just a serial killer's

AdamYeah.

Chrispersonality coming out.

ChrisYeah. the words are actually him saying actual words sometimes about either what's happened or

Chriscause that's what he says to yeah.

LeeSo that's what he says Lee's mum.

LeeYeah.

LeeI'm going to come back as many times I want.

LeeBut we never see the deciphered letters, which is interesting.

LeeSo you never find out what the coded letters actually say apart from the one the one that she decodes which is her birthday card.

ChrisYeah. yeah.

LeeAnd the first line of the other card, but again, we don't see her open it and decipher the rest of what's in it.

AdamWell, there's some really helpfully, there is, well, for a start, there's a website.

Adamwhich is, I want to get the right,

Adamthe right thing for it. Yeah, there's a website called

Adamthe birthday murders.net.

AdamAnd it's an in universe website that they built for the film and it was actually put up before the film came out.

LeeWow.

AdamAnd it is it's fucking beautiful because it's set in 1995.

AdamIt looks like a fucking Geo City's.

ChrisYeah.

AdamLike, you know, it's that it just looks absolutely perfect for when the Internet was text based and so you've got the you've got murder pictures on there.

AdamAnd the best thing about it is it includes murders that they don't include in the film.

LeeOh.

AdamBecause it's like people have got some murders wrong.

LeeRight.

AdamThey've mixed it in because they're just other unsolved murders.

AdamSo they've put those in there, but interestingly enough, the camera family aren't on the website because the camera family doesn't follow the pattern because the girl survived.

LeeYeah.

AdamSo the people who are doing the birthday murders haven't put two and two to like made this website, haven't been able to put two and two together that that's actually what happened.

LeeGenius.

AdamAnd it's so cool but on there, they've got the they've got sort of like they've they give you like some of the translations of some of the cryptic messages and stuff like that.

LeeOkay.

AdamAnd so there's stuff from the Book of Revelation, like on the sands of the sea and things like that, which is in the birthday card and stuff.

AdamThere's also quotes from a poem called Satan Says, which is a poem by Sharon Olds and it's about a girl who's locked in a cedarwood box by the devil.

Adamand made to say like blasphemies about her parents in order to be released.

ChrisBut he doesn't

AdamBut he doesn't release her.

ChrisNo.

AdamAnd that's He's a bit of a devil, that one.

LeeYeah, he is.

AdamHe's a cheeky he's a cheeky fella.

LeeHe's a cheeky.

AdamYeah.

AdamAnd so but there I've been watching

Adamand to to the point of there's a I will I will say that there is a video on YouTube

Adamby someone called Mr. Hunteru, that's MR HUNTERU.

AdamAnd it's called Longlegs, The Birthday Murders ARG, the terrifying marketing explained.

AdamBecause and this.

AdamAnd this is a couple who've put this video up, it's about an hour and 40.

AdamThey did the video before the film came out.

AdamThey did it from the teaser stuff from the birthday murders website.

AdamThe amount of shit they hit right for the film.

LeeOh, really?

AdamBecause obviously, you know,

Adamis it's it's impressive.

AdamAnd like I say, I've never seen

Adamany of this, I've never seen any of these people's other videos, so I don't know, you know, quite

AdamI don't know who they are, but this video looks is pretty fucking amazing.

AdamAnd genuinely worth having a watch.

ChrisYeah.

Adamand to to be honest, it was just the fact that they was because it was only like what as I was watching it,

Adamit was like, I realized that they would this was a pre this was pre the film coming out.

Adambecause it basically ends with their theories of what they think the film will feature.

LeeYeah.

AdamBut actually it's like, holy shit, you're hitting upon stuff.

AdamAnd it's like from trailers where they're going, oh yeah, you see a golden orb in her hand for a second.

Adambut the golden orb could be there and and you know, making sort of connections about doll makers and evil Jepetto and satanic worship.

ChrisYeah.

AdamThey keep mentioning the serpents and obviously that's a thing that keeps appearing as a very like a flash frame thing whenever, you know, there's like nest of vipers essentially, you know.

AdamAnd no, they've done a incredible job of that.

AdamBut the birthday murders like the actual website is just a thing of beauty.

AdamAnd I didn't realize this, but there was like a whole like the first bit of marketing they did for Longlegs,

Adamis they just put up a billboard and it was just like a a real sort of angular close-up of a bit of Nicholas Cage's face.

