What Is Longlegs? New Horror Movie Teasers Are the Stuff of Nightmares

NEON is teasing a terrifying new horror movie called Longlegs.

By Spencer Perry

Indie distributor NEON, best known for releasing Parasite in the United States alongside other notable genre movies, is teasing a wild new horror film called Longlegs. Though the actual title has never appeared in any of the three cryptic videos posted by NEON, a series of codes can be found in each which not only reveal the film's title, but seemingly confirm a summer premiere. Let's break down this amazing Longlegs viral marketing below. 

First, what is Longlegs? Originally announced last year, the film is written and directed by filmmaker Osgood "Oz" Perkins (son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins), whose previous genre credits include The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In The House. Starring in the film are none other than Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario) and Maika Monroe (It Follows). A previously released description for the film reads: 

"In Longlegs, FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family." Now, lets dig into the teaser videos.

It begins with a teaser video posted on January 5 which is captioned "Every year there is another." Just 37 seconds long, the video shows a photo of two parents and their child, seemingly in the 1980s, while audio of a 911 phone call plays. "It's my daughter," the father seemingly says. "I've got to be quiet." When told to stay on the line he says, "That's not my daughter." Throughout the video symbols appear on screen, with a final patch all paired together as the final title card. With some quick detective work, the repeating symbols in the image, it's clear that this is teasing the upcoming Longlegs, as you can see below. The other symbols in the video spell out "ESGLO" which as of this writing....don't mean anything.

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One week later on January 12, the second teaser video arrived, this time captioned "Remember to say your prayers." A new voice adds, "Are you still saying your prayers? Our prayers protect us from the devil."  In this video a pair of hands find a crucifix in a barn, and pull it up to reveal a hidden compartment in the floor.

Interspersed through the video isn't more cryptic symbols but instead flashes of crime scene photos which imply a massacre in a home, clearly the same one from the first video as the same "Happy Birthday" banner can be seen on the wall. Notably it ends with another title card, this one translating to "Hail Satan."

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Now it comes to the third teaser released today, January 19, which comes titled "We've been waiting for her." In the video two men, one a preacher, walk around a room before one pulls an axe on the other and seemingly kills him. Intercut throughout this video is more cryptic symbols, which form a full sentences this time, and which read: "Stood upon the sand of the sea."

 A creepy voice can be heard speaking and then we see a young woman (seemingly Maika Monro) standing in front of a wall filled with the symbols from all these cyphers. 

One last title card appears, this one translating to "July."

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So what do we know? Longlegs will seemingly be released this July by Neon, and it stars Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe in a film that has not only some creative marketing but clear allusions to the satanic panic (something writer/director Oz Perkins has covered in a previous film). As of this writing though we can probably guess that another teaser will premiere next Friday too. In the meantime, the wait for Longlegs carries on.

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