Longlegs,' this summer's horror hit

Decoding the success of Nicolas Cage serial killer smash with a 22.6M debut at No. 2

- CHRISTI CARRAS

Maika Monroe plays an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer played by Nicolas Cage in “Longlegs.”

The greatest plot twists lie at the end of a long trail of clues, dramatically revealing an answer hidden in plain sight all along.

The marketing campaign for independent distributor Neon’s surprise horror smash, “Longlegs,” took that concept a step further.

Bread crumbs — in the form of enigmatic trailers, chilling phone messages, encrypted newspaper ads, fake blog posts and other stunts — littered the promotional path to “Longlegs.” And audiences took the bait, handing the New York-based Neon its biggest opening ever as well as the best launch for an independent horror flick in a decade.

The R-rated title — which cost less than $10 million total to make and promote, according to the studio — debuted at No. 2 this weekend with $22.6 million in North American ticket sales.

Its performance “seemingly came out of nowhere,” said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, especially when sandwiched between safer, flashier pushes for major studio films such as “Despicable Me 4” and “Twisters.”