Nicolas Cage is a performer who routinely defies logic and expectations. A true national treasure of cinema (no pun intended), Cage has never been afraid to cross genre lines and take big swings with the characters he embodies. Such is the case in the new film Longlegs by Osgood Perkins. In the movie, Cage plays the titular Longlegs, an elusive and terrifying serial killer. While previously able to stay off the FBI’s radar, everything changes when a young recruit named Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) gets assigned to the case.
Bloody Disgusting’s own Meagan Navarro wrote in her Longlegs review that Cage delivers his “most unsettling performance yet.” With a career as prolific and varied as Cage’s, that statement should not be taken lightly. Ahead of the film’s release in theaters everywhere on July 12th, let’s take a look at some of Cage’s other unsettling, uncomfortable, and unnerving horror performances.
Red Miller – Mandy (2018)
When viewers first meet Red and his partner Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) in Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy, the loving couple leads a life that is just about as picturesque and enchanted as one can imagine. Residing in an introvert’s dream cabin deep in a thick mountain forest, the pair watch movies, discuss sci-fi novels, and simply enjoy being with each other. However, this changes when Mandy crosses paths with delusional cult leader Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache), his small band of followers, and demon-biker soldiers.
What starts as a casual encounter soon leads to Mandy’s violent, senseless murder. Red’s grief over this loss transforms him into something dark and powerful, fueled by his need for revenge. As Red, Cage demonstrates his immense range as an actor. Seamlessly shifting from soft, subtle and loving to grief-stricken, violent and determined, Cage matches Cosmatos’ uniquely singular style and breathes entrancing and terrifying life into Red in a way few could match.
Peter Loew – Vampire’s Kiss (1988)
Robert Bierman’s Vampire’s Kiss is one of those films whose legacy will forever remain infamous and potent. In the film, Cage plays a young publishing executive who may or may not be turning into a vampire. While the script is competent, it isn’t the writing, ambiguity, or style that gives Vampire’s Kiss such a lasting and famous reputation. Ultimately, it is the performance that Cage delivers that provides the movie with its infamy.
As Loew, Cage absolutely terrorizes a young office assistant named Alva (Maria Conchita Alonso) as he vacillates between simply stressed and horrifically abusive. Cage also makes some performance choices that defy logic and baffle even the most imaginative minds. Scenery chewing isn’t a strong enough phrase for what Cage delivers, and it results in an unnerving anxiety that permeates every second and every frame of the film.
The Janitor – Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
With over 100 acting credits on his resume, it truly says something when a film offers a version of Nic Cage that no one has seen before. In the case of Willy’s Wonderland, that version, funnily enough, has Nic Cage saying absolutely nothing at all. Boasting strong Five Nights at Freddy’s vibes, Willy’s Wonderland features Cage as a drifter who gets tricked into a janitorial gig at a condemned amusement center. Even as meddling teens, homicidal animatronics, and neverending cleaning tasks get in his way, Cage never utters a word. Despite this, Cage captivates and adds bizarre surreality that wonderfully destabilizes an otherwise predictable outing.
Frank Pierce – Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
Critics and commentators have long hypothesized that Cage is an actor who best delivers when a director understands how to utilize and maximize his incredible skills. Unsurprisingly, Martin Scorsese is such a director and Bringing Out the Dead is proof. In the film, Cage plays Frank Pierce, an ambulance paramedic who is burned out in every way a human can be burned out. Tortured by the people he couldn’t save and the grueling demands of the gig, Frank spirals into an existential fever dream crisis complete with flashing lights, caffeine, narcotics, hallucinations, Patricia Arquette, and death’s eternal reality.
While not a traditional horror film, Bringing Out the Dead is an intensely bleak, dark, kinetic, and depressing cinematic outing. Cage and Scorsese feel united in their vision of Frank, creating a simultaneously sympathetic and upsetting character. Through Cage, Frank’s inner turmoil becomes a palpable presence as we watch him navigate the streets of Manhattan, trapped in a purgatory of his own making. Without a doubt, Frank Pierce is one of Cage’s most underrated and compelling performances.
Brent – Mom and Dad (2017)
Before Zackary Arthur became the absolute bane of Chucky’s existence, he portrayed the pre-teen son of Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair in this pitch-black horror-comedy from writer and director Brian Taylor. Flipping the script on classics like The Bad Seed, Children of the Corn, Village of the Damned and The Omen, it is the parents in Mom and Dad that develop a taste for blood. More specifically, their own children’s blood. As one might expect, Cage wholeheartedly embraces his role as a bad dad and takes the film’s uncomfortable premise exactly where it needs to go.
Paul Matthews – Dream Scenario (2023)
Photo Credit: A24
In this odd little horror-comedy from Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli, Cage plays a totally normal, totally average guy who suddenly starts appearing in millions of people’s dreams. Now, the horror part of this equation kicks in when these dreams turn into full-on nightmares, with Paul starring as the lead villain. It’s kind of like if Freddy Krueger had a less problematic origin story and was more dad-like, awkward, and endearing.
For the role, Cage had to play Paul navigating this weird new fame in the real world and execute dozens of smaller nightmare segments in which he terrorizes people in myriad ways. Ranging from brutal to simply creepy, Cage commits to these darker moments completely, creating an undercurrent of unease and uncertainty that permeates the entire runtime. In many ways, Dream Scenario is precisely that for Cage: a perfect artistic playground that amplifies and highlights his unique brand of brilliance.
Nathan Gardner – Color Out of Space (2019)
Coming as a surprise to no one, the combination of Nicolas Cage and H.P. Lovecraft in Color Out of Space results in a memorable Cage performance. In the film, Cage plays the patriarch of the Gardner family. Yes, the mysterious meteorite that lands in the Gardner front yard results in a wealth of nightmarish incidents for all involved, but Nathan contains a distinctive set of oddities all his own.
For one, Nathan is obsessed with his alpacas. Disquieting from the very beginning, this character trait only gets more unsettling as the film progresses. In addition to the alpaca thing, as the influence of the alien organism spreads, Nathan develops a speech pattern and inflection that sounds eerily similar to that of Peter Loew in Vampire’s Kiss. Soon spiraling into full-body freakouts and physical aggression, Cage displays the organism’s more subtle effects while elevating the film’s tension and more mercurial narrative aspects.
Unsettling Performance Honorable Mentions:
- The Wicker Man (2006)
- Adaptation (2002)
- Deadfall (1993)
- Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
- Wild at Heart (1990)
Longlegs arrives in theaters this Friday, July 12. Get tickets now!
The upcoming serial killer horror movie marks the return of director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel). Nicolas Cage stars alongside Maika Monroe, with Monroe playing an FBI agent and Cage playing a serial killer.
In the film, “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Cage). 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.
The film is rated “R” for “Bloody violence, disturbing images and some language.”
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