J*A*S*M

If someone really talented in directing had taken this on, it could have easily been my new horror darling. It has all the appealing attributes, from the setting of an old castle in the Italian countryside, to the witch theme, to the nicely designed monster in the basement (or rather at the bottom of the well). Unfortunately, Federico Zampaglione shoots with such a "degree" of imagination and creativity that it ends up looking like a thirty-year-old TV movie. But whatever. At least it reminded me of the old Italian trashy shockers and Castle Freak. Sometimes even this kind of B-movie, even if it grossly fails to live up to its potential, is enough for mild satisfaction. The make-up effects and the gore were very good.

There's no denying Longlegs' awesome atmosphere and very impressive individuality, but I actually have more problems with the final film than I feared. Overall, it's kind of off-kilter, so it doesn't have the flow of a traditional horror-thriller film, but it's also literal, more or less predictable, and without any major surprises, so it doesn't even move within the confines of full-on psycho oddity. I found the whole investigative line of inquiry unsatisfying and futile, with Osgood Perkins basically faking a detective procedural with the birth dates and murders, the cryptic letters; it all sounds and looks cool, but what really came out of it and what was the point? I strongly missed those moments here, where the investigator figures something out and the film is able to explain how those findings move closer to the killer. Here, in contrast, the shifts in the investigation just "happen", or the titular Longlegs sends the protagonist a clue... Nicolas Cage is excellent, excellent, until suddenly he stops being excellent (about the time he starts "singing"), then his performance becomes rather distracting. I'm very hesitant to rate it between 3 and 4 stars, I've already clicked a couple of times. I guess the second screening, which won't be burdened by expectations (which were high now), will have to crack it definitively.

Yes, you will remember a few of the older films when you watch this. No, there's not much more to it than you would expect after reading the synopsis. But this is a thriller with perfect craftsmanship, visually appealing and solidly acted, and it can be realistically suspenseful, which is no small feat. I honestly got so into the film in the cinema that I for a moment I toyed with the idea of giving it a full score; it's the kind of film where the immediate experience is significantly higher than when you're thinking about it. The weak point is the vaguely explained rules of "something" that I can't mention without spoilers, especially given the epilogue (very unnecessary for me).