The bizarre marketing for Longlegs has raised the intrigue level for the summer horror movie sky-high. But one thing audiences have yet to catch a good glimpse of is its biggest star: Nicolas Cage, who plays the title character. And there’s a careful reason behind that.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Longlegs director Oz Perkins confirmed he’s been deliberately withholding of the titular villain’s design. “It’s driving people towards a freak show at a circus tent,” according to Perkins. We’ve got the thing behind the curtain, and when there’s enough people gathered ‘round, we’re going to pull the curtain.”

Cage bombastically echoed his director’s statement, claiming his character’s visage is so ghastly, it could potentially incite mass hysteria if not treated delicately enough. “It’s the equivalent of putting a warning label on a jar of nitroglycerin. The monster is a highly, highly dangerous substance. The way it’s moved, unveiled, deployed has to be treated very carefully,” he said. “Forget about the movie theater blowing up; the whole city could blow up, nay the country, maybe even the world. He is going to change your reality. Your doors of perception are going to open, and your life is not going to be the same.”

That is one hell of a claim for a humble little horror movie to live up to. Just what is the secret of the film’s serial murderer, only referred to as “Longlegs?” According to EW, the full reveal of Cage’s character doesn’t come until the movie’s been underway for awhile.

“Editing a picture is a nearly psychedelic experience,” says Perkins. “It really is because it’s so infinite. The permutations and combinations you can get from putting this there and that there, you’re in a Rubik’s Cube of possibilities. I think we found the sweet spot. This guy lives just outside the consciousness of our protagonist. He’s there, but he’s totally not there, but he’s totally there.”

While we don’t know what the character looks like, plot hints suggest Longlegs has both ties to the occult and a “personal link” to Maika Monroe’s character, FBI agent Lee Harker. While we wait on tenterhooks for the film’s July 12 release to see for ourselves, you can call the film’s official hotline in the meantime to at least hear Cage’s character rant at you ghoulishly.

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