Nicolas Cage’s 2024 Horror Movie Is Repeating A 25-Year-Old Found Footage Film’s Genius Marketing Trick

Nicolas Cage’s 2024 horror movie is effectively raising excitement surrounding its release by repeating the genius marketing trick that made a 25-year-old found footage film successful. Although Nicolas Cage has not been involved with too many mainstream films in recent years, the actor seems to be dominating the horror genre for quite some time. From cosmic horror movies like Color Out of Space and Mandy to horror comedies like Mom and Dad and Renflied, the actor has starred in a string of diverse and predominantly successful horror projects.

After ending 2023 with the critically acclaimed Dream Scenario, Cage has already started his 2024 on a high note with another well-received horror film, Arcadian. While it remains unknown how his upcoming 2024 horror movie will perform, the movie already seems to be on the right track with its brilliant marketing. Adopting unconventional methods of promotion, this new Nicolas Cage film presents a masterclass for how horror movies should be marketed in the future.

Longlegs’ Genius Marketing Is Reminiscent Of The Blair Witch Project’s

Neon’s horror movie Longlegs, which stars Nicolas Cage as a serial killer, has been implementing some brilliant marketing strategies, which seem similar to what The Blair Witch Project did over two decades ago. Right before The Blair Witch Project‘s release, its marketing team released eerie missing person posters that featured the found footage film’s leading characters. While the posters were obviously fake, they blurred the lines between fiction and reality for audiences by selling them the idea that The Blair Witch Project could be a real found footage and not a fictional feature film.

For Longlegs‘ promotion, Neon seems to have done something similar by posting a creepy video that gradually zooms into a family picture as a man whispers over a 911 call that the girl in the picture is not his daughter. The sequence is followed by a random image of a person with long legs lying on the ground. Like The Blair Witch Project‘s early trailers and promotional videos, Neon has also released several abstract shots from the film that reveal nothing about its storyline but still effectively instill fear and intrigue.

Longlegs’ Marketing Sets A Good Example For Modern Horror Movies

The Blair Witch Project‘s unorthodox marketing strategies helped the film generate enough buzz for audiences to be curious about what happens in the film. Since many viewers knew nothing about the film when they walked inside theaters, they were able to experience the novelty that it brought to the table with its immersive found-footage style. Longlegs may or may not have a similar impact on viewers, but from the looks of it, taking a page from The Blair Witch Project‘s marketing playbook is working wonders for the film.

There is already significant buzz surrounding the Nicolas Cage movie, proving that horror films do not have to give away the primary details of their plots in their trailers to sell themselves to audiences. If executed correctly, the inexplicable and unknown can often be a lot scarier and intriguing than explicit revelations. By leveraging the power of the fear of the unknown, Longlegs is setting a great example for modern horror films and affirming that HP Lovecraft was right on the money when he said, “the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.“