Adamand a phone number.

AdamAnd you found it and it was just a a 30 second recording of like him.

AdamYeah, nuttering.

Adamyeah.

Adammumbling like a nutter in a room for 30 seconds.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisI wonder what he's made of

Chrisof this film.

ChrisBecause he does make some crazy films, but this

ChrisI suppose he hasn't has he played a role quite like this?

AdamWell, apparently, he said that this is it.

AdamHe's this is the only serial killer he will play.

Adambecause I think he's been asked to do it.

ChrisBecause he's played crazy people go around doing bad stuff, but yeah, this is definitely a little bit.

LeeThis is perfect casting, isn't it? We've said it before with Nicholas Cage, when you get him in the wrong role, it's awful.

Leebut if you put him in the right role, nobody else could have done anywhere near as good a job and this is one of those absolute instances.

LeeIt's fantastic.

LeeHe's just.

LeeIt makes you feel unwell watching him. He's so uncomfortable.

ChrisYeah.

Leeand sinister and just raw.

AdamIncredible.

AdamThe weirdest thing is as well is that usually when you get some because I I feel that to to be honest, I feel this is quite an iconic film.

AdamAn iconic horror film.

AdamI think this is, you know, Oz Perkins is knocking it out the fucking park.

AdamAnd actually, have you seen the Blackcoat's Daughter or February?

AdamI can't remember.

AdamYeah.

Adamvery, they link so much to this because

Adamthere's all the way through this.

AdamAnd it's very difficult to spot.

AdamIt was only like rewatching it.

AdamAnd obviously, Chris, you got it for me on Blu-ray, you beautiful, beautiful man.

AdamAnd so I was able to watch it in.

ChrisAll the details.

AdamWell,

Adambecause a good sort of 10 or 12 times in the film, the devil's in the background. There is a giant beast with fucking horns.

LeeI saw it once.

AdamLooming in the background.

AdamYeah.

AdamBut he's in there quite a few times.

AdamAnd the the weirdest thing is, the way to watch for it is in the sort of usually it's in wider shots and it's usually when it's Harker on her own.

Adamthough he does appear in like Longlegs basement as well and stuff like that.

AdamBut usually, if you're watching a scene, if you notice a bit of the if you notice a bit of the background suddenly get lighter, that's because he's disappeared.

ChrisOh.

AdamSo rather than it appear.

ChrisYeah.

AdamThey show you the scene and then slowly a bit of the shadow falls away and you go, hang on, there was something there.

AdamAnd when you look back at it, and a lot of the time, the only thing you can see is like the sort of McDonald's M of his horns because they're white and the rest of him is just in darkness.

Chris

AdamAnd but it's very but the trouble is is that I'm I'm watching it yesterday like fucking Ghost Watch then.

LeeYeah.

AdamLike he was pipes, I'm just like, was that was that him?

AdamNo, no, that was, oh, no, I think that was me.

AdamLike reflected back in the TV or something.

LeeThat's the thing with this film, that gives me another reason to go back and rewatch it because although I literally finished watching it about an hour ago,

LeeI feel I could definitely sit down and watch this again tomorrow and enjoy every minute of it just as much.

ChrisYeah, they've clearly put a lot of details in it.

LeeIt's so much stuff.

ChrisTry to work out, yeah, what references are in there.

ChrisI mean, I was wondering a bit about why particularly it was a a religious like, as if you've won something from the church.

ChrisI mean, I figured maybe that is just a that's an easy way to convince people particularly in America.

LeeWouldn't question a nun.

AdamWell, she is the trope, isn't it? A nun, a nurse, ironically, a policeman, you know,

Adamthere's sort of like the the type of people that because funnily enough, that's what Zodiac used to do.

Adamis he used to approach cars claiming to be a policeman.

ChrisYeah, right.

AdamAnd stuff like that and then he just shoot and shoot people in cars and things like that.

AdamSo he was just he was statutory policeman that we need to

LeeOh, yeah, exactly.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisProgress is made somewhat.

Adamnot quite sure.

LeeI we've got to say the casting on this is excellent as well.

LeeI mean, so obviously as we said Nicholas Cage is perfect in his role.

LeeAgent Carter is fantastic.

ChrisYeah, it's great.

LeeLee Harker who I remembered from It Follows was as we say played that kind of PTSD hidden very academic, very focused, just not perfect.

