Nicolas Cage’s New 86% RT Horror Film Is the Silence of the Lambs Replacement I’ve Wanted for Years

I miss one Silence of the Lambs replacement since I first watched it, and luckily this new Nicolas Cage horror movie ends my search. Shortly after its release in 1991 The Silence of the Lambs became a worldwide success, grossing over US$270 million against a relatively small budget of US$19 million. However, the film’s success went far beyond box office numbers. In the years that followed, it became one of the most influential films, inspiring several crime thrillers that tried to replicate it but failed.

More than three decades after its launch, The Silence of the Lambs it still holds up incredibly well and sustains its legacy as one of the best psychological horror films of all time. Because of this, when many critics compared Nicolas Cage’s new horror film to The Silence of the LambsI couldn’t help but wonder if the comparison was hyperbole or had some semblance of truth. While I have faith in Nicolas Cage and love what he brings to the screen in every horror film, I carefully measure my expectations. Surprisingly, the film went much further.

Like The Silence of the Lambs, Longlegs keeps the villain’s screen time brief but impactful

Anthony Hopkins and Nicolas Cage have incredible screen presence as villains

It would be unfair to say that Long legs is narratively similar to Silence of the Lambs because despite the structural similarities, the two films are significantly different. However, it is still difficult not to see how Long legs – consciously or unconsciously – adopts some of the elements of Jonathan Demme’s film. Among these, the most notable element is Long legs‘treatment of his villain.

Much like Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter, Nicolas Cage’s titular Longlegs gets almost no screen time in the film. However, when he appears, Cage’s brilliant performance and the mysterious ambiguity with which his character is portrayed are enough to make your skin crawl. Cage’s Longlegs isn’t as articulate and charming as Hopkins’ Lecter, but he exudes a similar, menacing yet friendly presence that emerges even when he’s not on screen.

Lee Harker, by Maika Monroe, resembles Clarice Starling, by Jodie Foster

Both characters are misfits in their respective stories

Both Clarice Starling and Lee Harker are treated as outsiders in the FBI. As Clarice struggles to find her place in a male-dominated workplace, Lee Harker’s reserved demeanor is often seen as a liability. In a brief but memorable scene of Long legsI couldn’t help but see Lee Harker as the perfect foil for Clarice Starling. When Lee visits her boss’s house, she briefly interacts with his daughter, who asks if it’s scary being an FBI agent.

Although Lee remains restrained, she says “yes” calmly and calmly, remembering all the moments Silence of the Lambs where Clarice represents a stark contrast to the male recruits in her organization. Despite the lack of horror, it is a powerful scene because it shows how the young woman is the only character who cares to empathize with Lee without judging. Many details of the story in Long legs also suggest that, like Clarice, Lee ended up joining law enforcement because of his childhood traumas.

The two films also feature similar interrogation scenes, where Lee and Clarice are thrown into the lion’s den, making them face the worst of humanity. Following their respective encounters with the central serial killers, both characters face blatant sexism. While Lecter’s inmate neighbor throws semen on Clarice, Lee’s superior blames her instead of showing any empathy when the interrogation doesn’t go as planned. Only an agent comes forward and insists on taking her back home.

Longlegs is more supernatural, but plays out like a typical crime procedural

Some of Longlegs’ mysteries are based on realism

As I mentioned earlier, despite the many similarities, Long legs and The Silence of the Lambs They are narratively two distinct films. The main reason behind this is that Long legs It has a lot of supernatural elements. Unlike Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling Maika Monroe’s Lee Harker is clairvoyantallowing her to see things in crimes that go beyond her coworkers’ human senses. Long legsThe murder mystery’s climactic twist is also supernatural and more reminiscent of films like Hereditary than criminal procedural thrillers like The Silence of the Lambs.

However, despite this, Long Legs plays out like a typical procedural in its first half, immersing viewers and making them active participants in its puzzle box of mysteries. Its procedural elements are sometimes predictable and lack the nuances that The Silence of the Lambs brings to the table. But it generates enough intrigue with these aspects of the story to keep someone captivated until its supernatural twists begin to emerge.

Longlegs’ climax is as moving as the Silence of the Lambs

Both films have terribly ambiguous developments in their endings

In The Silence of the LambsIn the final arc, Clarice Starling faces one of her biggest challenges when she struggles to find Gumb in the dark as he chases her using night vision goggles. Starling’s chances of survival in this situation seem incredibly low, but she, fortunately, reacts quickly and shoots Gumb when he cocks the revolver. While I’m well aware of the outcome of this scene, every time I rewatch it, I can’t help but hold my breath as Starling struggles to find Gumb.

I felt something similar when I watched Long legs‘ final arc where Lee Harker is forced to make the quick decision to shoot his superior and then his mother before they can harm her. Just when I thought I could breathe a sigh of relief while watching both films, they left me with disturbing endings where the greater evil remains. While Hopkins’ Lecter tells Starling that he is “inviting an old friend to dinner,“Cage is satanic”the man below“becomes free in a way he wasn’t before.

Is Longlegs as good as The Silence of the Lambs?

It comes close to being as relaxing and atmospheric

Long legs‘the general appeal seems to be more specific compared to The Silence of the Lambsespecially because of its supernatural twists. Its procedural aspects are also much less detailed and more predictable than those of the 1991 film. However, when it comes to leaving a lasting impact on the viewer, I can confidentially say that Long Legis as invasive with its terrors as The Silence of the Lambs. Like Jonathan Demme’s film Oz Perkins Long legs presents a story that felt very personal, making me believe this could happen to me.

Although it still arguably falls short of matching The Silence of the Lambs‘ legacy, Long legs manages to carve out its own unique identity in the psychological horror genre. Due to its distinctive style and mix of genres, it seems likely that the Nicolas Cage the film’s initial reception will be relatively more divisive than The Silence of the Lambs‘. However, as True Detective The first season, which also combines supernatural horror with gripping detective crime drama, will gradually find a dedicated audience.

What director Osgood Perkins said about using The Silence of the Lambs as inspiration for Longlegs

The director used Silence Of The Lambs as an invitation into the world of Longlegs

Osgood Perkins revealed (via IGN) that “Stuff from The Silence of the Lambs” in Long legs serves as “ticket“to catch them”through the door.” The director’s explanation makes a lot of sense, since, from a narrative point of view, Long legs it just looks similar to The Silence of the Lambs in its opening arc. The more its plot progresses and gets closer to its twist ending, the more it unfolds a unique narrative that diverges from its initial similarities.

Long legs ultimately ends up being much more supernatural than initially expected, but that’s it Silence of the Lambs parallels allow you to maintain an appearance of realism. Its demonic touch makes it more similar to Oz Perkins’ previous line of horror films. However, as The Silence of the Lambsthe Nicolas Cage horror film sells itself perfectly as a thrilling police procedural.