A horror movie is defined as a film that is aimed to scare or disturb viewers; however, Longlegs gave that definition a whole new meaning. Just with a simple yet so wildly creative market tactic, the film had all of Hollywood’s attention.
It makes one question – what is more scary: a simple jump scare that will make you throw your popcorn in the air or the hiding of a main character to build suspense around the story?
I am easily scared, don’t get me wrong however, the second one makes me unsettled entering the theater.
Having an FBI agent played by Maika Monroe, go opposite Nicholas Cage as this mysterious serial killer was a treat for any moviegoer to watch. However, when the mysterious killer is revealed, it makes the exchange even greater due to the outstanding marketing idea by everyone involved at NEON.
A week before the worldwide release of the movie, NEON decided to release a scene from where Makia Monroe saw Cage in full makeup and character. The reactions you see from Makia’s character are genuine. They even decided to step it up a notch and have her heart monitored. It is said by NEON that her resting heart rate is 76 BPM…… in this particular scene, it hit 170 BPM.
If there was an Oscar for best marketing this would win 11 times out of ten. This film pushed the boundaries of what it meant to scare someone. There wasn’t one not nervous person in that audience with me on opening night. There weren’t many times in my life when I felt so anxious that I was scared to move in my seat. However, at that 9:20 p.m. showtime on July 12tat my local theater, my hands were shaking as I was trying to eat my popcorn. Seeing Longlegs for the first time made my skin crawl a little too well.
I hope Hollywood listened loud and clear to the reactions NEON was getting for this marketing idea. Hollywood has lost its magic when it comes to building intrigue around trailers. Before you enter the theater nowadays, you know 80 percent of the movie you are about to get. Whoever in Hollywood came up with the idea of showing a five seconds teaser before the trailer starts should get fired.
Whatever you do after reading this column, run to your TV and turn this film on. While you make the trip to your TV – don’t forget your Longlegs.
