A new year means new movies to watch in theaters or at home. And while we’ve got an idea of the bigger franchise tentpoles, some films are building up their presence the old-fashioned way: with some pretty effective marketing that sells you on the movie’s vibe first and foremost.
Over the last few Fridays, distributor Neon has released small teasers for an upcoming horror movie called Longlegs. The first two featured audio of someone talking over a family photo and the FBI uncovering something in the floorboards as unsettling music plays in the background, with symbols flickering mid-clip and appearing at the very end. We got another this past Friday, which shows a priest in the moments before he’s seemingly murdered by whoever he’s talking with. Closing out the clip an FBI agent looking at a wall of symbols over audio of someone singing; the lyrics aren’t clear, but the singer sounds like Nicolas Cage.
Longlegs is directed by Oz Perkins, who previously helmed 2020’s Gretel & Hansel. Cage has the role of a serial killer being investigated by a new FBI agent named Lee (played by It Follows’ Maika Monroe). The more Lee digs into his killings, the more she finds something off and occult is going on with him, along with a potential link between them. All three of the teasers thus far have been unsettling, but engaging: fans online have spent time trying to decode the symbols within each teaser, and there’s been a general positive reaction for Neon’s restraint with revealing what this movie is.
At time of writing, Longlegs doesn’t have a release date in place. That may come with the first real trailer for the thing, though it’s unclear if this upcoming Friday will provide that or yet another teaser.
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