While Longlegs isn’t the easiest movie to parse, the meaning of the serial killer thriller’s opening quote is pretty accessible. Directed by Oz Perkins, Longlegs is a psychological horror about the hunt for the тιтular Satanic serial killer. Although the movie starts out like an homage to Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, by Longlegs‘s ending, it is clear that viewers have wandered into trippier, more outright supernatural territory. Longlegs initially masquerades as a standard-issue procedural, but it is really more of a Satanic Panic horror movie.
At the center of Longlegs is the тιтular killer himself, played by an unrecognizable Nicolas Cage. The recipient of some truly diabolical appearance augmentation, the eponymous Longlegs is a creepy, pale classic rock fan whose makeup and clothing mark him out as a product of the ‘70s. Fittingly enough, he sings along to T. Rex’s “Planet Queen” in one early appearance. Longlegs opens with a quote from an even more famous T. Rex track, “Get It On.”
Longlegs Opens With A Lyric From T. Rex’s 1971 Song Get It On
The Song References A Mythological Monster
Although Longlegs subtly hints at its twist midway through the movie, its opening quote offers viewers a secret hint at the movie’s later revelations before its story has even begun. The quote at the beginning of Longlegs reads: “Well you’re slim and you’re weak / You’ve got the teeth of a hydra upon you / You’re dirty, sweet and you’re my girl.” Within the context of Longlegs’ story, the subject addressed by the song’s narrator could be Maika Monroe’s Lee Harker or her mother, Ruth.
Longlegs initially forced Ruth to work for him by threatening the life of her and her daughter, meaning Ruth could be read as the “Slim, weak” victim with the “Teeth of the hydra” upon her.
The ending of Longlegs reveals that Ruth has been Longlegs’ secret accomplice all along and that, since it was his dolls that drove his victims to murder and not Longlegs himself, she has successfully continued his killing spree by visiting Agent Carter’s home. Longlegs initially forced Ruth to work for him by threatening the life of her and her daughter, meaning Ruth could be read as the “Slim, weak” victim with the “Teeth of the hydra” upon her. However, Lee herself gradually realizes that she has also unknowingly played a part in Longlegs’ plan over the years.
The Meaning Of Longlegs’ T. Rex Quote
This Classic Rock Reference Works On Numerous Levels
This means the eponymous killer could also view Lee as his “Girl” in a twisted sense. Certainly, Lee’s psychic link with Longlegs proves there is a connection between them, and her attempts to ignore him and reject his influence ends up only playing into his plan. Longlegs‘s critical success is owed in part to its labyrinthine symbolism, as this quote proves. The reference to the Hydra can simultaneously be read as an oblique reference to occultism, which tracks since Longlegs is a Satanist who claims he commits his crimes in service of the devil.
Furthermore, Longlegs also plays into the Satanic Panic craze of the ‘80s by featuring a killer who can control the minds of others through something as seemingly harmless as children’s toys. In a nod to the era when rock stars were accused of brainwashing impressionable fans with their lyrics, Longlegs uses a T. Rex quote that refers, in context, to the killer psychically controlling Lee and Ruth over the years.
