Review: Longlegs

Written by: Tony Lazlo, CC2K Staff Writer

Perkins channels the spirits of Thomas Harris and David Lynch into this kooky and creative serial-killer mystery that inspires nervous laughter as often as it scares the hell out of you.

I know I shouldn’t listen to social media talk, but I was slightly overhyped going into this one. It didn’t matter, though, because Perkins delivers a riff on the serial killer procedural that could proudly stand alongside Bryan Fuller’s HANNIBAL.

The heart and soul of any serial-killer tale is the villain, and Cage gamely plays the bizarro title role with his usual intensity. But this pseudo-genre also features a host of other tropes I enjoy:

• The killer’s lair.
• A cat-and-mouse chase.
• A gruff mentor.
• A baroquely bonkers peek into the killer’s mind and methods.

LONGLEGS delivers on all four fronts, but it’s the fourth that’ll linger with me, the peek into the killer’s mind. Thomas Harris mastered this trope, as did David Lynch and Mark Frost. LONGLEGS’ method—intricately crafted dolls that control the victims’ minds with some manner of black magic—could act as the centerpiece for a future season of TWIN PEAKS.

Highly recommended.