LeeI didn't know Alicia Witt played her mother until just now when I opened up the IMDb for this.

AdamReally?

AdamBecause that was the thing is I knew I knew because

AdamI love Alicia Witt, she's fucking amazing.

LeeYeah, I do.

AdamAnd she was in like I follow her on Instagram and she was like,

Adamoh I've had my hair cut from Longlegs and it was the first I heard that she was in Longlegs.

AdamAnd I was like, oh,

Adamprobably not that much of a, you know, maybe she's just in it or whatever like that.

AdamYeah, that turned out to be, it was like, oh, no, this is actually, yeah, a fucking proper role.

AdamI mean, basically

Adamwe I was discussing with Claire, is it a good couples' Halloween costume?

AdamYou know, you can go Longlegs and and Ruth, you know.

LeeSo that's a good call.

Leebut also Kiernan Shipka as well.

AdamYeah.

LeeLike such a fantastic actor.

LeeLike obviously, really liked her in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

LeeI thought she was really good in that.

Leebut yeah, then to sit and and again, the the film she did before this, which was called I've brought it up and then subsequently minimized it again.

LeeI'll totally killer.

LeeWhich was a slasher film, a time travel slasher film where she went back to the '80s.

AdamOh, yes.

LeeAnd it was a comedy one.

LeeIt was excellent and she was so good.

LeeBecause obviously she's a little bit funny in Sabrina, but that was full on comedy.

LeeAnd then to go from that to that's only a very small role in this, but like super dark and serious.

AdamAnd and she was in The Blackcoat's Daughter as well, who's fucking amazing in that.

AdamSo, you know, there's fun with it.

AdamBut I mean, Alicia Witt, I don't know if you recognized, do you know Alicia Witt, Chris? Because

ChrisNo.

AdamShe is her first film role is she is the little girl in June.

ChrisOh.

AdamYou know, David Lynch's June, little little

ChrisYeah.

AdamA a Leia or Aaliyah. I can't remember.

AdamBut, yeah.

AdamAnd

ChrisOh, that's cool.

AdamBut she's also.

ChrisI'm the only one who likes that that film.

AdamNo, you're not the only one who likes that.

AdamIt's

AdamBut the film I've been trying to track down.

AdamShe was in a film called Fun.

AdamWhich was like it was like 19 it's like '94 or '95.

LeeHe's '94, I can see you.

Adam'94, thank you.

AdamAnd it's her and another girl and basically they're sort of like they both bunk off school,

Adamlike sort of meet up and just sort of like spend the day sort of gradually daring each other to do more and more extreme things like shoplifting and everything.

AdamAnd by the end of it, they've killed an old woman.

ChrisYeah.

AdamOkay.

AdamAnd it veers between the foot there's footage of her of the two girls being interrogated by the police.

AdamAll done in black and white and very documentary style.

AdamAnd then them reflecting back on the day is all done in color.

Adamand he's really sort of vibrant and vivid and everything else like that.

AdamAnd it's just an amazing film.

ChrisThat sounds like it would work really well.

AdamYeah.

AdamAnd she's.

AdamAnd she's and she's in my favorite John Waters film, she's in Cecil B Demented.

LeeYeah.

AdamAnd and and she's done her sister in Twin Peaks and actually came back for the return series in 2017.

LeeYeah, I think that's why I didn't recognize her because I remember her from like

LeeFour Rooms and Urban Legend, like and and Cecil B Demented.

LeeSo that '90s early 2000s stuff, and I haven't really seen it a lot of her since.

LeeSo yeah, I haven't seen her in 20 odd years, so it's hardly surprising I didn't recognize her.

AdamWell, I only I only watched it follows this week.

AdamFirst time.

ChrisBecause

Adamwe were doing this.

AdamSo I've got a real appreciation of Maika Monroe now as well.

Adamdidn't I don't know if you're aware that she was she's also a professional kite boarder.

LeeWow.

ChrisOh, right.

AdamApparently that's what she was doing before like she went into acting.

AdamShe had her own she had her own clothing line as well in it, apparently as well.

LeeOh wow, that's old.

AdamBut

Adamand Agent Carter, it's that actor Blair Underwood is fucking great.

AdamI mean, he's brilliant in that.

LeeYeah.

Adamin this, I think he is just because he's the one he's the one bit you he's the one funny bit in it that isn't you're laughing uncomfortably.

LeeYeah.

