Is Longlegs The Surprising Link To The Blackcoat’s Daughter’s Dark Secrets?

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Summary

  • Fans divided on Longlegs’ ending, highlighting Nicolas Cage’s performance & comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs.
  • A fan theory suggests Longlegs could be connected to Perkins’ The Blackcoat’s Daughter, noting similarities in story and characters.
  • Perkins’ distinct filmmaking style ties Longlegs and The Blackcoat’s Daughter together with themes of family, identity, and good vs. evil.

Regardless of whether viewers find the ending of ‘Longlegs’ satisfying or feel it could have been more thoroughly explained, there’s no arguing that it was one of the most significant horror films of 2024. Penned by and directed by Osgood Perkins, ‘Longlegs’ is a skillfully constructed story revolving around an FBI agent named Lee Harker (played by Maika Monroe), who becomes deeply engrossed in the investigation of a peculiar serial killer. The film offers a stellar performance from Nicolas Cage as this enigmatic character, and has been likened to ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.

Enjoying the thrill of a horror enthusiast often includes discussing and debating with others about how different plot elements in a story may connect. One intriguing fan theory posits whether Longlegs might have ties to another skillfully crafted horror movie by the same director, Perkins.

Could Longlegs Be A Prequel To Oz Perkins’s The Blackcoat’s Daughter?

One Redditor came up with a fascinating idea:

As a devoted admirer, here’s my take on the theory: “I’ve been pondering over an intriguing idea – could Longlegs potentially serve as a prequel to Perkins’ The Blackcoat’s Daughter? The chronology and certain specific details hint at this connection.

2015 saw the debut of The Blackcoat’s Daughter, a movie by Osgood Perkins, which was around a decade prior to his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey. Starring Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts, this film shares similarities with another chilling tale of demonic possession titled Longlegs. Both films share a desolate atmosphere, have a subtle yet eloquent style, and feature numerous stunning, eerie shots of a wintry small town. They both leave viewers with an uneasy sensation at the end.

In both films, the principal characters exhibit certain parallels. In Monroe’s “Longlegs,” the character Lee, burdened by childhood trauma, often spends her time alone. On the other hand, “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” unfolds across three distinct timeframes, introducing Kat (Shipka) as a student at a boarding school who senses an eerie occurrence. As the story progresses, it is revealed that the character Joan (Roberts) is actually Kat in disguise. The scenes featuring Joan transpire nine years after the film’s start. Similar to Lee, Joan/Kat grapples with trauma from her past, specifically dealing with a demon possessing her during adolescence and causing harm since then. It appears that neither Lee nor Joan/Kat have many close associates or the ability to open up emotionally.

Although Longlegs, set in the 1990s, isn’t technically a prequel to The Blackcoat’s Daughter, it’s intriguing to consider their relationship as if they were connected. If we speculate that the devil took control of Cage’s character, Longlegs the serial killer, and then later possessed Joan/Kat in the other film, it creates an interesting narrative link between the two stories. Given their similarities and visual resemblance, it’s not hard to imagine these tales as part of a larger, connected universe.

Instead of disregarding key elements that made the original horror movies captivating and unique, such as compelling characters and shocking plot twists, Longlegs establishes a chilling and intriguing universe centered around demonic possession, with a shrewd FBI agent at its core. It’s exciting to speculate that Perkins’s 2015 film could serve as a prequel to his anticipated summer blockbuster in 2024.

What Did Osgood Perkins Say About The Blackcoat’s Daughter And His Horror Movie Career?

In my experience, both “Longlegs” and “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” share a chilling atmosphere, a fact that prompted questions during an interview with We Live Entertainment. When asked about this similarity, the director, Osgood Perkins, shared his perspective.

“we’re trying to find a signature, right?”

Perkins continued:

You seem drawn to explore deeper within yourself, and ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ resonated strongly with that. For me, it was incredibly personal, almost like a recurring theme. Just as artists frequently return to familiar subjects, this film feels like something I might want to re-examine.

As a cinephile, I can’t help but notice the striking similarities in style across the films of director T.W. Perkins. His horror genre masterpieces, like ‘Longlegs’ and ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’, all explore themes of family, identity, good versus evil, and growing up, making them fascinating to compare. Apart from these two classics, Perkins has also penned ‘The Girl in the Photographs’ and both wrote and directed ‘I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House’. The teaser for his latest work, ‘The Monkey’, is intriguing but it remains to be seen whether it will share many traits with his previous films. Regardless, I can’t wait to delve deeper into how Perkins continues to shape his horror filmmaking journey, as he recently shared insights in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

I enjoy the horror genre as it offers the greatest scope for creativity, and it stimulates the most poetic expressions. Essentially, it’s about trying to understand and grapple with the mysteries that are fundamentally beyond our comprehension.

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2025-01-27 22:35