DirectorOsgood Perkinshimself hasconfessed to usingSilence of the Lambsas a foundational homagefor his film.
This makes for a tense, foreboding viewer experience.
While the novels andMichael Mann’sManhuntercame first, this film made Hannibal Lecter a horror icon.
Image by Nimesh Niyomal Perera
Lecters fascination with her is not unfounded.
Shes damn near a prodigy.
At first glance,Longlegs’protagonist Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) seems a solid parallel to Starling.
On a door-to-door investigation, Harker gets a hunch and goes directly to the house hiding their target.
In these early moments, the supernatural elements are seemingly a boon to characterization.
However, this angle is quickly discarded in favor of sinister vibes that shuffle Harker into place.
Starlings relationship with him unfolds because of things outside of Starlings control.
Even so, Starling does everything within her control to protect herself and stop Buffalo Bill.
The film undeniably gives Clarice Starling a full arc.
InLonglegs, vulnerability is exchanged for ominous vignettes.
Theyre not even her ideas as she works the case.
Come on, you let them kiss, so go all the way!
The developing relationship central toSilence of the Lambsfinds no parallel inLonglegs.
Harker and Longlegs never get to know one another.
Longlegs is mostly presented to viewers independently of Harker.
When they meet, he dodges her questions with little pushback from Harker.
Longlegs, like Harkers mother, is mostly a mouthpiece for the devil’s ominous prose.
In an unsettling visit to her childhood home, Ruth tells Harker that she was allowed to grow up.
In Harkers interview with Longlegs, he speaks of her mother taking the deal that seven others were offered.
This doesnt read as dramatic irony.
Harker has childhood experiences and psychic sensitivities; she isnt supernaturally unaffiliated.
Repeated allusions to the obvious make Harker look foolish.
The films finale makes it worse.
Harker finally shoots her mother, but only after Ruth jumps at her first.
Ominous whispering suggests that she is now under the devils thrall.
Butwhen the devil comes in, too much of the film falls out.
InSilence of the Lambs, where women are functionally meat, the characters have far more to do.
Women are hunted, skinned, sexualized, and repeatedly reduced to a physical asset.
InLonglegs, women are dolls.
But even here,Silence of the Lambsis complex whereasLonglegsis just lazy.
Both Lecter and Starling acknowledge that Buffalo Bill isn’t a trans woman seeking gender affirmation.
This is simply a new identity for Buffalo Bill to try as a justification for his violence.
Its unsettling atmosphere and provocative imagery cannot make up for an ultimately hollow supernatural procedural.
The film would be scarier and its protagonist more well-rounded if Longlegs worked alone.
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