Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have seen the enormous hype for Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs – but it’s your own fault if you bought into it, according to fans.
Whenever a new movie gets rave reviews, there’s often just as much criticism saying it isn’t as good as everyone thinks. This is exactly what’s happened with Longlegs, with its astonishing marketing – complete with codes and creepy vinyls – leading some fans to complain the horror movie has been overhyped.
Even in our review, we wrote: “Calling Longlegs the scariest horror of the decade is a bit of a stretch (sometimes it’s better not to get audiences too hyped). However, Perkins has succeeded in creating a chilling, atmospheric thriller that is a worthy contribution to the genre.”
However, some horror fans are blaming anyone who buys into the hype for Longlegs, claiming that underneath the marketing, the movie just isn’t the slasher people might think it is.
“Falling for hype is on you,” one fan posted on Reddit.
“The LL marketing team did its job. If this movie flew under the radar on VOD this sub would be raving. Feels like all of the negative comments are a bunch of teenagers expecting a slasher/gorefest and can’t fathom psychological ambiguities or atmosphere, or god forbid supernatural elements in a horror movie!
“I felt like the film was effectively creepy and bleak, imperfect sure, but most films are due to our own expectations and biases.”
A second agreed: “I fell head over heels for the marketing on Longlegs and I had a great time at the cinema. I never put much stock into superlatives like ‘scariest movie of the year’ any more than ‘world’s best cup of coffee.'”
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“Majority of the comments in the review thread were just ‘ummm, actually it’s not the scariest movie of the decade.’ As if that’s never been used before in marketing. Zero discussion of the film, which was weird,” a third weighed in.
The scariest movie of the year is a big claim for anyone to make, and for some horror fans, it’s not the reaction to Longlegs’ marketing that’s the problem – it’s the film’s craft.
One fan mused: “And here I am, not loving the movie because I think it just has messy writing. Has nothing to do with the marketing, or expectations, I just didn’t like the ending.”
“My problems were mostly that it wasn’t about anything. Like, the characters all felt like plot devices, the satanism felt like it was there just because, and the paranormal stuff felt pointless. Everything just felt like it was happening just because, and nothing really tied together IMO,” a second argued.
It’s clear Longlegs is dividing fans over whether it’s worth its salt, including director Osgood Perkins, who claimed he “didn’t mean” to scare people so much with the titular serial killer.
Longlegs is out in cinemas now. For more, check out 5 movies scarier than Longlegs, whether it’s based on a true story, and who dies in the film. We’ve even got a breakdown of all of Longlegs’ alleged kills.
