Oscar-winner an unrecognisable monster in horror movie Longlegs

This two-time Oscar-winning actor is unrecognisable as a demonic serial killer in a chilling new horror movie. WARNING: Spoilers.

WARNING: Mild spoilers below.

Nicolas Cage is truly unrecognisable as the antagonist in the creepy new horror flick Longlegs, which has been getting much social media buzz in recent weeks as those who’ve seen the film react to his chilling performance.

Cage plays the titular character, a mysterious serial killer being hunted by the FBI who develops a deadly interest in agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), who’s been assigned to the case.

So far, so Silence of the Lambs – and the Osgood Perkins-directed film does wear its references on its sleeve. Creepy dolls, cryptic clue-filled letters, satanic cults – they’re all here.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe at the film’s premiere. Picture: Getty

The pair face off in the film (that’s Cage as Longlegs on the background).

With this much hype, the film seemed doomed to disappoint some, and reviews have been mixed. The final act includes a lot of exposition, and how effectively it works really depends on your tolerance for horror movies using magical elements to paper over any cracks in a story.

There are pacing problems too: For a serial killer who’s evaded the police for decades, Longlegs’ sudden capture by the FBI midway through the film feels too quick, too easy.

But for its faults, Longlegs is worth a watch just to marvel at Cage’s truly deranged performance. Hidden under prosthetics, his face pallid and his hair a stringy grey, the Oscar-winner is genuinely unrecognisable – so much so, one wonders if the “Nicolas Cage as Longlegs” reveal could’ve been saved for the movie’s closing credits rather than the beginning, just to deliver one final shock for viewers who weren't clued in.

A look at Cage in character as Longlegs.

A little girl comes face-to-face with a demonic serial killer.

But that make-up job would be nothing without Cage’s unhinged performance. Longlegs has two main interests in life: Little girls and Satan. It’s … not a fun combo.

The actor goes for it in every scene he’s in, making bold, bizarre choices that sometimes veer towards hilarious, but are always deeply unsettling.

One scene in particular – Longlegs driving along a country road by himself, looking zoned out and disinterested before he suddenly erupts into a maniacal rant to nobody – left me truly unnerved.

And the film’s marketing team are certainly leaning in to the spectacle Cage has created, keeping clear shots of Longlegs out of the film’s trailer and off social media (now the film’s “out there,” you can find full photos of Cage in character on X, but it’s better kept as a surprise).

A video released to tease the film claims to show Monroe’s reaction the first time she laid eyes on her co-star in character. “Maika’s resting heart rate is 76BPM,” reads the video, which you can watch at the top of this story. “In this scene, it hit 170BPM.”

Someone’s always watching in Longlegs.

Monroe called her first sighting of Longlegs “a visceral experience I’ll never forget,” and many viewers who’ve already seen the film seem to agree.

One fan called Cage’s performance “blood curdling,” while another shared after their screening: “I’ve never felt sooo disturbed by a character.”

“no lie. longlegs was so insane that a woman behind us started crying halfway thru,” one moviegoer tweeted after an advance screening.

It’s somewhat surprising, then, to learn who Cage took as inspiration for his character: His own mother.

“My mum put on Noxzema cold cream. I was 2 years old, and I opened the bathroom door [to see] what she was doing,” Cage told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview, revealing one piece of inspiration for Longlegs’ ghostly look.

He said his mother quickly turned around to face him, the strange image burned into his young brain for good: “The whiteness of the cold cream just really spooked me.”

Longlegs is in Australian cinemas from tomorrow, with select previews screening today.

Originally published as Oscar-winner an unrecognisable monster in horror movie Longlegs