Review: It Follows

The film opens with a girl rushing out of her house in the middle of the night in her nightgown, staring at her house in horror. A neighbor asks if she's okay; her father comes out of the house and asks if she's okay. She runs back into the house, comes back with her purse, and gets into her car, driving away. We next see her at the beach, leaving a message on her father's phone and waiting. Just waiting. We next see her dead.

What a opening to David Robert Mitchell's horror film, IT FOLLOWS. The scenes following are significantly slower, setting the scene in our protagonist, Jay's life, but we're already hooked.

Jay (Maika Monroe) is a pretty ordinary girl; she goes to college, and lives with her sister, Kelly (Lilli Seppe) and friend, Yara (Olivia Luccardi). Her childhood friend, Paul (Keir Gilchrist) keeps hanging around, clearly in love with her. But Jay has other interests: she's been dating Hugh, who is fairly new to the neighborhood.

But when Jay and Hugh have sex, everything changes. Immediately after the act, Hugh drugs Jay and explains that he has passed something on to her -- something that will follow her and kill her if she lets it catch her. This thing takes on different forms: sometimes people she's close with, sometimes complete strangers. And it is always walking toward her -- "Never be in a place with only one exit," Hugh says, "It's slow, but it's smart."



The premise itself is ingenious -- who would have ever thought of a paranormal STD? -- but the way it is handled is what makes the film. There are no gimmicks -- it is shot in such a simple way, adhering to its small budget without feeling cheap. There is an undertone throughout the film that taps into the nuances of sexual responsibility instead of stooping to the level of a pornographic slasher film -- we get real characters who deal with an issue in a realistic way. There are a few moments in which the characters' reactions may be a bit of a stretch, but overall it plays out pretty naturally.

Everything about this film makes it enjoyable. The acting is great, especially Monroe, who is instantly likable as the everyman. Even the soundtrack holds its own -- a Vangelis-inspired amalgamation of older horror flicks and video game music. IT FOLLOWS is a refreshing horror flick... definitely check it out this week at the Midtown Cinema!