“Let me in please!” A man sings. The man seems to be painted a ghostly white shade. He is dressed in white clothing head to toe. He has Albert Einstein-esque hair: white, frizzy, and dispersed messily about his head. I turn to my lovely friend Lena, trying to hold in my laughter as the man keeps singing his silly song. She is already giggling. “Wait is this supposed to be scary?” I ask, too loud. Lena shushes me through giggles. We are at the movie theatre watching Longlegs, the hottest new horror film, and yet we can’t seem to take it seriously.

The movie was scary enough. Its greatest strength was the moody, edge-of-your-seat tone it emitted. I found my muscles tensed the whole movie, and that’s exactly what a movie is supposed to do! I left the theatre feeling profoundly dreadful and upset… and I loved it. 

Apart from the emotional aspect, the camera shots were simply gorgeous. There were certain times when the camera would pause on a perfectly symmetrical shot. The symmetry along with an eerie and suspenseful setting felt like I was watching Wes Anderson turn emo. Alas, I wasn’t… Andres Arochi, you have outdone yourself.

I did love certain aspects of the plot. The plot twist was carefully crafted; no one saw it coming. I also loved how many of the characters’ traits were shown to you rather than explained. Where the plot got lost on me was the devil imagery and supernatural aspect. The rest of the movie’s plot along with the characters were too real for the storyline to rely so heavily on not only satanic cults, but satanic cults that can summon and do supernatural things. It just felt unserious.

Additionally, various plot points felt rushed to me. The protagonist’s magical intuition at the start was never explained. Maybe we’ll get a bad prequel? I’ll watch it and report back. 

Overall, The movie seemed to have developed certain characters very fully with complexities and nuance but ran out of time to develop other crucial characters and plot points with the same degree of care. I didn’t really understand the significance of the orb. I don’t care to know though, because that is simply more supernatural stuff that I detest in this context. 

With its killer cinematography, this movie will appeal to those who enjoy production and aesthetic aspects of movies. With its subpar plot, this movie is not for those who chase a developed story that is engaging and complete. ★★★☆☆