Director: David Robert Mitchell
By Alex Watson
David Robert Mitchell's It Follows proves that old fashion scares are still very much the most effective. Assisted by a creepy and thumping electronic score by Disasterpeace, Mitchell succeeds in not only bringing forward a truly original concept, but also cranking up the scare factor to 11! After making a splash at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, this movie is a great horror in the mould of early John Carpenter, but the enemy present here is one like we have never seen!
Detroit teenager Jay (Maika Monroe) is an ordinary young college student whose life is turned upside down in one night. After having sex with her boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary), she then finds out that he has passed on an entity to her! This unseen figure will follow her wherever she goes and when it catches her- it will kill her! Jay has to find a way to pass on the curse before it all too late!
From the very get go of It Follows, there is an undercurrent that is very serious. From the moment that Jay has the affliction literally passed on by her understandably scared but callous boyfriend- who then proceeds to abandon her, the carefree and innocent beginning is shattered into pieces. Although her friends attempt to help her, Jay knows there is only one way to break free which is sleep with someone else and moving the target onto them! What is perhaps the most effective device of Mitchell's movie, is that anyone around could be a potential enemy! The person can run, drive or fly a great distance, but they will keep walking toward them at a measured but unstoppable pace!
The frights that Mitchell presents to his audience are some of the most memorable in some time! One scene sees us jump in our seats as we see a blooded and half naked woman standing in the kitchen! Our nerves are kept continually on edge as whenever any person appears even faintly in the corner of the screen, we assume the worst! Mitchell's use of decrepit and abandoned neighborhoods gives a haunting ambiance to the surroundings. From school corridor to the beach, this unknown entity will not stop hunting and Mitchell proves that in this movie- there is no safe zone!
What is more refreshing about It Follows is the presentation of the relationships that Jay holds with her friends. There is an unspoken desire between her and friend Paul (Keir Gilchrist), but that never complicates their relationship. Throughout her friends are prepared to go the extra mile, even if they perhaps not entirely convinced of this danger they cannot see! This sharing of the burden is seldom seen in modern horror flicks and the movie is all the better for this.
Maika Monroe is the force that charges Mitchell's film and she rings in a charming yet fragile central performance. Never once resorting to playing the damsel in distress, Monroe rises above it to give a believable turn as an ordinary girl thrust into a horrific and life changing situation. A possible star for the future, Monroe has succeeded in grabbing our attention and her next moves will be keenly noted.
An excellent modern day horror film, It Follows is a scare machine that smartly goes back to route one horror. Prepare to squirm in your seats, watch over your shoulder as the exit the theater and more importantly, think about the people you may sleep with in future!
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