Longlegs is undoubtedly the horror hit of the summer, with critics and filmgoers alike praising the film as one of the best of the year.
Starring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe, it follows serial killer Longlegs (played by Cage) as he is being pursued by FBI agent Lee Harker.
"As the investigation becomes more complicated with occult evidence uncovered, Harker realises a personal link to the killer and must act quickly to prevent another family murder," the synopsis adds.
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While the film's success has been boosted by word-of-mouth and an impressive viral marketing campaign, writer-director Osgood Perkins also picked an incredibly good name for the titular serial killer.
"Longlegs" just feels creepy and leaves you unsettled.
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Now, in an interview with Variety, Perkins has explained how he came up with the name.
"We writers just like words. We like how certain words sound and look and shape and feel," he said.
"Yeah, it has daddy longlegs and a creepy-crawly aspect to it, but it also feels ’70s to me — almost like a Led Zeppelin song or someone would have on the side of their van, something groovy like that. It feels like a vintage word that people wouldn’t toss around much today.
"It positioned the movie in a weird place," Perkins added. "You don’t get to fully understand it. It doesn’t fully fit, which is more alluring to me and creates a curiosity that I think is important."
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Last week, Longlegs hit US cinemas and set an impressive new record with its box-office debut.
The film opened with $22.6 million at the US box office, significantly outperforming the rom-com Fly Me to the Moon.
That figure set a new record for distributor Neon as its biggest opening weekend in the US. Neon acquired the movie for under $10 million and spent around the same amount on its marketing and distribution.
Longlegs is out now in cinemas.
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Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.
Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.
You can read more of her work on her Substack page.
