NEON has shared a new teaser for the insane-looking horror movie Longlegs, and it features some more chilling footage from the film.

With all of the footage that has been shared, one aspect of the film that is being held back is a full reveal of Nicolas Cage’s serial killer character. This is a smart marketing move that builds up the curiosity.

The director of the film, Osgood Perkins, explains in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, why they are holding back on the reveal.

He said: “It’s driving people towards a freak show at a circus tent. We’ve got the thing behind the curtain, and when there’s enough people gathered ’round, we’re going to pull the curtain.”

Cage added: “It’s the equivalent of putting a warning label on a jar of nitroglycerin. The monster is a highly, highly dangerous substance. The way it’s moved, unveiled, deployed has to be treated very carefully.

“Forget about the movie theater blowing up; the whole city could blow up, nay the country, maybe even the world. He is going to change your reality. Your doors of perception are going to open, and your life is not going to be the same.”

I love that hype! Cage sounds like the guy standing in front of the circus tent getting people pumped up and excited to see what’s behind the curtain!

Perkins goes on to admit that he did consider revealing Cage’s “monster” prior to the film’s release: “Editing a picture is a nearly psychedelic experience. It really is because it’s so infinite.

“The permutations and combinations you can get from putting this there and that there, you’re in a Rubik’s Cube of possibilities. I think we found the sweet spot. This guy lives just outside the consciousness of our protagonist. He’s there, but he’s totally not there, but he’s totally there.”

This movie follows Maika Monroe’s character, Lee Harker, a gifted new FBI agent, who is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case.

“As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.”

Longlegs is said to be “in the vein of classic Hollywood psychological thrillers,” and early reviews have compared it to the classic ’90s thriller The Silence of the Lambs.

The movie will be released on July 12th, 2024 and it’s said to be the “scariest film of the decade.”