The majority of the problems raised by Longlegs’ terrible ending have been addressed by director Oz Perkins in a recent interview. The picture, which has garnered critical acclaim as one of the creepiest and darkest movies of our time, has made more money than any other horror release this summer with $28.5 million in sales so far.
In the movie, Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), the notorious demonic killer, is being pursued by FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe). Lee discovers during the course of the investigation that the murderer had a co-conspirator when Cage’s Longlegs ends his own life by hitting his skull on a table.
It comes out that Ruth (Alicia Witt), Lee’s mother, has been Longlegs’ covert accomplice, assisting him in his search for victims in exchange for preserving her daughter’s life. Ruth dons a nun’s habit and distributes enigmatic dolls made by Longlegs that manipulate families into murdering one another.
It was also disclosed that Longlegs resided in Harker’s basement and that Lee was endowed with semi-psychic skills by the doll he constructed for her.
At the end, Lee finds out that FBI investigator Carter’s (Blair Underwood) family is Ruth’s next target, but they have been brainwashed before she can go to their home. After Carter kills his wife, Lee shoots Carter and Ruth to try to end it all, but she is unable to shoot the doll for some reason. Carter is then going to hurt his daughter.
Perkins did offer some explanation for the movie’s resolution, but most of it remained unclear. Anyway, this is what he had to say about the Longlegs finale to Variety:
It was supposed to be a tragic conclusion. On a tiny scale once more, the devil prevails. The movie’s conclusion marks the conclusion of Lee Harker’s story. The worst that can happen to her is the final shot she fires.
Given Harker’s lifelong shame over her mother’s involvement in the killings, it is clear from Perkins’ remarks that he intended the conclusion to be tragic. Is the conclusion more complex than it first appears?
What Does Longlegs’ Ambiguous End Mean?
Many questions remain unanswered in the movie, and it appears that Perkins is reluctant to provide an explanation because doing so would undermine the whole “ambiguous” element of the picture.
Given that the devil has obviously won in the movie and that Perkins was influenced by the serial killer on Se7en, it is reasonable to suppose that the antagonist will be around for a very long time and may even transform Harker into a killer as the devil had intended.
Even if this is merely conjecture on our part, it makes some sense in light of the clues offered at the end. Maybe because of the devil’s influence, Harker is unable to shoot the doll intended for Carter’s daughter after killing both Ruth and Carter.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to think that Harker, who has been trapped in the trauma produced by Longlegs since boyhood, may turn out to be the real evil and that the serial killings will go on after the movie ends.
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