In the most pressing news of this past week: the Nasty Girl remix featuring Chlöe is now streaming on all platforms!!!!!!!!!
I’m kidding…. well, no, I’m not. Go stream! But that is not what we are here to discuss. What really concerns me today is that I have now seen two of the most talked about films of the Summer. Longlegs and Twisters. Double feature of the century, if I say so myself. Of course, as a person with a Pop Culture newsletter, I find it to be my legal duty to detail my findings to you all - with a few disclaimers.
PART ONE: THE DISCLAIMERS
Disclaimer #1: I will be breaking down my thoughts about both projects without much mind of spoilers, however, I will also dedicate a small non-spoiler section for those who just want to know whether I recommend them or not. I also have non-spoiler reviews on my Letterboxd.
Disclaimer #2: When I started writing this, I hadn’t revisited Longlegs yet, but I have since seen it again and edited some of my thoughts throughout, because it did change my perspective - albeit in mostly minor ways. This is worth noting because I have not gotten a chance to revisit Twisters, though I’m not as convinced that revisiting that is necessarily necessary in any substantial way.
PART TWO: THE NON-SPOILER SECTION
Longlegs was one of my most anticipated films of 2024, mostly because… well, you know… Maika Monroe!!!! Ever since It Follows, I, too, have followed (hehehe) her career. Osgood Perkins being the writer-director was a major sell for me as well - The Blackcoat’s Daughter isn’t necessarily my favorite film in the world, though I haven’t seen it in what’s now pushing a decade so don’t put much weight in that claim whatsoever, but it did require a technical finesse that shines through most of what I’ve seen of his work. The marketing for this movie has become instantly iconic, and has been reported countless times already, but it entirely worked on me. This became one of the main films of this year that I knew I could not miss. My micro-review would be similar, where I wouldn’t call it my favorite thing in the world - at least in the last third - but I do still think its direction, alongside Maika Monroe’s brilliantly nuanced performance, prevents it from falling apart.
Twisters is a movie best watched with discourse as the furthest thing from your mind. If you even try to hold it under any type of weight, it doesn’t quite stay afloat. Unfortunately for me, I have weight in my head. I enjoyed it for what it is, but I can’t get past what it decided to be at times. Choices were just made, and I can’t respect all of them.
Both have aspects that I’m not just crazy about. Though, I would recommend them both, if you were interested in them based on their promo and the discourse surrounding them. You should know if they are your thing by now.
PART THREE: NOW, SOME SPOILERS.
It’s quite fun to look at Lee Harker from Longlegs and Kate Twisters from Twisters as counterparts. Both films open with their traumatic backstory, and then time jump to show their life paths which were choices heavily impacted by what they had experienced in their past. Both have a psychic-like intuition that gives them advantages in their respective fields. Lee Harker in Longlegs having her little Satanic psychic powers tapping her on the shoulder, Kate Twisters having her wind thing. Also, KIERNAN SHIPKA!!! having a small role in both, both of which she is doomed by the narrative. They are sister films, basically. #TWISTLEGS
LONGLEGS
When I first saw this film, I had seen discussions and out-of-context reactions, but I wasn’t quite prepared for what the third act would contain. And, even after revisit, all of my issues stem from that section of the movie.
I just don’t loveee the Satanic paranormal element of this film. I do appreciate some choices made more on rewatch, but I can’t help but feel as though the first two acts grounded us in a universe that effectively got under my skin, which was slightly undermined by the remainder of the film. People have been discoursing how scary it really is, and honestly … even on rewatch, the first “Part” of Longlegs is some of the most eerie, insidious, dread-inducing cinema that I have seen in the longest time. Though, when I found out what was really going on, when I got to really know Nic Cage’s character… the vision shattered for me a little bit. Then the movie started to really lose me after Maika Monroe’s mothers narration backstory started, and it never fully got me back. Though, the entire rest of the film built up enough good faith in me, I can’t hate this movie.