AdamYou know, he's actually genuinely funny.

AdamAnd apart from that the turn at the end, when it's like when they go to the party.

ChrisYeah.

AdamAnd he's been affected by the doll.

ChrisYeah.

AdamAnd it's that is that whole sequence plays out so horrifilly.

Adamwhere the family have just become so twisted and altered by the the influence of the doll.

AdamBut the most shocking thing was is because I was like, Blair Underwood, he was in LA Law.

AdamThat's how I fucking knew him.

Adambecause LA Law used to my folks watched LA Law for years.

AdamAnd so it was in.

AdamI just said,

Adamthat man is 60.

LeeNo.

AdamYeah.

LeeBloody hell.

AdamBecause I was like, hang on, he was in LA Law, that was like fucking '80s and he wasn't kidding it.

AdamDo you know what I mean?

AdamIt was like, it wasn't like, oh, Alicia Witt's in Twin Peaks, but yeah, when when she was in Twin Peaks, she was like eight or whatever.

AdamYou know, this was like, hang on, so he must.

AdamAnd yeah, no, he's 60.

AdamSo.

LeeFuck you.

AdamOh.

Adam

AdamFuck hell.

AdamBut respect is due.

AdamSo.

AdamBut obviously, this, so is this the second Ozgood Perkins film we've done?

AdamBecause we did Gretel and Hansel, didn't we?

LeeYes, we did.

ChrisYes.

AdamSo I think maybe at some point, if if only just so Chris can see it, we need to do Blackcoat's Daughter.

AdamBecause I genuinely.

AdamIf people haven't seen that who've seen Longlegs, I think the two marry quite well in that.

AdamI think he has his very specific internal mythology for satanic sort of like this this area of satanic or like satanism as it is.

AdamBecause that's something I've really enjoyed with it is that it's not I mean, I I love

Adamsay for example, like hereditary, I loved like looking up all about Paimon and stuff like that and seeing how much they're actually bringing in.

AdamOr or indeed like a dark song where it was the Abram ritual and you know, and the factual sort of basis of all this stuff.

AdamWhat I really like with Longlegs is we're sitting here trying to pick apart fucking mythology that probably only really exists in Oz Perkins' head.

LeeYeah.

AdamAnd that is brilliant.

LeeAnd that's what I love about it.

LeeIt gives you it so the fact that at the end you see it actually happening.

LeeI yeah, I don't need to know anymore than that.

LeeI I think this film, although it still leaves so many questions, it gives me enough to thoroughly enjoy it and be and not go,

LeeI didn't understand any of that, that was pointless. It gives you just enough. It still feels mysterious.

ChrisYeah, no, you can fully appreciate.

LeeIt still feels like you don't know everything and you want to, but it just isn't there and I love that. It's such a

AdamYeah, it's it's almost a bit sort of it's a bit like a sort of it feels like a classic like a bit like an MR James or something like that.

Adamwhere it's like,

Adamwe're not going to reveal everything here.

AdamWe're going to give you, we're going to give you enough.

ChrisWhich they would do in a proper police crime

AdamOh, absolutely.

AdamWell, because

Adamthere would be because essentially you've got to

Adamhound the Baskervilles it.

AdamYou've got to explain, right, this seems like a supernatural crime.

AdamSo.

ChrisReally?

AdamHow did that come about?

AdamYou know?

AdamHow did you make it look supernatural?

AdamWhen it wasn't?

AdamAnd it's like, oh, no, the reason you can't solve it is because it's fucking supernatural.

AdamIt's weird.

AdamIt's madness.

AdamAnd I just, yeah, I just really appreciate that sort of.

AdamAnd I'm really looking forward to

AdamOh, fuck, what's his new one, The Monkey?

LeeOh, yes. Yeah, that trailer for that looked excellent.

AdamWell, and and let me tell you, I can I can imagine why because I thought to myself,

Adamthat's come out really fucking quick.

AdamYou know, following Longlegs that it's like it's a year later.

AdamUsually, nowadays,

Adamsort of, you know, film turnarounds unless it's something, you know, like a a big franchise or something like that.

AdamThat sort of turnaround doesn't usually happen.

AdamHowever, I did find out that this film made 10 million on the opening day.

LeeOh.

AdamAnd that was greater than the budget.

LeeOh.

AdamSo this made its fucking money back on day one.

LeeSo.

LeeJesus.

