Longlegs is most compelling as a work of sustained dread, not as a puzzle engineered to reward every minute of close decoding. Osgood Perkins’s 2024 horror-thriller follows an FBI agent pursuing a serial killer through occult clues, with Maika Monroe’s controlled performance anchoring a story whose atmosphere and Nicolas Cage’s unnerving turn are more memorable than its investigative intricacy.
What is Longlegs about?
Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, Longlegs follows FBI agent Lee Harker as she investigates a serial killer whose crimes are connected by occult clues. Maika Monroe stars as Harker, alongside Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, and Alicia Witt. The premise sets up a crime investigation, but the film’s central attraction is the sense that the case leads into something deeply wrong.
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Longlegs [Blu-Ray] | $16.79 | Buy on Amazon |
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Longlegs [4K UHD + Blu-Ray] | $27.05 | Buy on Amazon |
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Longlegs [Blu-ray] | $18.77 | Buy on Amazon |
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Longlegs - Edición España | $31.90 | Buy on Amazon |
NEON describes the film as horror, thriller, and crime; Rotten Tomatoes categorizes it as horror, mystery, and thriller. Perkins has called it “sort of like a horror movie mixtape,” an apt description of a film drawing on familiar genre textures while pursuing its own oppressive mood. NEON’s film page provides the official synopsis and director comments.
Does the atmosphere work?
Atmosphere is the film’s strongest hand. Perkins sustains unease through the investigation, making the clues feel less like tidy pieces in a fair-play puzzle and more like signs of an approaching threat. That approach suits viewers who want horror to linger and unsettle rather than move briskly from revelation to revelation.
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- Longlegs [Blu-Ray]
Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus likewise emphasizes the disquieting mood. Its audience summary praises the atmosphere too, while noting derivative elements. Those are editorial summaries, not a substitute for individual reviews, but they point to the film’s central trade-off: familiar horror ingredients are arranged with conviction, even if the underlying mystery may not feel wholly new.
How strong are the performances?
Maika Monroe as Lee Harker
Monroe gives the investigation a restrained center. Her performance keeps Harker watchful and composed as the case grows more disturbing, helping the film maintain tension without making every scene depend on overt displays of fear. That controlled presence is particularly effective in a story where uncertainty matters as much as the next clue.
Rank #2
- Longlegs [4K UHD]
Nicolas Cage as Longlegs
Cage supplies the film’s most conspicuously heightened energy. His performance is strange and theatrical, sharply contrasting with Monroe’s reserve. The contrast gives the title character a memorable presence and contributes much of the film’s jolt, though viewers who prefer subdued villains may find the intensity excessive. Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus also singles out Cage’s performance.
Is Longlegs a slow burn, and does the mystery pay off?
It is best approached as a slow-building horror story rather than a dense detective puzzle. The investigation gives the film forward motion, but its main payoff is the accumulated unease and the performances, not an intricately layered case that every viewer will find satisfying. Some audience reactions collected by Rotten Tomatoes praise the “slow burn” and “great vibe and atmosphere”; others say the plot was not dense enough for them. These individual comments are illustrative, not a representative survey.
Rank #3
- Horror
If you want atmosphere, escalating dread, and a memorable, deliberately outsized antagonist, the film has a strong case. If you need the investigation itself to be unusually intricate or its revelations to resolve every question with precision, the gap between mood and mystery may frustrate you. That difference in priorities helps explain why audience enthusiasm has been less uniform than the critics’ score.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who should watch it—and what should viewers know first?
Longlegs is a good fit for horror viewers who value a foreboding tone and unsettling performances over procedural detail. It is less suited to anyone seeking a tightly constructed crime mystery above all else. The film is spoiler-sensitive, so it is worth going in with only the premise rather than a detailed account of its discoveries.
Rank #4
- Longlegs Maika Monroe (Actor), Nicolas Cage (Actor), Osgood Perkins (Director)
- U.S. content rating: Rotten Tomatoes lists R for disturbing images, bloody violence, and some language.
- Japanese content rating: Shochiku lists PG12. Ratings are market-specific and should not be treated as interchangeable.
- Runtime: Rotten Tomatoes lists 1 hour 41 minutes; Disney+ displays 1 hour 40 minutes. Shochiku lists 101 minutes for its Japanese release.
Rotten Tomatoes lists the U.S. wide theatrical release as July 12, 2024, and streaming availability beginning August 23, 2024. Shochiku lists a Japanese theatrical opening of March 14, 2025. For current viewing options, Rotten Tomatoes lists Disney+ and Hulu subscription options as well as Fandango rental or purchase; availability can change by country and date. Check the current Rotten Tomatoes listing or Disney+’s title page for details in your region.
How was Longlegs received?
Rotten Tomatoes displayed an 85% Tomatometer from 323 reviews and a 61% Popcornmeter from more than 2,500 verified ratings when accessed October 5, 2026. These are changeable aggregator snapshots, not fixed measures of quality; the gap is consistent with the split between critics’ emphasis on mood and the audience comments that question the story’s density.
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Rotten Tomatoes reports a U.S. gross of $74.2 million. That is the aggregator’s reported figure, not an independently audited total. Shochiku’s Japanese distributor page claims the film became the highest-grossing U.S. independent film of 2024, the highest-grossing independent horror film in North America in the prior ten years, and NEON’s highest-grossing North American release. Those claims are distributor-attributed and appear without supporting gross figures on the page. Rotten Tomatoes’ film listing and Shochiku’s film page provide the respective listings.
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