There is an appropriately creepy meaning behind the title of Neon Cinema's latest movie, Longlegs.
The horror hit debuted in theaters on July 12, terrifying audiences worldwide with its gritty serial killer plot.
The film stars Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe and follows an FBI agent who starts to lose control of a case after discovering her mysterious connection to the killings she is looking into.
Why Is Longlegs Called Longlegs?
Given the success of Neon Cinema's Longlegs, fans are curious to know why the movie is called that.
The film's title is appropriately frightening, given the horrifying subject matter hidden within.
The Longlegs title is in reference to the serial killer at the heart of the Oz Perkins-directed thriller.
Nicolas Cage plays one of the primary villains of the movie, a deranged madman known to local authorities as Longlegs.
His moniker is never directly explained, but a comment from him at the beginning of the movie could indicate the inspiration behind his name. When first meeting Lee Harker during the opening scene, Longlegs' upper body is obstructed by the frame of the shot.
Upon realizing that he is not talking to Lee on her level, he tells her, "I'm sorry, it seems I wore my long legs today. What happens if I just..." before abruptly crouching down. It seems that the Longlegs alter ego is derived from the serial killer's attempt at a joke.
Cage's bone-chilling big-screen character is under investigation by the FBI, having miraculously killed entire families without any evidence of him being there (aside from letters he leaves at the scene of the crime address, "Longlegs").
Not much is known about Longleg's motives aside from the fact that he has some sort of connection to Satanism and the occult. It is assumed that the reason behind his killings has to do with a supposed sacred calling given to him by the devil.
Longlegs has been in Maika Monroe's FBI agent Lee Harker's life from a young age, having visited her as a child (despite her not remembering as such).
He then started his string of killings, taking out entire families (usually a husband, wife, and at least one daughter).
Aside from killing locals in the Pacific Northwest, the film's serial killer is also a skilled dollmaker, crafting these bespoke mannequin figures modeled after his villains.
The FBI and local authorities have no luck catching Longlegs and close the case decades before Agent Harker comes into the picture.
However, Monroe's FBI agent bursts onto the scene, feeling this bizarre connection to the murders, bursting open the long-thought-cold case with revelations quickly piling on top of one another until she eventually comes face to face with Cage's deformed big bad (read more about Longlegs' now iconic look).
While the movie takes some twists and turns from there, Longlegs appropriately becomes its namesake.
This is especially true when one considers the film's intent, which explores the glorification of serial killers and true crime in modern culture. With that knowledge in mind, it makes sense that the movie would bear his name.
[ Longlegs Movie Plot Summary & Spoilers Explained ]
Longlegs is playing in theaters.
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