For Nicolas Cage, making a serial killer horror movie was a healing experience

When Nicolas Cage first read the script for 'Longlegs' and considered playing the titular serial killer, he knew exactly where he'd draw his inspiration from: his mother.

When Nicolas Cage first read the script for “Longlegs” and considered playing the titular serial killer, he knew exactly where he'd draw his inspiration from: his mother.

“Not that she was Satanic,” Cage clarified in a recent interview, but said witnessing her struggle with mental illness throughout his life was something he needed to process. “In my approach to try and get more personal with my film performances, I’ve been trying to find a constructive place to put my memories of my mother.”

Cage said the connection to his mom was so strong — particularly how he envisioned the character’s body language and way of speaking — that he remembers hearing her voice early one Christmas morning while rehearsing lines to himself. “Everybody else is getting ready to open presents and whatnot, and I’m doing this very dark character and trying to infuse it with love,” he recalled.

The experience of making “Longlegs,” a Neon release opening in theaters Friday, was ultimately a cathartic one for the Oscar winner. “Gosh, I channeled my dad for Dracula and I channeled my mom for Longlegs. What does that say about my childhood?” he said, laughing.

When he first met with Osgood Perkins to discuss the film, Cage was shocked to learn the director had his own mother in mind when writing the script.

It follows FBI Agent Lee Harker ( Maika Monroe ) who, not long after being assigned to investigate a series of gruesome murders, realizes her own connection to the killer (Cage). Although Perkins confessed to being inspired by “Silence of the Lambs” and other films like it, “Longlegs” is distinct from many serial killer movies in that the horrors, despite being carried out by people, are hauntingly supernatural.

Perkins takes advantage of that paranormal license and saturates the world of “Longlegs” with biblical references and occultist clues for his protagonist to solve. But unlike some directors who prefer to obfuscate their process or leave open how much meaning there really is for audiences to decipher, Perkins is candid about his source material — or lack thereof.