Movies News Talk
Longlegs has a chilling ending that involves multiple deaths and shocking revelations. This film, written and directed by Osgood Perkins, has received mostly positive reviews. Starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, Longlegs ends with the capture of the titular character, Longlegs. After deciphering various letters left at crime scenes, Agent Lee Harker digs into her past and discovers she was one of the girls targeted by Longlegs. With a photograph revealing Longlegs' identity, the FBI was finally able to apprehend him.
Harker attempts to shoot the doll the same way Ruth shot hers. We hear the sound of Harker's gun firing, but it's unclear if there are any more bullets left or if the safety is on (which seems unlikely considering she just killed her mother). Harker could have reloaded her gun, but she is frozen in place, staring hypnotically at the doll. It appears Longlegs' handmade creation has some sort of influence over Harker, preventing her from killing it. It's possible that Harker is now under the doll's, and by extension, Longlegs', manipulation.
While it could be just her terror, the doll seems to have a hold on Harker. She is entranced. Though she could eventually come to her senses and shoot the doll, it's likely that Harker is drawn to it because of Longlegs' significant influence on her life for so long. Through the doll, Longlegs is still able to reach out beyond the grave. His impact is still felt, and it's possible the doll will keep Harker in its clutches until his task is complete. Ruby is still alive, and Longlegs may use Harker to finish the job he and Ruth started.
It's unclear why Longlegs started killing families, but both he and Ruth Harker quote Revelation 13:1 right before their deaths. This verse mentions a beast with seven heads and ten horns, which can be interpreted as the Antichrist or a demon rising from the sea to receive authority and power from the dragon, Satan, to do his bidding. A second beast appears in later chapters. In the film, Longlegs and Ruth are the beasts. They deceive and control families, making each family believe they are receiving a gift from the church.
Longlegs' real name was Dale Ferdinand Cobble, and the film doesn't reveal his full backstory or why he began making dolls to send to families. At the start of the film, Ruth asks Harker if she has been saying her prayers. By the end of the film, Ruth changes her tune and says something about prayers being useless. Ruth is an example of someone being manipulated by the original beast, Longlegs, to perform evil acts. She believes these acts are necessary to save her daughter, but she has been corrupted to the point that even after she is free from Longlegs, she continues helping him kill families. She has become the second beast, and with the dragon and Longlegs, they form the inverse of the Holy Trinity.
Longlegs hand makes dolls that Ruth delivers to each family, but the hollow silver orb inside the doll's head doesn't directly give them instructions, at least not in the usual sense. However, there is a distinct sound emanating from the silver orb. It sounds like static whispers that only the family can hear. It's eerie and puts the family members into a trance they can't break out of. The silver orb is hollow, but it's revealed that Longlegs passes a part of himself through each doll, and it's possible the families are hearing his voice indistinctly whispering to them.
Longlegs has a specific serial killer method. He targets families who have daughters born on the 14th day of any given month. The murders happen within six days before or after the birthday, which likely symbolizes the three number sixes that appear in the code. Longlegs doesn't confirm the reason behind the 14th birthday, but it could refer to Revelation 13:1 - 13+1 is 14. Seven is a significant number in the Bible, and doubling it represents completeness, divinity, and deliverance. Longlegs might have believed he was freeing the families through death.
The number 14 could also refer to the beast with seven heads. The implication is that there are two beasts (Longlegs and Ruth), and 14 is the double of seven. Both Longlegs and Ruth quoted Revelation 13:1, signifying its importance in their work. It also implies that the beast with seven heads can multiply. After all, the serial killer was never truly alone in his work. Even before death, Longlegs was confident his work would continue because the seed was already planted. The two beasts and the dragon essentially form the three sides of a triangle.
Longlegs ends on a cliffhanger, with the audience left wondering what will happen next to Harker or Ruby. Both of the "beasts" are dead by the end of Longlegs, but the doll has yet to be destroyed, which means Longlegs, from beyond the grave, could pass the torch to Harker to do his bidding in a sequel. The fact that Harker doesn't shoot the doll suggests she is now under some sort of spell. If she becomes like the serial killer she tried to stop, it would be an interesting path to take in a sequel horror movie.
Whatever the case, Longlegs leaves Harker and Ruby alive, and a sequel could explore what happens to them next. Will they both become the "beasts" who deceive families and push them to kill, like Longlegs and Ruth before them? It's not an impossible scenario considering the events of Longlegs, and it would be an intriguing route to take, providing a contrast to the way Harker is presented in the original story. The story could go anywhere, and Harker is a fascinating character to continue to follow on whatever journey awaits her next.
Longlegs has many layers, and while it's filled with religious references, the film's ending hints at the disintegration of the nuclear family. Longlegs could have gone after the children, but he also targeted the parents, making the father inflict violence upon his wife and daughter. It's very targeted, focusing on the deterioration of this specific family structure. Notably, Harker is the only one who made it to adulthood, and she was raised in a single-mom household.
At the same time, Longlegs' ending suggests that violence can enter any home, no matter how wholesome a family may be. All the characters, at one point or another, are forced or influenced to do something violent; it's something they might have never dreamed of doing. Harker even kills her own mother to save someone else at the end of Longlegs, and the cycle of harm continues.
Longlegs is a horror thriller film by writer-director Osgood Perkins. When FBI agent Lee Harker is assigned to a serial killer cold case, their investigation leads them down a rabbit hole riddled with disturbing discoveries and the occult at the center of it all. When the trail of evidence reveals a personal connection, it becomes a race against time to prevent another murder.