Don’t get what personally didn’t work with me confused with me boo’ing the fact it “turned supernatural,” because I do believe had it been properly paced and fleshed out, it could’ve worked. My issue is more that I find the Third Part to be quite rushed and a tad undercooked compared to the steady slow-burn of the rest of the film. The first Two Parts put so much emphasis on detail and its mystery - I’d argue it was more of a Zodiac-esque crime thriller first, and then a horror film. It’s quite important, in a crime thriller, to deliver upon satisfying answers, and that is where it fell short for me. I wanted more from Longlegs’ origins than just being a demonic doll maker who just Does Evil. Also, such a nitpick, the final scene is really weirdly framed and a degree too abrupt to me. I suppose all of my personal grievances go back to me feeling as though this movie needed time to breathe more, particularly in Part Three.
I give these complaints, but I actually have to give the film some credit where it’s due. The visual storytelling of this film, all around, is immaculate. On rewatch, it almost feels like watching a different movie with how much visual foreshadowing there is throughout the frames of this film. There’s an art to the films vision, there is a clear effort put into the visual storytelling, and there is payoff in revisiting the film because of that. I wouldn’t be surprised if I watch it again, and discover even more that I missed the second time.
Maika Monroe likely delivers my favorite performance of the year so far, Oz Perkins is a vibe curator like no other, and, though nothing necessarily entirely new, the plot is compelling. Even when the movie lost me, I was invested throughout the entire runtime. As I mentioned earlier, I find the set-up in Part One to be particularly haunting. I saw this alone, and horror rarely gets under my skin, but I struggled sitting still. I was holding my breath. I had to take my glasses off for a few minutes because I did not want to see the movie. This movie does a lot right. I honestly just request more context. Why is Longlegs like that?
TWISTERS
If you are on the same internet as me, you might have seen a few quite well-liked posts about Daisy Edgar Jones’ performance in this film that weren’t particularly kind on describing her work. I wouldn’t call it a consensus, by and large she’s a well-respected and acclaimed actress - but it was enough of A Thing on the timeline, that I did go in aware that her performance has been made into a point of contention. Now, before I go any further, I will say that I don’t just love the film's script in general. It features like 20 tropes, and none of these characters feel particularly multi-dimensional. I say that to say, she gave the best performance of the movie, and I don’t care to hear disagreements! She was in just about every scene, everything that worked in this movie was in part thanks to her commanding the screen. The opening sequence is by and large the most affecting scene of the entire film and that is, in no small part, because of her work in it. She had me shaken up for her.
At the risk of taking this movie too seriously, I take issue with the director saying he made a point of not being “message oriented” by avoiding the words “climate change” in the entire runtime. In fairness, I do think there’s a lack of context in harping on that one part of the quote. He says that he’s more interested in showcasing the points of his story, rather than have characters be mouthpieces who just directly state their thesis statements. Climate change is inherently connected to the movie regardless, you know? However, I find the intended apolitical stance of the movie to fall on deaf ears when the aesthetics of the movie are so staunchly Red State American. I know that is just where it is set, I know he’s from Arkansas, but the movie romanticizes the fuck out of the good ole ‘Merican aesthetic, which is a political statement in itself. The tornadoes aren’t woke, guys, don’t worry.
The lack of kiss scene at the end does feel odd as well. Mostly because the reasoning doesn’t track for me. Like, the movie is built on cliché after cliché. Every scene, really, is a cliché or trope of some sort. But giving me an airport kiss would cross the line, Steven Spielberg? Okay.
General other criticisms would be… although I love the Tanner Adell song, the soundtrack was a bit overkill at times… bring back scores!!! Every scene didn’t need an original country song for Twisters: The Album I’m sorry to say. The absence of a Jami Gertz counterpart was legitimately felt. Javi’s entire team's subplot didn’t really come to a conclusion despite taking up so much of my time. Being said, I did have fun.
LONGLEGS: 4/5 on the not j*ss-o-meter
TWISTERS: 3/5 on the not j*ss-o-meter
Long legs would have worked better as a unfiction project. We’re too much in the world of the movie in act 3 which faults it. It’s odd how act 1 and 2 follow unfiction tropes/rules to such an amazing degree but breaks every one in act 3. Someone should have shown Osgood Perkins Morley Groove (insanely similar concepts you’d think he ripped them off) or The Backrooms. (Ignore that i deleted this twice 😭😭😭😭)
you're my roger ebert