"Longlegs"—The "Woman" as a Medium for Evil and the Lack of Social Integrity

A genealogy of horror fables where family, religion, and the Satanic Panic intersect

Director Osgood Perkins' "Longlegs" is a story about a female FBI agent who, while pursuing a series of family massacres, becomes entangled in a family curse related to devil worship.
Set against the backdrop of the 1990s, the era of the "Satanic Panic," it depicts the religious and psychological structure in which the "will of evil" is inherited from mother to daughter (*), yet it also carries the danger of failing to critically digest its social context.

In this article, I would like to analyze this work from three perspectives: horror film history, religious allegory, and social background.

I. The Fable of "Inherited Evil"—In the Context of Horror History

At first glance, "Longlegs" appears to be an orthodox crime thriller in which FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) investigates inexplicable family massacres. However, lying quietly beneath the surface is the theme of the "inheritance of evil," which cannot be explained by human reason.

In the early stages, the composition of Lee becoming isolated within the male-dominated society of the police organization and approaching madness is reminiscent of "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).
Furthermore, the development of arriving at a religious structure through the patterns of serial murders recalls the cold, calculated composition of "Se7en" (1995).
Moreover, the motif of "evil" becoming incarnate in a woman's body through devil worship can be called a modern reenactment of "Rosemary's Baby" (1968).

In short, this work appears to be a culmination of the motif of "evil being reproduced through the female body" in the genealogy of horror film history.
However, Director Perkins' perspective does not stop at mere imitation.
He does not depict the "existence of evil" as an intrusion from the outside, but ratherhouses evil within internal structures such as lineage, motherhood, and family.
It is this introverted composition that creates the quiet eeriness that envelops the entire work.

II. From Mother to Daughter—The "Woman" as a Medium for Evil

In the film, the will of evil is passed down from mother to daughter (Mother: Ruth Harker → Daughter: Lee Harker) (*). However, it is the fathers who actually massacre the families. I feel this dual structure is not a contradiction, but a religious and cultural device intentionally created by Director Perkins.

In his previous work, "Gretel & Hansel" (2020), the director also depicted "motherhood" as a source of terror. This is not intended to disparage women, but is a critical gaze suggesting that "the myth of motherhood binds women themselves."
In "Longlegs" as well, the mother is not depicted as the source of evil, but asan existence forced to become a medium for evil. While the mother tries to protect her family, her actions cause her to unconsciously reproduce the circuit of violence. I believe that therein lies the essence of the "modern curse" that Perkins is trying to depict.

Also, the fathers who carry out the murders are depicted as if they were priests performing a religious ritual. The composition where the mother presides over "conception" and the father executes the "sacrifice" is like a perversion of Christian mythology.
Through this religious parody, the director seems to be implicitly questioning "how faith has institutionalized violence."

III. A Personal Myth Surrounding the "Shadow of the Father"

Director Osgood Perkins is the actual son of actor Anthony Perkins, who played the mad son in "Psycho" (1960). In other words, he is an artist who inherited the "madness played by his father."
Therefore, his works are always underpinned by three layers: "the father's sin," "the mother's prayer," and "the child's inheritance." "Longlegs" is also an extension of this, and the blood of evil passed from mother to daughter can actually be read as a fable in whichthe violence of paternity is reproduced through the mother.
It is also the director's own unconscious self-confession, calmly depicting how evil changes form and persists within the closed relationship of a family.

IV. The Era of the Satanic Panic and the Lack of Social Integrity

I also feel a clear intention in the fact that this work is set in the 1990s.
During this era, a mass hysteria known as the "Satanic Panic" raged through American society.

Baseless rumors of "child murder and ritual abuse by devil worshippers" spread through news reports and trials, and many innocent people were socially ruined.
In other words, it was an era wherethe society that believed "the devil exists" was the most demonic of all.

However, "Longlegs" treats that historical background only as "atmosphere building." It does not go so far as to critically depict the stupidity of the Satanic Panic or the madness of the media, and as a result, it appears to bereproducing the fiction created by the era.

Ti West's "MaXXXine" (2024), set in the same period, depicted devil worship as a satire of media, crowd psychology, and the faith business. There was a clear intention of social criticism that fictional terror creates real-world violence.
In contrast, while "Longlegs" is a beautifully constructed fable, it does not take a step forward in terms of social integrity.

If Director Perkins had illuminated the Satanic Panic as a "prototype for fake news and conspiracy theories," I think the terror of this film would have gained even more universal depth. What he chose was the perspective of the "side that believes in evil."
Therefore, while the audience is overwhelmed by the beautiful visuals, they sense an ethical void somewhere, that is,a silence that does not speak of "what is truly terrifying".

V. What is "Evil"?—As a Question Within the Silence

I believe "Longlegs" is a work that, beyond superficial terrors like devil worship and murder, depicts
the very structure of "how evil is inherited". On the other hand, it remains silent about the external problem of "a society that ends up believing in that evil." This silence may be the work's limitation, but at the same time, it may also be its charm.

Director Perkins leaves behind only "inherited questions" without offering any answers. Is evil in the blood, or does the era create it?
A mother prays, a father acts, and a daughter inherits... all of these are right, and at the same time, sinful.

"Longlegs" is not a film about a demon.
Rather, I believe it is a work that quietly, yet surely, confronts the viewer with the fact that
"it was the era itself that was demonic."

(*) At the end of the film, Lee does not destroy the doll, which is the symbol of Longlegs' control. She simply stares at it, wears an expression of relief, and quietly says to her daughter Ruby, "Let's go."
The meaning of this expression is the film's greatest mystery, and at the same time, it speaks the most chilling truth.

Does this not suggest that Lee did not defeat evil, but rather inherited the "role of evil"? Just as her mother Ruth became a "medium" to protect her daughter, Lee has now taken on that role. The composure, kindness, and that momentary relief within her do not look like someone who has "erased evil," but rather like the expression of someone who has "understood evil."

In other words, Lee did not end the "cycle of evil," but chose to accept it in a gentler form and live with it. This is not the end of fear, but the beginning of its inheritance. The "long legs" symbolized by the name Longlegs may well be the lineage of evil that continues to walk across generations.

That is why this film is not just "scary," but "terrifying."
That terror lies in the fact that evil is not outside of people, but is accepted into them in the name of love and protection.

Reference: On the Satanic Panic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KglQdofkxk

Regarding the "Satanic Panic," which is the historical backdrop of this film,
the commentary video by film critic Yoshiki Takahashi is very easy to understand and recommended for deepening your insight.
How the mass hysteria that covered American society at the time, as well as religion, the media, and the judiciary, created the illusion of "devil worship"
will serve as a clue to reading this film in a more multi-layered way.