The Oz Perkins Movies Ranked
As the son of horror icon Anthony Perkins, Osgood “Oz” Perkins probably knew a bit about the genre growing up. Acting somewhat sporadically in the 1990s and 2000s (although his first gig was as young Norman Bates in PSYCHO II [1983], which also saw his father reprise the adult role), Perkins has since turned to directing. So far, all four of the movies he’s made in the nearly nine years since 2015 have indeed been in the horror genre, and they’ve been received to mostly mixed critical results, as I’ve interpreted the mass sentiments. But I’ve been turned into a mild Perkins fan, as even his biggest misses show a creative approach to horror tropes and a discerning eye for darkly beautiful images.
#4 — I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE (2016)
Although I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE was the second film Perkins directed, it was the first released to a wide audience, through Netflix. This haunted house movie is set in the truly limited setting of the old home of an Agatha Christie-esque horror writer declining into an apparent dementia. Ruth Wilson plays a live-in nurse who encounters the strangeness of the house and its history. I say “encounters,” but for most of its run time, I AM THE PRETTY THING isn’t very eventful and thrums with a vague menace. Wilson’s character is a bit off and I don’t know that the performance is totally successful in communicating her role in the whole affair, especially considering her ultimate fate. I am not someone who necessarily measures a horror movie by how much it actively “scares” me, and I’ve appreciated many slow burn films, but I AM THE PRETTY THING seems like it is building to something…more satisfying, I suppose, before letting off the steam in an offbeat way. That disappointment is only felt because the tone of the movie is generally effective, communicating an unease with cinematography and a score that draws out an otherworldliness to the central house, which otherwise looks pretty normal and isn’t a trope-y Gothic deathtrap. I AM THE PRETTY THING holds a lot of promise and technically demonstrates some of Perkins’ refinements from his first film, but its characters and narrative don’t make a very bold point.
#3 — THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER (2015)
THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER was Perkins’ first film, but as alluded to in reference to I AM THE PRETTY THING, it was actually released in 2017 after screening at Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. That’s very indicative of the “indie film” distribution method of the past couple decades. In any event, the delay isn’t totally indicative of a fundamental issue with the movie’s quality. Like I AM THE PRETTY THING, I feel a sort of slippage in the resolution of the film and its stronger preceding qualities, although it’s true the divide is not as wide in this case. But unlike I AM THE PRETTY THING, THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER errs slightly in the framing and lighting of moments that could be much more compelling otherwise. But this story of a Satanic force running through a Catholic girls’ boarding school during winter break, with just two girls left behind, is often chilling. The dueling storylines, one featuring Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton and the other Emma Roberts, tease out details effectively and represent Perkins’ great instinct to not overexplain the sinister forces in his films (all of which have involved supernatural beings). The production had access to a great, decrepit-ish building (or created effective sets which certainly feel lived in) with which to set such a dark story, as the halls and bowels of the school are liminal spaces that, even without the context of the horror stewing within, would be totally uncanny. And the score, from Perkins’ own brother Elvis Perkins, murmurs and stabs at perfect times to accentuate the quietest and most violent moments of the movie. THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER is by no means an exceptional debut, but it foretells the way Perkins would improve his craft and is affecting in its own right.
#2 — GRETEL & HANSEL (2020)
GRETEL & HANSEL, Perkins’ third film, was my introduction to the director and made me ask “where did this guy come from!?” (the answer has of course already been addressed above). It’s not that I think this retelling of the classic fairy tale is an unmitigated success, but it’s certainly very strong, as it channels pagan horror traditions to interpret the story with a modernized darkness that does interpretative justice to the Brothers Grimm. Perkins, cinematographer Galo Olivares, and production designer Jeremy Reed create an insidious look to GRETEL & HANSEL that simultaneously grounds it in realistic terror and elevates it into a dark magic, with its oranges, blues, and twists on medieval European fantasy visual tropes. I almost hate to call the film whimsical because that’s such an upbeat word, but it is really successful in escaping a straight ahead resonance with our reality. A film like THE WITCH (2015) is also really good at cultivating this quality. Speaking of witches, Alice Krige is incredibly effective at being a gruesome sorceress, even if Sophia Lillis and Sam Leakey as the titular siblings act as straight forward horror movie protagonist ciphers. Some of GRETEL & HANSEL’s remarkable images aren’t strung together with the greatest pace, but it’s overall a tight horror film (it runs 87 minutes) with a thrilling take on a well-known story.
#1 — LONGLEGS (2024)
The reaction to LONGLEGS indicates it’s been Perkins’ biggest success yet, both commercially and critically. Perhaps having a star like Nicolas Cage has contributed to that, but I’d also like to think it’s because it’s unequivocally Perkins’ best work yet. Some of the more negative online “discourse” has centered on the film’s marketing and Cage’s eccentric performance; the former, I could care less about. As for Cage’s contributions, I think his “over-the-top” quality fits perfectly into LONGLEGS’ oppressively serious tone as, if not a comic counterpoint, then a contrast of chaos compared to the rigidity of the FBI and Maika Monroe’s young agent. Monroe, by the way, also gives a stellar performance and the display of the character’s, well, character in the opening “save the cat” moment with an unrelated case makes her character immediately as sympathetic and troubled as she appears capable. The grain and framing of the cinematography are also excellent, seeding the film’s semi-rural Americana with beautiful darkness. LONGLEGS gives just enough of a twist on the “serial killer hunt” genre, and its general menace is strong enough, to make it a great film in its own right and Perkins’ best.
