A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Positive Messages
none
Murders occur for no reason other than "Satan made me do it." Efforts are made to solve the puzzle before more lives are lost, but this effort only partially succeeds.
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Positive Role Models
a little
Lee Harker excels at her job, solving puzzles and finding clues. But she also frequently seems sad or unsatisfied. She also has a complicated relationship with her mother, keeping things from her and lying to her.
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Diverse Representations
a little
Lee Harker (White actor Maika Monroe) is a strong, smart, independent female FBI agent (not a common occurrence in the 1990s) who takes the lead in a serial killer case and finds new clues. She's ostensibly partly psychic, which she uses in one scene; otherwise, she relies on her smarts. Her immediate supervisor, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood) is Black and is a talented agent and capable leader. Another agent is played by Michelle Choi-Lee, an actor of Asian descent. Several other performers of color are seen in smaller or background roles. A minor character, the director of a psychiatric hospital, displays mannerisms that could be seen as reinforcing stereotypes about gay people.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Guns and shootings, sometimes at close range and sometimes fatal. Spurts, spatters, and pools of blood; blood-soaked clothes. A character bashes own head on table repeatedly, leading to lots of blood, a smashed-in nose, and eventually death. Decomposing bodies covered in maggots. A man chops people up with an axe; blood sprays. A woman is hog-tied. A woman is knocked unconscious with gas. Character chops off a cow's head. A person runs a knife over their own belly. Jump-scares, threats, figure lurking in the woods. Graphic descriptions of murder-suicides, a husband stabbing a wife 61 times, and more. Dialogue about someone jumping off a roof and dying of suicide. Dialogue about a woman bleeding profusely during birth. Gory crime scene photos. Violent screaming. Flashes of writhing snakes.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a little
Three faded Playboy centerfolds hang on a wall, but no graphic detail is really visible.
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Language
a lot
Infrequent language includes "f--k," "t-ts," "goddamn," "bitch," "Jesus," "Jesus Christ," "stupid," "hell," and "screw."
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
A character casually drinking in a bar stands up too fast and appears tipsy. Cigarette smoking.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Longlegs is a crafty, unsettling horror movie directed by Osgood "Oz" Perkins about an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) who finds new clues in a decades-old case involving a serial killer (Nicolas Cage). Violence is intense and includes guns and shootings (sometimes at close range, and sometimes fatal); characters being killed in shocking and gruesome ways; blood spatters, spurts, and pools; decomposing bodies covered in maggots; characters slashed with an axe; and a woman being hog-tied. Characters are also frequently in peril, knives are used, and there are jump-scares, and graphic descriptions in dialogue. One character bashes their head on a table, smashing their nose and spattering blood, until they're dead. Language is infrequent but includes uses of "f--k," "t-ts," "goddamn," "bitch," "Jesus Christ," and more. There's cigarette smoking, and a character has one whiskey too many in a bar. Faded Playboy centerfolds are seen on a wall, but details are vague. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
What's the Story?
In LONGLEGS, it's the 1990s, and FBI Special Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is transferred to the case of the serial killer known as "Longlegs" (Nicolas Cage) after she demonstrates psychic abilities. According to Lee's supervisor, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood), Longlegs -- who's responsible for murdering families with daughters whose birthdays are on the 14th of the month -- has been at large for decades. Longlegs somehow influences the fathers in these families to do the actual killings, leaving no trace of his own involvement other than coded letters that no one has been able to crack. Lee gets a mysterious envelope from the killer in which he promises to murder her own mother (Alicia Witt) if she tells anyone she's been contacted. But as Lee continues to find new clues, the case grows stranger and stranger.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Longlegs's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Why are people often fascinated with stories about serial killers? Does the movie glorify Longlegs, or are viewers repelled by him?
How does Lee Harker compare to Clarice Starling (from The Silence of the Lambs)? How do others see her? How is the fact that she's a woman a benefit? A challenge?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
Do women and characters of color have agency? Did you notice any stereotypes being used?
Movie Details
- In theaters: July 12, 2024
- Cast: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Nicolas Cage
- Director: Oz Perkins
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Black actors
- Studio: Neon
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 101 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: bloody violence, disturbing images and some language
- Last updated: July 10, 2024
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