Longlegs ending explained: how did Longlegs kill his victims?

With equal measures of occultist horror and police procedural thriller, Longlegs is a new creepy movie which fans are calling one of the best horrors of the year.

In Longlegs , we follow an FBI agent called Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she's charged with renewing the investigation into a mysterious Satanic serial killer who goes by Longlegs (Nicholas Cage). However as she gets deeper into the investigation, she discovers startling personal links amongst all the secrets of this figure.

It's a creepy and startling movie, but also a somewhat complicated one, so if you've seen Longlegs you might come out of the theater trying to work out what was actually going on.

So we'll explain the Longlegs ending to make sure you don't miss a beat. Spoilers ensue.

Who was Longlegs?

The man who goes by Longlegs is primarily a doll-maker, though he's also a long-lasting serial killer. He works hard to make realistic-looking porcelain dolls, into whose heads he puts little hollow metal balls.

Into these balls he used Satanic magic to add a little piece of himself. When these dolls were brought into people's homes, he could use this piece of himself to whisper to them.

He's also an agent of Satan, as he tells Harker shortly before he... "visits his master", so to speak.

How did Longlegs kill his victims?

As I mentioned, Longlegs added little hollow metal balls into the heads of the dolls he created. With his Satanist magic powers, he added a little bit of himself into each and every doll.

Once these dolls found their way into people's houses, this piece of himself would whisper bloodthirsty commands to the families. They thought the dolls were a gift, but really they were a Trojan horse for Satanic magic to control their actions. Next, the devil would possess the father of the house to murder his wife and children, before taking his own life.

It's implied that the adults are aware of what's happening in their bodies, but are powerless to stop it.

But why would the families take a gift from the creepy-looking Longlegs? They wouldn't, and that's where Ruth (Alicia Witt) comes in. She'd bring the gift to the families, pretending that it was a gift that they'd won from the church — this way, the families would willingly welcome Ruth and the doll into their homes.

How were the victims chosen?

Longlegs had one crucial way on deciding which family he'd victimize next: each family must have a daughter whose birthday was on the 14th day of the month. It doesn't matter which month.

It seems that Longlegs would also approach and taunt his victims first, as shown by flashbacks scenes to a young Lee, and also his activity in the hardware store in one scene.

While this isn't explicitly stated, it seems that Longlegs would also focus on heavily religious families. Perhaps they're more ready to accept a gift from the church, or perhaps they're a more tempting target for a Satanist...

What was Lee Harker's personal connection?

Lee Harker is incredibly closely tied to Longlegs' plan.

Lee's birthday is on the 14th of the month, making her a prime target for Longlegs — in fact, she was one of his targets decades ago, before he was using dolls for his plans and when he was attacking people himself. However she was spared.

This is because her mother Ruth Harker made a deal to spare her life. In return, Ruth had to be the person who delivered Longlegs' dolls to the victims, and so she spent decades causing murders. Longlegs also set up his doll-makers den in her basement.

It seems that Lee may have gained some kind of precognition or cognizance from this deal too...

Was Lee Harker psychic?

Harker has the odd ability to "know" details, like when she instinctively can tell which house a murderer is hiding in in her first scene. Her boss Agent Carter (Blair Underwood) jokes that she's psychic... but is she?

Throughout the film is mostly implied that she's actually just a really good detective... until near the end.

Harker starts to get flashbacks to her childhood, seeing scenes where she wasn't present, as well as visions of what Longlegs is up to when he's hiding in his den. This all suggests that her abilities aren't purely skill-based, and has some kind of magical edge to it.

When Ruth destroys the doll of Harker, the real-life woman collapses and passes out, however, it seems that this spells the end of her powers.

Who survived at the end?

At the end of the movie, after Longlegs' death, Ruth takes his last doll to the final family. It's the 13th of the month, and once this murder takes place, the deaths will form a upturned Satanist triangle when marked on a calendar.

The victim Ruth chooses is the family of Agent Carter, however Harker shows up just before the deaths take place, and she isn't susceptible to the powers of the doll.

Under possession of the doll, Agent Carter murders his wife Anna (Carmel Amit), but as he tries to attack his daughter Ruby (Ava Kelders) Harker shoots him. Then Harker also shoots her mother, Ruth, to protect herself and the daughter.

So Harker and Ruby both survive, a fate not shared by the other agent working the case Browning (Michelle Choi-Lee) whom we saw gunned down by Ruth in a previous scene.