IT FOLLOWS (2014)
How to describe or recommend a film like IT FOLLOWS is challenging to articulate because you do not want to spoil too many plot points and many of the aspects that make it so remarkable. I will always remember watching this film in a local art house cinema without much context, except for social media declaring it a new horror classic and the minimal premise from the trailer and poster. For once, I walked out of the theater knowing that Twitter horror fans and the critics were right. IT FOLLOWS is a film you have to experience without knowing too much. Just sit back, try to relax, and let it take over you.
Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, the premise of IT FOLLOWS is masterfully simple: An unknown deadly entity follows and stalks a group of young people. A demon or maybe a ghost? Not sure. Whatever it is “follows” a person in different forms of people wherever they are and wants to kill them. Like a sexually transmitted disease, the entity gets passed on to the last person you had sex with. If the entity kills that person, it will go back to you, the last person it stalked, and kill you—unless you have sex with another person. That’s the premise we are told. Is it that simple? The “whys” and the “hows” don’t have to be overtly explained to be terrified of its premise. If you had to have sex with someone to pass on a curse, how far would you go? Who would you choose and why? A remarkable dilemma for our protagonist, Jay, played by Maika Monroe
I believe an overlooked aspect of the film that makes it so memorable is Monroe’s breakthrough performance. Many may recognize her from such great thrillers as LONGLEGS and WATCHER. Anytime she is on screen, she really stands out. As the “final girl” of the film, so to speak, her performance elevates the film. She is sweet, likeable, and terrified, but also brings beautiful confidence to her character. She leads a great cast, and you believe they have known each other for years. The dialogue is not meta or overtly comedic like the characters in SCREAM, but more soft-spoken and personal. Another layer of the story that makes it genuine.
I can’t discuss this movie without bringing up the question that always comes up. When does this movie take place? The answer is: does it matter? The film feels and looks like a dream. In a dream, there usually isn’t a time and date. I remember watching this for the first time and thinking “oh this takes place in the 1980s.” Typical nostalgic setting for a horror film. The clothing, the cars, the old antenna TVs in the background, and the small-town suburban setting. But then you start to notice the modern-day cars, and then a character has this shell-shaped “e-reader.” This “e-reader” is throughout the film, and I remember thinking, “wait, do those exist?” They don’t. The time period it takes place is ambiguous, and a lot of the settings, clothing, and technology conflict with each other. It gives the film a timeless quality rarely seen.
In fact, if there is one film I can compare it to, it is the original A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. If you are a huge fan of the 1984 classic (like me), it’s hard not to see the comparisons and heavily inspired sequences. The premise is really what if Freddy Krueger was after you after sex instead of in your dreams. Like A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, the story feels like one long nightmare you don’t know from which you will ever wake up.
Even if the film feels like a nightmare, what makes you not want to wake up from it is the score. Any horror movie is made more terrifying with great music, and Disasterpeace composes a modern masterpiece. I can best describe it as a techno synth score similar to possibly a 1980s John Carpenter film (another reason I initially thought the setting was in the 1980s). But it sounds more modern and at times anxiety-inducing, but then it makes me feel at ease. It’s a weird contradiction that stuck with me after watching it for the first time and makes me increasingly revisit the film. It’s difficult to assess how impactful the score is without experiencing it. It brings an extra layer to the story that our characters are living in a dream. The first time I heard it in the opening sequence, I was locked in and felt transported to this world. I am confident in declaring it is up there with HALLOWEEN (1978), JAWS, and PSYCHO (1960) as one of the greatest horror film scores ever.
What else can I say about IT FOLLOWS without giving too much away? There is so much to analyze and interpret that you have to see it first to understand why it is so memorable. This is one of the first films in a long time that I couldn’t stop talking about or looking up online, all the theories and interpretations. Surprisingly, unlike the other horror movies it was influenced by, there wasn’t a sequel. No matter the ending, almost every successful horror film gets some type of sequel or prequel. Recently, there has been news of a sequel called THEY FOLLOW, with the same team who made the first film. I am intrigued but, as with many proposed sequels, cautiously optimistic. The original is timeless, creating a haunting world I want to constantly revisit.
