Neon’s marketing campaign for “Longlegs” included a video titled “Heartbeat,” showing the first time that Monroe and Cage interacted on-set. The scene in question comes at the end of the film’s second act, in which Harker goes to interrogate the imprisoned Longlegs, and is the only time they’re onscreen together. (To keep his appearance a surprise and build up how terrifying it is, “Heartbeat” places a black box over Longlegs’ face.)
The soundtrack of the scene is Monroe’s heartbeat (captured by a microphone strapped to her chest), which picks up once she and Cage are in the same room. The video’s closing text says her heart rate hit 170 beats per minute (BPM) — Monroe’s resting heart rate is only 76 bpm. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Monroe said she “was freaking out, about to have a panic attack” during the scene:
“There’s so many things that were packed into that day. Seeing Nic for the first time in costume, I hadn’t seen any photos or anything before, so that was shocking. Also, not only was I seeing Nic — or rather Longlegs — for the first time, but the cameras were rolling at this point. It was this very surreal, very nerve-wracking experience.”
From how Monroe recounts the story, it sounds like she first met Cage while he was not just in costume, but in-character for the watching cameras. She had no frame of reference for the real Nicolas Cage and was metaphorically smacked in the face with his creepy make-up once she opened the door. Basically, Monroe came as close to meeting the real Longlegs as you can possibly get. Longlegs is a horrifying enough sight when there’s a screen barrier between you and him. If I was in the same room as him, my heart would probably be beating as fast as Monroe’s.
“Longlegs” is currently playing in theaters.
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