Upamanyu Biswas
‘Longlegs‘ follows FBI agent Lee Harker as she is assigned a serial killer case where signs of an occult plot rear their head. The agent finds herself chasing the shadow of the titular villain, who continues to evade capture and commit cases of murder-suicide across the state of Oregon. Eventually, the investigator lands at Water Rock Psychiatric Hospital, an establishment where a survivor of Longlegs’ murder spree is housed. Harker and her supervisor, agent William Carter, travel to the hospital to meet the young girl, where the chilling narrative of the Osgood Perkins horror directorial continues to deepen further in the sun-kissed interiors of the medical facility.
Water Rock Psychiatric Hospital is Not an Actual Place
For the most part, the scenery of ‘Longlegs’ is more interested in depicting barren and dismal open spaces that are either infested by nature or in a suburban locale. It mirrors the cold and bleak tone the film tries to inhabit through its cinematography and storytelling. Adding typical urban locations, like office settings and hospital interiors, plays against the type while also enhancing it by contrast. Therefore, adding a psychiatric hospital like Water Rock midway through the narrative builds on the tense environment already brewing up until that stage. The hospital is a fictional establishment created by Osgood Perkins, the writer and director of the film, which aptly reflects some of the psychological themes present within the screenplay.
As the story is set during the 1990s, Water Rock Psychiatric Hospital is a historic structure. Real-life hospitals like Oregon State Hospital — a public psychiatric hospital located in Salem, the capital city of Oregon — can be compared in terms of longevity. Oregon State was founded in 1862 and is one of the oldest hospitals along the western seaboard. However, as no details are available for the fictional establishment’s dates of origin, it is difficult to compare the two facilities beyond a superficial level. Therefore, it is a separate entity created explicitly for the narrative. Filming for ‘Longlegs’ took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the production crew used an old psychiatric facility during the shooting process. The hospital likely doubled as Water Rock Psychiatric Hospital in the film.
The establishment is the place where FBI agents Lee Harker and William Carter meet Carrie Anne Camera, a young survivor of Longlegs’ murder attempt on her family. According to the hospital’s manager, the young girl was stuck in a coma ever since she was admitted to the hospital until a visitor arrived at her doorstep two days before Harker and Carter’s visit. She subsequently regains her poise and seems eerily composed despite the harrowing events she lived through. In the halls of the Water Rock, Harker gets a taste of the sinister plot brewing under the surface of her crime investigation by talking to Carrie. Through their brief conversation, the fictional hospital plays an integral role in the film despite its short-lived appearance. However, despite its impact, it cannot be found in reality.
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