It Follows

Released:  March 27^th, 2015

Rated:  R

Distributor:  RADiUS-TWC

Starring:  Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe

Directed by:  David Robert Mitchell

Written by:  David Robert Mitchell

Personal Bias Alert:  likes smaller movies, likes Keir Gilchrist from his time on United States of Tara

8 of 10

            There’s a sad moment in It Follows when, out of desperation, a young woman strips down to her underwear and wades out to a boat full of men.  She knows what will come of her entrance, and she takes no pleasure in the act.  Contrast that with a moment from the beginning of the film where the same young woman is ogled by two neighborhood boys while swimming in her backyard.  She calls them out but is amused by their attention, a decidedly cavalier reaction to her sexuality.  Most women will understand both situations.  Sometimes the sexuality men constantly see in us is buoying to our ego, while other times it’s annoyingly deflating.  There are other things to us, but since It Follows wants to focus its horror on sexuality, at least it’s honest enough to capture the whole spectrum.

            The young woman’s name is Jay (Maika Monroe), and she’s cursed with a sexually transmitted presence that follows you until it either kills you or you pass it on to someone else.  Neither is a good option, but on the plus side, she’s got an excellent group of friends to help her survive until she decides. 

            Now, I don’t want anyone checking out because of the familiar and hokey-sounding premise.  Writer/director David Robert Mitchell has made this film into a nugget of pure creepiness, one that seeps into your shoulders and spine until you can’t seem to shake it.  Full disclosure:  I had a lot of trouble sleeping the night after I saw this.  That surprised me, especially since I wouldn’t say that this film is particularly scary.  There aren’t any moments that will make you jump out of your seat or make your heart pound.  What it does is unnerve you, get your guard up, make you think there’s always something coming for you that’s just out of sight.  How are you supposed to sleep like that?

            Mitchell uses some tried and true methods to achieve this feel, pulling techniques from old-school, methodical horror films.  The soundtrack is loud and cold, relying heavily on electronic pulses to pound fear deep inside you.  It’s the opposite of lovely, and while I can’t imagine anyone sitting around listening to it, it’s perfect for this film.  The other prominent technique at work here is Mitchell’s choice to shoot the film with wide shots that leave gaping areas of background surrounding the characters.  From anywhere, it seems, the presence could appear, moving ever towards Jay, quietly tracking her down.  Your eye is constantly drawn to the areas surrounding the characters, dreading any movement.

            Mitchell is a bit lax with the writing, clearly favoring mood over consistency.  The characters do some dumb things, several times falling prey to the inexplicable ‘can’t stand up’ fallacy where the characters crawl on hands and knees instead of getting the hell up.  Worse yet, the rules around how the presence works doesn’t exactly make sense, as it always appears and disappears at exactly the right moments and rarely does the things it allegedly can do to get closer to Jay.  Luckily, these narrative shortcomings are overpowered by the suffocating tension, because who really cares if something makes complete sense when all you want to do is get the hell away from it.

            I would be remiss if I didn’t put in a good word for Monroe’s central performance as the ever-tightening bundle of nerves that is Jay and Keir Gilchrist as her longing and loving friend.  None of the actors have all that much to do, but Monroe and Gilchrist get to play with a bit more meat, and their relationship is probably the only thing in this film that could be considered sweet.

            With such great care being shown to a creepy premise, it’s no wonder that It Follows has become a hit with movie fans.  How it will play for a wider audience, particularly for those who’re used to the screeching level that most modern horror films operate at remains to be seen.  What is clear is that if you’re into whiling away the night huddled under your covers, staring out into the darkness, then this is the film for you.

Other Notes:

Ø  It’s not reliant on jump scares!

Ø  Yes, it’s a metaphor for STDs, but I don’t think it really wants to be about anything deep.

Ø  Something moving slowly towards you is just creepy.  It will always be creepy.