‘It Follows’
Grade: A
As a long-time horror fanatic, I had begun to think the genre was in a slump. I’ve spent my fair amount of time sitting in theaters waiting to jump at a sudden noise or hide my face in anticipation. I’ve mostly been disappointed.
“It Follows” is like a breath of fresh air. It’s an indie horror film starring Maika Monroe as Jay Height, a quiet, young girl who begins dating the new guy in town.
Their relationship progresses, and eventually they have sex in the back of his car. Then, he drugs her with a chloroform-soaked rag and ties her to a wheelchair. He explains to her that he’s just “passed ‘It’ on” to her.
“It” is a shape-shifting entity that will follow and constantly try to kill her.
Jay’s only hope is to pass “It” on by having sex with someone else and hoping the process keeps going until “It” is far enough down the one-night-stand line that she won’t have to worry about it.
With the help of her skeptical but supportive group of friends, Jay spends the rest of the film running from the monster as it takes on forms only Jay can see while trying to figure out how to get rid of it.
“It Follows” comes into theaters with a wave of buzz after being successful at multiple festivals, as well as getting a great turnout during its initial, limited theater release.
The film has a retro-horror throwback that draws themes from classics, such as “Halloween” and “The Shining.” It uses stylistic choices common in the 1970s and 80s, including slow zooms and tracking shots mimicking a car driven through the run down and, at times, uninhabited streets ?of Detroit.
The other important element that gives the film its kick is the music. It sounds a lot like a vintage score by John Carpenter. It is a creepy, engrossing and mesmerizing sound that only gets better during the film’s climax.
The director, David Robert Mitchell, successfully creates a timeless world within ?the film.
Only a few glimpses of modern technology are offered. The cars are old, the houses and use of color in them is dull and the clothing style doesn’t really give you a sense of a period of time. It’s all subjective, which is actually a good thing in this case.
There are few shortcomings in the film, but “It Follows” is something any horror film buff would want to take a look at. It’s creepy and has a classic style that will make it a great film to go back and watch in the future.