AdamSurely there was no other way.

AdamThe other thing that obviously pleases me no end with this is just the fact that Longlegs is a T-Rex fan.

AdamAnd you've got a quote from T-Rex at the start of it.

AdamAnd

Adambecause T-Rex just are an amazing fucking band.

AdamThey're probably the apotheosis of pop.

AdamBut also, they've got all the weird shit in there.

AdamThey've talked, you know, it was all stuff about like Beltaine and Tolkien and sort of references and stuff like that.

AdamSo a lot of that, you can see why he would be a fan.

AdamYeah, he also he's also got a poster up of Transformer Lou Reed's album that David Bowie produced.

AdamWhich is just again, it's also got that.

AdamBut the main thing I'm really pleased about is it's like, yeah, that's right.

AdamTake it away from fucking Billy Elliot.

LeeYeah.

AdamI don't want that to be the cinematic legacy of fucking T-Rex.

AdamHave this, this is fucking good.

AdamSo.

AdamThe other thing I would say,

Adamand I this is you know, people need to realize that screaming behind the wheel of your car is not weird. Why do they always put it in films to show that people are having a breakdown?

ChrisOh, that's crazy. That's crazy. Yeah.

AdamIt's fucking weekly.

AdamAs far as I'm concerned, you know,

AdamI don't know if that sets me out as an outlier,

Adambut no, I've plenty of was driving along.

AdamYou know.

AdamSo.

LeeI say I think the main takeaway from this film for me,

Leeis the word that kept coming back when everybody said what did you think of it?

LeeI was like, it's sinister.

LeeThere's something so sinister about it.

Leeand and oddly enough, yeah, the other film that it does remind me of is Sinister, which is the only other film that's creeped me out to this degree.

LeeBut I sort of missed all the all the buildup of this.

Leeand it came out and literally it was just like within a week, I had so many people, even non-horror fans going, oh my God, have you seen your Longlegs yet?

LeeAnd I was like, no, don't tell me anything.

LeeI'd need to get my hands on it, so don't you know, what or not?

Leeyes, so went in knowing literally nothing.

LeeLike yourself, Chris, I didn't even know Nicholas Cage was in it until it started. and yeah, just utterly blown away by it.

LeeBecause you know,

Leeit's like.

LeeAs soon as the general populace starts raving about a horror movie, you're like, chances are this is going to be wank.

ChrisYeah.

LeeIf if it's easily accessible, it probably means it's doll down and it's a little bit stupid and

AdamOh,

Leeit's just.

AdamIf I'm honest.

AdamThat was that was the level that I got with it was just basically a lot of I saw I heard that there was a film called Longlegs, that I heard there was Nicholas Cage.

AdamThat was about it.

Adamand then

Adamand then as you say, I was immediately of the, oh, well, this is going to be a bit shit, I reckon.

Adamthen because lo

Adamlo of people had bigged it up.

AdamAnd then it was just a couple of people who were like basically saying the same thing going, no, no, although loads of people like it is actually good.

LeeYeah.

AdamYou know, which

Adamsounds mental but it is,

Adamyou know, we we all know the feeling.

AdamYou know,

Adamit's like the same when it's like, you know, it's.

AdamLet's face it, it's it's somehow you I almost find it's the same with Oscar films.

LeeYeah.

AdamYou know, it's like a film won an Oscar and I'm like, oh, well, I won't worry then.

LeeYeah.

AdamAnd

Adamthen they're like, no, no, no, genuinely, you know, it wasn't just, you know,

Adamit it wasn't just a sort of a political moment or the fact that sort of like

Adamso many people put money into this, it had to it had to win the fucking Oscar.

AdamSo.

LeeYes, so so one of the things that really took me, was actually with

Leethe performance by Maika Monroe.

LeeI loved the fact that despite the fact she's a trained FBI agent, every time she takes her gun out,

Leeshe suddenly gets really breathless and like anxious and she just portrayed that so well. I was like, it is, it doesn't matter how much training you've had, when you're in that life or death situation,

Leeas much as you would try and breathe as quietly as possible, you just can't.

LeeAnd I'd be like,

Leewe'd all be the same in that situation and I just thought it's one of those.

LeeYou never see it in cop shows.

LeeWhatever, they always pull the gun out and they always seem really, you know, confident.

ChrisYeah, yeah.

LeeAnd she seemed like it just felt so genuine, it was especially because she kind of.

