Osgood Perkins “didn’t mean” to scare everybody so much with Longlegs

Longlegs has now crept its way onto big screens, and although audiences are being scared out of their skin, director Osgood Perkins insists he didn’t want to make anyone feel bad.

In the build-up to Longlegs (which has easily become the most-anticipated horror movie of 2024), it was clear that the new movie was succeeding in one clear measure: horrifying everyone who laid eyes on it.

With rumors of audience members crying at previews and the film shooting up to 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the hype promised big scares and even bigger trauma. But according to Perkins, his intentions aren’t as nasty as they seem.

When asked how he feels knowing what he’s done to audiences, Perkins said [via Deadline]: “I subscribe to the same ideology of ‘I didn’t mean it.’ And I almost mean it like a kid who broke something and they’re like, ‘Nah, I didn’t mean to do that. It was an accident.'”

“I only set out to make people feel good,” he added. “I never set out to make people feel bad. And I don’t know that any film director does, but I know that I don’t.

“And I think people don’t feel bad. I think people dig the feeling that they’re having, so that’s great. But my intention was just to make something I thought was cool. That’s all.”

Longlegs is indeed making audiences feel things. From the film’s disturbing marketing tactics (did anyone else listen to that bone-chilling phone recording?) to reviews dubbing the horror movie as “evil” and “unholy”, Neon nailed the atmosphere from the start.

But as someone who’s created the most talked-about serial killer tale in recent memory, Perkins admits to not being up-to-date on the horror movie scene.

“I really don’t watch it,” he said. “It’s not something I seek out. I know that may sound weird to people, but I don’t see the horror movies that come to the theaters.”

Longlegs is playing in theaters now. For more, check out our review. We’ve also got a guide to the Longlegs ending explained, as well as background on Nicolas Cage’s serial killer.