{"id":54812,"date":"2024-07-15T18:30:44","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T16:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2072139"},"modified":"2024-07-16T08:03:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T06:03:03","slug":"longlegs-ending-explained-why-cant-lee-shoot-the-doll","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/longlegs-ending-explained-why-cant-lee-shoot-the-doll\/","title":{"rendered":"Longlegs ending explained: Why can\u2019t Lee shoot the doll?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The buzzy new horror film has a relatively ambiguous climax. <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 15 July 2024 at 16:25 PM<\/p>

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New horror flick Longlegs<\/a> was the subject of a lot <\/em>of hype prior to its release \u2013 and so far that seems to have translated to impressive ticket sales, with the film enjoying a storming opening weekend at the box office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Billed as one of the scariest horror films in recent years<\/a>, it stars Maika Monroe as young FBI agent Lee Harker, who begins investigating a serial murder case that has puzzled the bureau for a long time. As she looks into it, she soon realises she has a personal connection to the titular killer \u2013 who is chillingly brought to life by Nicolas Cage.<\/p>\n

The film is directed by Osgood Perkins \u2013 the son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins \u2013 and has been praised for building a slow-burning atmosphere of dread rather than just relying on jump scares and shock value.<\/p>\n

It also delves into the supernatural and includes a few surreal and enigmatic moments in the run-up to a fairly ambiguous climax, so there\u2019s a chance that after watching the film you might still have a few things you need clearing up. If that\u2019s you, then we\u2019ve got you covered: read on to have the Longlegs ending explained.<\/p>\n

Longlegs ending explained: Why doesn\u2019t Lee shoot the doll?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The big breakthrough in the case comes when Lee is visiting her mother, Ruth, and comes across a box containing several polaroids dating back to her childhood \u2013 which show clear photographic evidence that she was visited by Longlegs as a young girl (as we saw in the opening scene) and she has since forgotten about.<\/p>\n
This photograph helps her secure the arrest of the killer and she soon finds herself interrogating him, during the course of which she asks who is helping him commit the murders. His response is to tell her to ask her mother, before he declares \u2018Hail Satan\u2019 and repeatedly smashes his head on the desk, killing himself.<\/p>\n
Lee is understandably in a state of shock, and together with fellow agent Browning she drives to her mother\u2019s house to question her, only for Browning to be almost immediately shot dead by Ruth on arrival. When Lee tells her mother that Longlegs is now dead, Ruth shoots one of the killer\u2019s handcrafted dolls \u2013 which resembles Lee \u2013 and she loses consciousness.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s at this point that we are told exactly how Ruth had been involved, as she explains \u2013 in the style of a bedtime story \u2013 that when Longlegs had visited during Lee\u2019s childhood, he had been going to kill her, but they reached a deal: Lee would be spared if her mother helped him and the devil enact their plan.<\/p>\n
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