Horror Movie Recommendations “Longlegs” and “MaXXXine”
Written by Victor DeBonis
“Longlegs”
Director Osgood Perkins has done horror movies for some time, but this is the movie I feel establishes best why he’s someone that the audience should keep full eyes out for when he does something new. “Longlegs” is fantastic. Maika Monroe is excellent as the heroic detective presented with the task of finding the maniac responsible for murders in her town, but she is unlike many cops who we’ve seen from many procedural/horror flicks. Her character discusses a knack for pointing out detail and an expertise with tracing trails to see who is responsible for the kills at hand. She’s sharp and is a crucial part to her department. Unlike other detectives from recent procedural films, however, there is a strong sense that she doesn’t feel quite right. Monroe glances towards the floor when others are asking her questions, and she pauses when she is trying to follow through a discussion as though she is unsure of how best to answer.
Nicolas Cage is incredible in this movie as well. I won’t dare give details about his character’s specific purpose. All I’ll say is this: Speaking as someone who is a strong fan of this performer and will almost always show up for a movie when his name is on the poster, I was witnessing Cage almost completely disappear into his role. He does actions with his voice that left me widening my eyes with terror. Perkins sets up a chilling atmosphere with wider shots, welcoming plenty of moments with loneliness or fear. The editing also helps in playing with the audience’s concerns of whether someone will continue to talk without anything happening to them or if they will end up dead on the floor in a few seconds.
It’s a terrifying horror film about faith, family, and the tragic horror sometimes linked to both. I loved almost every minute of this film, and I’m still thinking about it and if I want to see it in the theater again. This is a contender for my favorite horror film of the year, so far. It’s at least up there with “The First Omen” as far as 2024 is concerned at this point.
Grade: A
“MaXXXine”
Movies, such as “MaXXXine” put me in a strange position. Here is a film I want to love so much having seen this director’s previous work and having loved his last movie, “Pearl” to death (No pun intended). After having seen it twice, however, I am pretty much left with the same notion: This is a decent enough movie, but it keeps itself from what could’ve honestly been a great movie and a great closer to a trilogy (The director has said that he may do a follow-up to this film if it financially does well enough, so we’ll see if this lends to other stories in the future.)
Between her work in the other two movies and her performances in other horror movies, such as the 2018 “Suspiria” remake, Mia Goth further seals herself as a great addition to the genre with her performance here. She elicits control and steeliness when specific forces try to back her into a corner. Yet, in spite of her obsession of wanting to become famous for fame’s sake, she has a subtle connection to those she trusts in her life. The humanity and fight in her to overcome overwhelming forces in her life is an essential key to the movie’s success.
What also plays to the movie’s strengths are a few other secondary characters in the movie. Moses Sumney, for instance, is rough around the edges and heavily focused on his job as a video store clerk, but he is still very likable and works great as a close friend of Goth’s. Kevin Bacon is a downright blast as the crooked private eye who follows the heroine’s tracks and plays on the arrogance and foolishness of his character without letting up. Bacon is one of those actors who is great at playing very likable heroes, but, for all of the times in which he plays a villain, especially as of recent, he never gets old.
The movie is gorgeous to look at with terrific cinematography from Eliot Rockett. Thick splashes of neon blue and red wash against the walls and the sides of buildings at night in between the shadows. Colors have a slightly faded appearance but match well enough with the lighting. “MaXXXine” fulfills its goal of appearing similar to a VHS tape of something from this era.
Where this movie falls short partly traces from the mystery. Naturally, I won’t discuss who the “Night Killer” is in this movie, but what I will say is that, early on, I had a sense of who it probably was, and the revealing and what led up to it made it somewhat frustrating when I didn’t feel challenged in determining who it was. The rather weak and clumsily presented climax in which he is unveiled doesn’t help much, either.
Also, the commentary on finding one’s way in the industry works well enough, but, although Elizabeth Debicki does her best to make the delivery of much of it work with the gusto and passion as the horror film director character in the movie, it feels too spelled out in this movie. Part of why “Pearl” is great is that it stands as a story about the severe damage left in the wake of familial abuse and a pandemic, but it presents it through the wicked actions of its characters and them using their performances to depict through both action and carefully chosen words to express the hurt left upon them. The ideas flowed like water from this film and resulted in a chilling character study.
Here, Maxine Minx is a good heroine to follow that I want to see turn out alright, but much of it comes less from its ideas and more from the performance and her close connections to those she cares about, which left me eager enough to see her match wits with the killer. Other side characters, such as two humorously bantering FBI agents, add to the fun, too, but their presence feels underwhelming given what the writing limits them to do.
Overall, I viewed this as a pretty good horror movie with some impressive horror violence to add to the fun, but I think this might be the least strong movie in the trilogy. “X” had the right amount of scares and characters with the precise screen time to never feel as though it took itself more seriously than it was, and “Pearl” was fantastic via its full commitment to its twisted mindset and well-explored ideas to match great with the exploration of its tragic character. “MaXXXine” works very well with its horror and visuals and performances, and it is definitely a fun and effectively scary time. Just don’t expect this to be an incredible trilogy capper.
Grade: B
Content Warning: Some risque content and graphic gore is involved in “MaXXXine.”