Summary

• Producers' reactions to Longlegs are incredibly positive, noting the film's terrifying nature.
• Longlegs is part of Nicolas Cage's trend towards starring in horror films.
• Cage may be pivoting towards a career in horror, supported by his iconic roles in previous horror films and the success of Longlegs.

Early reactions to Nicolas Cage’s film Longlegs are rave reviews. Longlegs is an upcoming horror movie that tells the story of an FBI agent who discovers a series of occult clues to solve while she searches for a serial killer. Longlegs is written and directed by Oz Perkins and features a leading cast including Cage, Maika Monroe, Alicia Witt, Erin Boyes, Blair Underwood, Dakota Daulby, and Lisa Chandler.

As per an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, producers Ken Kao and Josh Rosenbaum discuss their reactions to Longlegs. Kao noted that even though he does not watch a lot of movies in the genre, he “watched this thing [Longlegs] and [he] was bothered.” Rosenbaum went on at great length about the film, teasing an exciting new trailer from NEON. He believes that star Cage is “iconic in this film” and that “the arthouse horror fan base is going to flock to this.” Check out their full quotes below:

Kao: Yeah. I don't really watch that many horror movies anymore, but we were like, "I watched this thing and I was bothered. I was really bothered." [Laughs]

Rosenbaum: Yeah. I saw it at 10:00 AM with our team, because we were thinking about getting involved, just to help with the release a little bit. And it was just like, to be scared out of my god---n mind at 10 AM, I was like, "Oh my God, what did I sign up for?" It's truly terrifying. And wait until you see the new trailer that Neon just cooked up. It's so good. I'm very curious to see, because I think it's films like The Witch and It Follows that really got me into horror as an elevated genre. That got me really excited, because I loved The Shining and Alien growing up. But it had been a while for me to get really excited. And so I'm really intrigued to see. The arthouse horror fan base is going to flock to this. It is up there.

But I think I'm very curious to see what's going to happen with the broader horror audience, when it's backing these films that are making $50 million-plus in the box office, because it stands alone. I think it's been very interesting that Neon has not done any marketing about Nicolas Cage, because he's iconic in this film. But Oz's film stands alone already. It is so good, it could have been anyone in that role. It could have been a complete no one, and it would've been just as good, but the fact that it's Nic Cage, once you see it — I love that they're hiding it, because they could almost just not touch that until after the film is out and just let people go see —well, it's hard to say the most iconic Nicolas Cage character, but it's certainly the most iconic horror Cage. I don't know.

Longlegs Is Part of a 2024 Nicolas Cage Trend

Cage May Be Redefining His Career Again

Kao and Rosenbaum are both experienced producers who worked to produce another NEON horror film, Cuckoo, which comes out later this year. Because of this background, the feedback from the producers is valuable. The fact that Rosenbaum called this “the most iconic horror Cage” is notable, promising great things for Longlegs. With cryptic trailers and a lot being hidden, as Rosenbaum notes, audiences will have a lot to look forward to when checking out Longlegs.

Longlegs is not the only Cage-led horror film to come out this year. In 2024, Cage also stars in Arcadian, which is an apocalyptic horror thriller wherein he plays a father named Paul who, in an effort to protect his twin sons and himself, hides away in a remote farmhouse. There, Cage and his sons encounter a series of mysterious monsters that will challenge them. His third film to come out this year is the thriller The Surfer, thus meaning that two out of his three new releases are in the horror genre.

2024 shows Cage’s interest in horror, a genre that has been sprinkled in occasionally throughout his career. In addition to Longlegs, other iconic Cage horror roles include parts in The Wicker Man, Color Out of Space, and Mandy. With two more horror films coming out this year, it is possible that Cage may be leaning towards another career pivot in that he could lean into the horror genre. With reviews this strong for Longlegs, the actor just might have to.

Longlegs releases on July 12.