Is there any scene more important to a horror film than the opening one?
You’re sat down ready for a spooky time, the lights go down, you get through Daniel Kaluuya telling you to turn your phones off, and the film begins.
I don’t know about everyone else, but the first scene for me decides from then on if I'm going to be engaged and terrified throughout this film, or honestly, am I going to just laugh at it.
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Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Get Out, It, so many iconic horror films have you gripped and on the edge of your seat biting your nails by the end of the first scene.
That is an attribute that fans clearly think a new satanic horror film shares, with one fan posting on X to say:
“Literally one of the greatest openings to a horror movie EVER.”
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The film they were discussing was Longlegs, the new satanic horror starring Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, and directed by Osgood Perkins.
Longlegs released last week, and was met with a huge fan response, its opening weekend haul of $22.6 million in the US, the largest opening by a film from distributor NEON has ever managed.
Reviews for the movie have been beyond positive, with an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and many calling it the ‘scariest movie of 2024’.
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In UNILAD's five star review of the film, it said: “Longlegs is a singularly terrifying watch. You will spend minutes at a time holding your breath, and it doesn’t rely on jump scares to pay this off.
“Longlegs is a near-masterpiece in horror filmmaking.”
Jen Yamato from the Washington Post said in her review: “Nerve-jangling and devilishly bleak, Longlegs is easily the front-runner for scariest movie of 2024.”
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The opening scene plays a huge role in this, introducing us to Cage’s creepy villain – but refusing to fully show us his face, building the suspense.
Fans on twitter were in near unanimous agreement with the account calling this the greatest horror opening ever.
One fan replied saying: “I can’t wait to see it again and again and again and again”.
Another said: “The whole film is beautifully shot.”
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A different fan posted on X to say: “Longlegs has one of the best opening scenes I have seen all year.
“It’s probably the scene that unsettled me the most. You immediately get the sense that everyone involved with this film really did not come to play. Stylish as hell.”
Phil Walsh, a film podcaster, said: “The opening of Longlegs is HOW you start a horror movie. It perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the film. Ominous atmosphere. Striking cinematography. Chilling score. Bravo”
It seems that across the board everyone agrees, go into Longlegs ready for one of the creepiest opening scene ever.
Topics: Film, TV and Film, Horror
Michael Slavin