AdamThat initial one, when Fisk just gets his head blown off.

Adambecause even though

Adamshe has clearly worked out psychically as it turns out the right address.

AdamThat still comes as such a jump.

LeeYeah.

AdamThat she's like sort of, you know, it's like right now the training's kicking back in but it's like right now calm, right, get that and yeah.

AdamAnd especially because she was the one who said should we phone for backup?

AdamBut

LeeYes.

AdamYeah and if you'd phone for backup, you still have the bad your head, mate.

LeeBefore she went in the door, I was like phone it in.

Leephone it in or you pull your gun.

LeePull your gun, phone it in, go into the house.

LeeAnd the same with the letter when she found the card, I was like, right, pick up your gun, back into a corner, call for backup.

LeeStay there until somebody turns up.

LeeYou know, the serial killer has just been in your house.

LeeDon't be like, I'll keep this.

ChrisI assumed that was what you'd said that it's a bit of her.

ChrisThis clearly something's gone a little bit of right with her.

Chrislife experience.

LeeSee, one one thing I thought that was really good as well, because apparently

Leethe decision was made that they weren't going to market it off of Nicholas Cage as long legs.

LeeSo he wasn't really appearing in trailers and stuff like that.

LeeYou know, he would just be they'd be real brief flashes and stuff like that.

LeeBut obviously there's the bit where

Leeshe when she meets him as a child and it's framed so oddly.

LeeBecause it's just his body and just

Leeand there was a part of me that was like, but surely even

Leebecause I know it was like, oh, well, she's at that height, so she's looking at him like that.

LeeAnd there was a part of me that was like,

Leewell, surely you'd just look up.

LeeBut actually the character never looks anyone in the eye. She doesn't have that skill or ability or anything else like that.

LeeSo she doesn't so it's actually so thematically right.

LeeShe's just staring at his midriff.

LeeYeah.

LeeBecause she wouldn't notice she wouldn't do that.

LeeOr or what she him in that sort of sense.

LeeAnd and again, that's just some sort of like sublimely fucking done. Yeah.

LeePerfection.

LeeAnd again, it creates that that like I remember when when we watched it the first time

Leemyself and Lady Jennifer.

LeeYeah, and you get that.

LeeShot and then literally just him bending down.

LeeDespite the fact it is just a man's face, we both go, it's not what you expect at all.

LeeYou think, oh, we're not going to see the face.

LeeBecause

Leeit's going to be a mystery about who it is, but when it drops in and you see it for the first time, you go, fucking hell.

LeeYeah.

LeeOh.

LeeBut yeah, so

Leeexcellent film.

LeeI can't recommend this enough.

LeeLike Adam said, I think this is definitely a solid I I was watching this thinking, oh, this would be this would go perfect as a double bill with Silence of the Lambs.

LeeBut I've got to be honest, I think if I was ever in the mood for this type of film, I don't know if I'd ever pick up Silence of the Lambs again.

LeeI think this would be my go-to.

AdamWell, that's fair enough.

AdamBecause because I think that's the thing is the disappointment at the end of Silence of the Lambs is that it is just a man.

LeeYeah.

AdamYou know,

Adamthat is that is literally.

AdamIt's a crime film, it's an it's an improbable crime film.

AdamShall we say?

AdamI mean,

Adamit doesn't it doesn't quite reach the heights of Hannibal, which is still for me the perfect Lecter vehicle was the show Hannibal.

AdamBut fuck me.

AdamDid you have to make a lot of allowances for what a man can get can do in 24 hours?

AdamYeah.

Adamand still look fairly alert and well scrubbed the next morning.

AdamYeah.

AdamI mean,

Adamcome on, it's there's time management and then there's that.

AdamYeah.

AdamBut this, I think, you know, it's.

ChrisYeah, it's a very realistic look to yeah.

ChrisHis life style.

AdamYeah.

Leeyeah, so this is a definite recommend.

Leeso to wrap up on Longlegs, we which we are doing now.

Leebut Adam has something else for us, don't you Adam?

AdamI have in my hands a piece of paper.

LeeOh.

AdamAnd I have for you gentlemen, the great Nicholas Cage Quiz.

ChrisOh.

LeeHang on, let me close IMDb, so that there is no

AdamYeah, no cheating.

LeeNo cheating.

LeeNot that I would do, but just to so that I don't glance over.

