Longlegs (2024)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
An FBI agent must hunt down an occult-obsessed serial killer who leaves no trace at crime scenes.
The story
Set in the 1990s, the story follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent assigned to hunt down an occult-obsessed serial killer responsible for a string of family murders across Oregon. The killer is dubbed Longless, and baffles the FBI with his perfect ability to seemingly leave zero trace of involvement at the crime scenes. Agent Lee Harker, who exhibits possible clairvoyance, is tasked with investigating a series of murder-suicides where victims leave behind letters with Satanic glyphs. As Lee decodes the mysterious messages, she begins to uncover a chilling pattern linked to the killer's ritualistic methods.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1974 Oregon, a girl encounters a man in pale makeup. Twenty years later, FBI agent Lee Harker investigates a series of murder-suicides in Oregon where fathers kill their families and leave letters signed 'Longlegs'. Lee decodes the letters and discovers a pattern involving a 9-year-old daughter's birthday. She receives a warning from Longlegs that revealing his identity will lead to her mother's death. Investigation reveals a doll with a metal orb and a connection to a survivor, Carrie Anne Camera. Lee discovers her mother, Ruth, was coerced into a pact with Longlegs to protect Lee as a child. Ruth has been delivering Satanic dolls to families. After Longlegs takes his own life in an interrogation, Lee learns Ruth is a threat. In a final confrontation, Lee must protect William Carter's daughter, Ruby, from Ruth and the influence of the doll. The film ends with Lee and Ruby staring at the doll while Longlegs sings from his cell.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Osgood Perkins
- Writers
- Osgood Perkins · writer
- Cast and characters
- Maika Monroe · Lee Harker; Blair Underwood · Agent William Carter; Alicia Witt · Ruth Harker; Nicolas Cage · Longlegs (also known as Dale Ferdinand Kobble); Michelle Choi-Lee · Agent Browning; Dakota Daulby · Agent Fisk; Kiernan Shipka · Carrie Anne Camera; Ava Kelders · Ruby Carter
- Genres
- psychological horror; crime thriller; supernatural horror
- Themes
- Satanism; mother-daughter relationships; occult mystery
- Tone and mood
- claustrophobic dread; supernatural
- Premise and plot tags
- serial killer; FBI investigation; cult; supernatural
- Content notes
- horror
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was praised for its atmosphere and performances, particularly Nicolas Cage's.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100 · review count: 52
- Production trivia
- The plot of the dolls was inspired by the case of JonBenét Ramsey.; The film was a major box office success for Neon, becoming their highest-grossing film domestically.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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