Spoiler alert: This story accommodates spoilers for Legs, now in theaters.
When “Legs” sound designer and editor Eugenio Battaglia first talked to director Osgood Perkins in regards to the movie’s audio design, he mentioned Perkins instructed him that he I hope it has a “rock and roll” really feel to it.
“Given the ’70s rock vibe he was going for, and the Satanic side of the film, I assumed it could be actually neat to do some type of subliminal message evaluation on the sound,” Battaglia mentioned kind. “[Os] Hopefully it looks like one thing is being projected into our minds, as a result of that is mainly what’s occurring to the primary character.
Battaglia mentioned he knew precisely what he wanted. He instantly grabbed a 360-degree microphone (a sort generally used for ASMR audio and video) and started wiping it with a towel and whispering into it, creating an odd sound someplace between hypnotic and terrifying. mixture.
“I did a whole lot of whispering,” Battaglia mentioned of his recording course of. “Like a unconscious factor. Generally I will even put one thing enjoyable like, ‘Give us a superb evaluation on Rotten Tomatoes! ” Or simply faux to be Longlegs himself after which reverse… Hopefully, in case you reverse the whole film, yow will discover some attention-grabbing particulars.
Legs follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as he makes an attempt to trace down the titular killer (Nicolas Cage), who one way or the other murdered his household with out ever being current on the scene Depart no hint close by. She uncovered a mountain of proof, ultimately discovering she had a private connection to Longlegs: He visited her residence round her birthday, as he did with every of his victims.
All through the movie, Lee develops a deep reference to the killer and even reveals indicators of psychic skills, comparable to seeing visions of a pink snake. Battaglia mentioned he banged steel balls collectively to accompany the phantasm, hoping it could sound extra like a projector.
Battaglia mentioned he made the voices his personal characters all through the movie, altering audio ranges to assist the viewers really feel like they have been in Huck’s footwear.
“I needed to maintain the background very low however the remainder of the sound loud so you could possibly hear each footstep round her or no matter music the neighbors have been enjoying or one thing like that,” Battaglia mentioned. “I believe that lighthearted tone offers you a way of anticipation of ‘Oh, one thing’s about to occur.’ After which we take too lengthy and other people let their guard down, and you then hit them with a high-pitched voice, which It should catch you fully off guard.
Legs states a number of instances all through the movie that he serves “the individuals downstairs,” a theme Battaglia alluded to in the course of the audio shoot.
“I mainly simply recorded myself strolling up and down the steps,” Battaglia mentioned of the heartbeat within the movie. “Then I simply layered it with thump, twisted it and did a whole lot of issues. I type of needed it to sound like a uncooked ’70s rock file, filled with whispers and a few experimental stuff.
As for the primary scene within the movie during which Legs visits Lee as a toddler, Battaglia mentioned there was full silence earlier than seeing a part of the killer’s face. Perkins added temporary orchestral bursts as he needed to play on the thought of incorporating sound early on to interact the viewers.
Battaglia mentioned the scene started so quietly that the viewers may solely hear her footsteps and the sound of her jacket. However as quickly as Longlegs whispers his signature “cuckoo,” there’s a right away sense of hazard.
“The soundtrack acquired actually scary and the visuals have been loopy,” Battaglia mentioned. “There’s not a lot approach aside from dropping every part and emitting an excellent quiet whisper, which additionally matches the unconscious vibe. Considering you are listening to one thing simply places you right into a fragile trance.”
As Longlegs drives away from a movie retailer after molesting a younger woman, he lets out a horrific scream that sounds virtually inhuman. Likewise, viewers hear one other notice of inhumanity in a flashback, the place the serial killer sings to Ruth (Huck’s mom, performed by Alicia Witt) after she discovers him in her yard.
Battaglia mentioned an electrical guitar helped him produce that unnatural scream.
“I assumed it could be cool if he may get this demonic assist to hit totally different pitch ranges,” Battaglia mentioned. “I mainly simply put a guitar in there and tuned it to [Nicolas Cage’s] Voice. It is a tremendous easy trick, nevertheless it finally ends up not sounding like a guitar. It gave the impression of he was fully obsessed.
As Huck continues to analyze the killer, she discovers that he had an confederate all alongside: her personal mom. Ruth would gown up as a nun, take a possessed doll made from lengthy legs, give it to a household as a “reward from the church,” after which watch in a daze because the household killed one another. Every doll has a sphere on its head, presumably infused with leggy Satanic whispers.
In a climactic second, Lee lastly connects the dots – Longlegs did not act alone, there needed to be an confederate. Lengthy Legs requested Lee to speak to her mom, Ruth. Lee drives to his mom’s home and discovers the reality: She has been Longlegs’ secret companion all alongside.
As Huck walks by way of the home in anticipation of a confrontation together with his mom, Battaglia creates nervousness by making the sounds of footsteps and the stream a bit louder than in different components of the movie.
“I simply recorded my heartbeat going up and down the steps and whispered the entire time to point out that she was about to search out out the place this factor got here from,” Battaglia mentioned. “I drew a whole lot of inspiration from The Lord of the Rings , as a result of when the Eye of Sauron calls somebody, there’s a whole lot of cool whispering stuff that makes you are feeling such as you’re below a spell.”
