The basic conception of the horror genre is to spook the audience or viewers. Although, each horror movie differs with how they go about this. Some of the techniques used are jumpscares, suspense, and gore. Within the scary movies there is usually a threat involved, something that is controlling or threatening the protagonist or main character. The mood of horror is typically dark and isolated, this creates tension for the viewers. The soundtrack creates suspense or fear by having silence or creepy distorted sounds. All of these factors and more make up what horror movies are. The two films that will be compared and contrasted are Sinners, created by Ryan Coogler, and Longlegs, created by Osgood Perkins.
Sinners and Longlegs have some similarities in reference to spirituality yet are both very different in approach, subject, and mood. The films have a spiritual vibe and they don’t need to throw in jumpscares to affect the audience. In each movie, the “threat” seemed to be some form of an evil spirit. The character named Longlegs, played by Nicolas Cage, was a spawn of Satan or an individual who had been worshipping him. In Sinners the vampires were visibly a form of the devil. This shows that in each Sinners and Longlegs, there is an evil spirit affecting the people. In both films there is one “main” subject, although there are others within the movie. In Sinners the main character is Samuel Moore, played by Miles Caton, and in Longlegs Lee Harker, played by Maika Monroe. These horror movies both present Modus Legendi in different ways. As both of these films have representations of monsters that reflect cultural anxieties they are very diverse. In Sinners the threat is the vampires, they represent internal fears within the protagonist. This could be sins or feelings of guilt for leaving his family to pursue his music. Longlegs has the monster placed as a physical being, or an external threat. It is physically a serial killer and a singular satanic force, although he had an accomplice. Therefore, vampires in Sinners are more symbolic for something else (internal emotion) and Longlegs is a physical monster/threat (external). These are some of the ways Longlegs and Sinners have similarities and differences in their style of film, subject and how they present Modus Legendi.
The films both use the atmosphere to build suspense and tension for the audience. They create an unsettling environment with mood, pace, and soundtrack that lead to expectations within each film. Sinners is more aesthetically pleasing with the mood, dulled colour palette, and dimly lit lighting which displays the protagonist’s internal struggles. Pacing in Sinners is done with long takes that go at a slow pace. The filming and editing style is more simplistic and calm, it displays many close-ups, still shots, as well as medium and long-shots. In Sinners the dark and dullness of the set creates an unsettling mood for the viewer. The slower takes and close-ups force the viewer to sit with the characters uncomfortability. A Breadcrumb within this film is Sammie’s guitar, he cherishes this guitar and it is then later used to smash the head of Remmick. All of these factors guide the audience through the film, slowly approaching the threat that is around the corner. The style of Longlegs differs because it takes more of a psychological approach. The mood makes it feel claustrophobic in most of the film. The filming and editing style of this film is disorientating and uncomfortable for the viewer. Throughout the film many of the shots are static, centered, or medium shots. This film is eerie, the colour palette is desaturated and has a lifeless quality to it. It displays sudden pops of bright red among the desaturated colours, this gives tension for the characters in the show and the audience. Similar to Sinners, the lighting in Longlegs is dim at some points to show fear for the characters. This makes the mood of Longlegs feel haunted or satanic. The pacing is quickly done and distorted angles are shown making this watch feel unpredictable. Static shots and long slower taken shots force the person watching to stay with the character knowing danger is approaching, similar to Sinners. These are some of the differences and similarities between the mood, pacing, and how they shape the expectations between Longlegs and Sinners.
A pivotal point that takes place in Sinners is when Sammie is playing his guitar in the juke joint that Smoke and Stack set up, both played by Michael B. Jordan. As he plays his guitar and belts the song he wrote, he summons African American music artists from the past and the future. They all dance around creating a jaw dropping cinematic point in the film. As Sammie shares his music, he attracts Remmick, the leader of the vampire group that invades the juke joint. This is an important moment in the film because it is after this that the vampires kill all the people inside the juke joint. In Longlegs a pivotal point is the scene when Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), drives with a coworker to her moms house to further investigate the murders. Only to find Ruth/her mother dressed as a nun and witnesses her shoot Agent Browning (Michelle Choi-Lee) who was waiting in the car. At this point in the film, Harker realizes that her mother is Longleg’s accomplice and has been throughout her whole life. After this realization, Harker is fighting to save the last family but in order to do so she has to murder her own mother. This is the big reveal of the mystery they have been trying to solve for the entire movie. This point for the main character is when she realizes the external evil she has been trying to find and solve the whole time has been her own mother, turning her emotions inward. These are the two points in each film that changes everything for both Sammie (Sinners) and Lee Harker (Longlegs).
These two films seem to be very diverse in terms of film-making, mood, storyline, and more. These films are different in subject matter and storyline, but have similarities following their mood, modus legendi, and the spirituality aspects of each film. Both Sinners and Longlegs are very cinematically created horror films and audiences were yet to be bored by these two creatively done films.
Description for Sinners screen grab:
In this image it shows the moment where Sammie summons the spirits from the past and future into the juke joint. It displays the power of his music and coming together which also ends up attracting the vampires.
Description for Longlegs screen grab:
This screen grab shows the moment where Harker witnesses her own mother shoot and kill her coworker. At this point in the film she has to choose the love she has for her mother or her morals and the saving of many families in the future.
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