Longlegs And The Erosion of The Nuclear Family

Osgood Perkins' Longlegs is more than just a horror thriller; it's a chilling exploration of how 1960s and 1970s counterculture infiltrated middle America and contributed to the dissolution of the nuclear family. Starring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe, the film weaves a narrative that transcends its genre, offering a subtext that reflects the cultural upheaval of its setting.

Major Spoilers Follow For the 2024 Film Longlegs

Set in the eerie landscape of 1970s Oregon, Longlegs introduces us to a young girl who encounters a sinister figure with a pale face. I have to image that it’s like encountering one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey in the wild. This unsettling encounter sets the stage for a decades-spanning mystery involving FBI agent Lee Harker, who is thrust into a case marked by brutal family murders. Each crime scene bears the signature of "Longlegs," an occultist whose presence is as enigmatic as it is terrifying.

The film's narrative structure, oscillating between the 1970s and the 1990s, reflects the lasting impact of countercultural figures like Charles Manson, David Bowie, and T.Rex. These icons, with their radical ideologies and flamboyant personas, challenged the conventional norms of the time, seeping into the consciousness of middle America. In Longlegs, this cultural infiltration is personified through the eponymous character and his sinister influence on the families who he encounters (even if it’s all via proxy).

Agent Harker's journey is not just a pursuit of a serial killer; it is a dive into the dark undercurrents of societal change. Her clairvoyant abilities symbolize the heightened awareness and intuition needed to navigate a world that was increasingly rejecting traditional values. The recurring motif of the inverted triangle, formed by the dates of the murders, serves as a stark reminder of the upside-down world that emerged from the ashes of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture.

Perkins masterfully uses the horror genre to comment on the broader implications of this cultural shift. The film's portrayal of possessed families, manipulated by malevolent forces, echoes the real-life fears of a society grappling with the unknown. The Satanic elements in "Longlegs" are not just for shock value; they represent the dark side of liberation, where freedom and chaos intertwine.

Nicolas Cage's performance as the freaky-deaky junior high version of a Satanist that is Longlegs is both mesmerizing and disturbing. His character embodies the allure and danger of counterculture icons, whose influence could be both inspiring and destructive. Maika Monroe's portrayal of Lee Harker adds depth to the narrative, highlighting the personal cost of confronting these hidden forces.

The film's climax, with Lee confronting her own mother as an accomplice to Longlegs, encapsulates the ultimate betrayal within the family unit, a mirror to the societal betrayal felt by many during the counterculture era, where established norms and values were upended, leaving a generation in disarray.

Longlegs is not just a horror story; it is a reflection on how cultural revolutions can infiltrate and disrupt the most intimate aspects of our lives. Perkins uses the horror genre to peel back the layers of this infiltration, revealing the psychological and emotional toll on individuals and families.

In a broader context, Longlegs invites viewers to consider the lasting impact of countercultural movements on contemporary society. The film's exploration of possession and control serves as a metaphor for the pervasive influence of radical ideas that continue to shape our world, be they the ideas of Charles Manson or Timothy Leary.

As the credits roll, Longlegs leaves us with a haunting question: How much of our current reality is shaped by the echoes of the past? In examining the dissolution of the nuclear family through the lens of horror, Perkins offers a profound commentary on the enduring legacy of cultural upheaval.

In Longlegs, the past is never truly gone—it lingers, whispering from the shadows, challenging us to confront the remnants of a revolution that forever changed the fabric of American life.