For months the team behind Long legs has released enough disturbing details about the horror film to tantalize viewers without revealing the full appearance of the cast’s big celebrity, Nicolas Cage.
A viral billboard for the horror film advertised a telephone number that, when called, played a recording of Cage’s haunting voice. Other social media posts were shared coded messages in Zodiac Style serial killer Longlegs played by Cage, never showing his full face.
According to a video shared on the film’s official social media accounts, writer-director Osgood Perkins also wanted to prevent star Maika Monroe from seeing Cage fully dressed in costume and prosthetics until the cameras were rolling.
Monroe plays an FBI agent trying to catch the serial killer. When she first saw him, according to the video, Monroe’s microphone picked up his heart rate increasing from 76 to 170 beats per minute.
While horror films can be scary to viewers, on set they are noticeably less scary – scary characters are just co-workers, pools of blood are clearly fake, and the unsettling darkness is neutralized by the presence of crew members and cameras.
Monroe told Yahoo Entertainment that the set wasn’t scary at all, but Perkins spent so much time building anticipation for Cage’s character reveal that it was “intense” for her in the moment.
“I think this was the first time I was genuinely [scared],” she said. “Nic Cage with insane prosthetics, unrecognizable as a monster… it was something I’ll never forget.”
Blair Underwood, who plays a more experienced FBI agent, told Yahoo Entertainment that seeing Cage on set was “terrifying and exciting at the same time.”
“Before you get to the Longlegs character, you’re looking at Nicolas Cage, who is a huge movie star who works all the time and has a reputation for being avant-garde and going above and beyond,” he said. “There’s an excitement that this is the titular character – the anchor of the film. Portrait of him is terrifying.”
Even beyond Cage’s creepy character, the film is unsettling throughout its runtime — Perkins said it’s like a “horror movie mixtape” in the way it contains so many scary elements. It wasn’t entirely on purpose.
“I think there’s an impression in creation that there’s a real, deliberate intention – that you know what you’re doing all the time. The fact is, you just don’t do that,” Perkins told Yahoo Entertainment. “You’re guessing too much about everything. You are counting on the contributions of many people… and good luck.”
Alicia Witt plays Monroe’s character’s reclusive mother, who constantly asks her daughter if she still says her “prayers.” Witt told Yahoo Entertainment that she worked hard to stay emotionally safe while filming.
“When playing a role imbued with a lot of dark aspects and energies, it’s important for the actor to put some protective energy around you when you dive into it,” she said. “It’s important to get out of this situation… I didn’t bring this home with me. It was cathartic.”
Long legs stands out from other recent horror releases because little information about the plot was revealed before its release. Perkins gives full credit for this decision to the film’s distributor, Neon.
“I gave them the raw material and… they just loved the film and felt like they didn’t want to reveal too much about it,” he said. “It’s unusual for filmmakers to feel so good about their distributor.”
Underwood said the viral stunts used to promote the film were “brilliant.”
“My brother called and heard Longlegs’ voice, and he said, ‘Man, that sounds like a sick puppy,’” Underwood said. “I think it can be risky at first, until something has legs – pun intended – but since it went viral, people have latched onto it.”
Fans praised the film’s marketing on social media, calling it “so good that I’m getting worried.” It is “the kind of horror that makes you feel cursed.”
Long legs will be in theaters on July 12th.