LeeI actually, I didn't look at Nicholas Cage, I thought, I know him well enough.

LeeIt was everybody else's filmography I had to look up before.

AdamWell,

Adamwell,

Adamso I've got there's two halves of this quiz.

AdamSo we've got a true or false section.

AdamAnd we have got the multiple choice section.

AdamThe multiple choice will be first.

AdamSo I will ask you out of respect for your for your fellow contestants.

AdamIf you know the answer, don't shout out until all the options have been given and then make your choice.

AdamThey will be A, B and C, and yeah, we'll just see what happens, shall we?

LeeYeah.

ChrisSounds good.

AdamRight, so,

AdamQuestion one.

AdamWhere does the name Nicholas Cage come from?

AdamA, it's his real name.

AdamB, it's in homage to Marvel superhero Luke Cage.

AdamOr C, it's from that time he was found with no knickers on in a cage.

ChrisWell,

ChrisI would say not A or C.

Chrisout of those, I think I would have to.

LeeSo you're going B, are you, Chris?

ChrisI

LeeYeah, I I don't know the answer but I would go B as well, I think.

AdamYep, you're both correct there, it is in homage to the Marvel superhero Luke Cage.

AdamRight, so, question two.

AdamWho is his famous uncle?

AdamIs it A, Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola?

AdamB, British porn director, producer and actor Ben Dover?

AdamOr C, renowned horror and exploitation producer, writer, director Roger Corman?

ChrisOh.

ChrisNow this will be funny to find out.

Chrisit could be any of those.

ChrisPossibly, I mean B obviously sounds sounds kind of funny.

ChrisBut

Chrissomehow.

ChrisI wouldn't be too shocked.

ChrisI'll go for.

ChrisI'll choose A.

ChrisIt sounds nice.

LeeYeah.

LeeI was.

LeeI was edging towards A.

AdamWell, Chris, you've edged ahead, it's A.

AdamNicely done.

AdamYes.

AdamSo his real name is Nicholas Coppola.

LeeOh, good on him.

AdamAnd he chose Cage so he wasn't sort of being he wasn't nepotism.

AdamYou know,

Adamif he.

AdamQuestion three.

AdamHow did the dear departed David Lynch refer to Cage?

AdamDid he call him A,

AdamNixter.

AdamB, Bongo Fury.

AdamOr C, a small Mexican Chihuahua.

Chris

ChrisCan you say those again?

AdamSo we've got A, Nixter.

AdamB, Bongo Fury, or C, a small Mexican Chihuahua.

Chris

ChrisI mean it's hard to imagine any of them.

ChrisNot I don't actually think I've seen David Lynch much.

Chris

ChrisI mean I'll go for A.

ChrisIt sounds nice.

ChrisNext, that sounds a bit silly.

ChrisThey all sound a bit silly.

LeeI'm going to go.

LeeI'm going to go with B.

AdamWell, Chris, you've edged ahead.

AdamIt's Nixter.

ChrisYeah.

AdamAnd so.

AdamRight, question four.

AdamWhich unmade Tim Burton project was he attached to throughout the '90s?

AdamIs it A, the nightmare after Christmas?

AdamB, Superman Lives?

AdamOr C, some crappy half-arsed goth shit with a load of stripey things in it?

ChrisAll right.

ChrisIt's me again. I'll go for.

ChrisB.

LeeYeah, I was going to go B as well.

AdamWell done, gentlemen.

AdamYou're both both bang on there with B.

AdamSo it's yeah.

AdamSuperman Lives.

ChrisOh, I like the sound of C though.

AdamYeah.

AdamIf you like the sound of C, then just work your way through.

Adamanything post big fish, I think, really.

AdamOh, so.

AdamI just take a.

AdamQuick water break there and we're back in the schedule.

Adamquestion five, what classic villain has he not portrayed on screen?

AdamIs it A, Dracula?

AdamB, Fu Manchu?

AdamOr C, Mr. Hyde?

ChrisOh.

ChrisI can't, I mean, I cannot think of him as Dracula.

ChrisAnd I'm sure I would have known that, but obviously this will turn it out to be the one that I absolutely do know or should have known.

ChrisBut I'll go for that.

ChrisI'll go for that.

Longlegs

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Longlegs

About

Cast

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Ep 160 Inside No.9 pt3

Ep 172 Split

Ep 132 The Ninth Gate

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