The secret reason Nicolas Cage looks so weird in Longlegs

The secret reason Nicolas Cage looks so weird in Longlegs

As a huge fan of Oz Perkins’ unique filmmaking style and Nicolas Cage‘s mesmerizing acting, I found “Longlegs” to be a captivating and intriguing watch. The genre-blending nature of this movie left me on the edge of my seat, questioning every twist and turn. However, one aspect that truly stood out to me was the enigmatic character of Longlegs and the mysterious backstory behind his bizarre appearance.


The film “Longlegs” by Oz Perkins presents a unique blend of genres: It functions as a police investigation, a serial killer tale, and a horror story with supernatural undertones. The production takes numerous side trips into subgenre territories. This eclectic mix leaves many unanswered questions in its wake, most notably concerning the appearance of the killer, who goes by the moniker “Longlegs” in cryptic messages directed at law enforcement. Is there a hidden supernatural component to his bizarre look?

The secret reason Nicolas Cage looks so weird in Longlegs

As a devoted fan, I’ve noticed an intriguing aspect of the film that struck me as unusual. Despite Longlegs’ distinctive appearance, which resembles someone covering their face with wet, greasy, white modeling clay, this feature is seldom acknowledged in the movie. The hardware-store employee, played by Perkins’ daughter Bea, is the only one who calls him a weirdo. It’s almost as if the characters are intentionally ignoring Longlegs’ appearance, which I found quite intriguing.

[Ed. note: Major spoilers ahead for Longlegs.]

Longlegs, also known as this, is a Satanist who collects souls for the devil by creating wicked dolls and distributing them as prize wins. Upon entering a household, the father becomes possessed, leading him to murder every family member before taking his own life. When Longlegs is apprehended, he informs protagonist Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) that Satan will richly honor him for these actions – he isn’t frightened of death since, much like Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars: A New Hope,” he believes his essence will persist beyond.

It’s surprising to learn that Longlegs’ intense devotion to Satan is behind his unnatural, pale, and lumpy appearance in the film. As per the movie’s press information, his distorted face is due to multiple botched plastic surgery attempts.

At the outset, Harlow MacFarlane, the special makeup effects artist, recounts that Perkins expressed a desire for Longlegs’ face to have a glam rock flair, according to MacFarlane. This encompassed extravagant hair, exaggerated makeup, and an infatuation with superficial beauty. Yet, MacFarlane emphasized that Longlegs was motivated by more than just a fashion statement. His devotion was all-consuming.

MacFarlane clarified, “His motivation is to make himself attractive for the Devil. He’s infatuated with the Devil and strives to please him through various botched plastic surgeries, transforming his appearance as elegantly as possible for this malevolent entity.”

To achieve the perfect “faded glam sadist” appearance in the late 70s and early 80s, when our characters resided in rural Oregon, involved delving into the realm of elective surgeries available during that time. This meant studying the subpar techniques marked by excessive filling and obvious scarring. The end result would be a complex web of pain upon pain. As MacFarlane puts it, “It’s as if this doctor performing these procedures was operating out of a strip mall somewhere.”

Based on the same sources, MacFarlane drew inspiration from Gary Oldman’s makeup portrayal of Mason Verger in the film “Hannibal.” In the 2001 continuation of “The Silence of the Lambs,” Mason was revealed to be a rapist and pedophile. Hannibal Lecter manipulated him into self-mutilation, leading to severe facial damage that could only be partially restored through surgery.

John Cage proposed a method akin to Lon Chaney’s extravagant makeup in the 1925 “Phantom of the Opera” film. Though excessive for Perkins’ production, traces of these concepts are observable in the finished product. A footnote at the end of that passage unveils an aspiration of Cage’s: He intended for Longlegs to completely detach his nose during the movie.

The secret reason Nicolas Cage looks so weird in Longlegs

In the movie and its promotional materials, there’s no mention of Satan expressing his feelings about Longlegs’ present appearance.

An intriguing detail emerges from the script: Director Perkins kept Monroe in the dark about the last visuals of her character until filming their initial encounter in an FBI questioning room. This was his method to ensure a genuine, spontaneous reaction from Monroe during that scene.

In an interview for the press notes, Monroe explained that on horror film sets, many people ask if the atmosphere is frightening or eerie. However, she assured that it’s not at all. They see the fake props and special effects. But for the first time, Monroe felt a profound sense of unease and fear as she prepared to open a door and discover what lay beyond. Oz kept her in the dark about Cage’s lengthy makeup process, adding to her apprehension and creating an unforgettable experience.

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2024-07-15 22:19

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