It Follows is a 2014 horror movie with David Robert Mitchell in the director’s chair. It’s our twenty-sixth movie in the 2021 October challenge. The movie was originally released at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Much like the last movie, It Follows was released to critical acclaim.
It stars Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi, Lilie Sepe and Jake Weary.
It Follows focuses on Jamie ‘Jay’ Height, a college student living an ordinary life. That is until she has sex with her boyfriend. Afterwards, he knocks her out and ties her up. She soon realises he’s passed something onto her, and it’s much her than what you’re thinking.
With the help of her sister and friends, Jay needs to stop the entity that’s following her. While she’s able to pass it on, there’s no guarantee she’s safe. To make matters worse, the entity takes on the form of anyone. Furthermore, only those who the entity follows see it.
Through this, the director creates unbridling tension. For all she knows, the entity is one of her friends. This makes it important for her to never leave their side.
It Follows is a creepy movie. Taking out the idea of the entity transferring through sex, it’s still scary. No matter where Jay goes, she isn’t safe. David Robert Mitchell uses techniques by other horror directors such as John Carpenter.
In the original Halloween, the majority of the movie focuses on suspense. Nothing grand happens until the end. This is the same as It Follows. Building the suspense only serves to amp up the scare factor. However, the director doesn’t settle for only suspense.
He uses the camera to heighten it too. Every so often, the camera switches to the entity’s POV.
While I’m talking about Halloween, It Follows takes another leaf from its book. Its soundtrack is mostly synth tracks by Disasterpeace. The synths create a tense atmosphere. Using these rather than a full orchestra provides a sense of loneliness.
It Follows is a suspenseful, creepy, and slightly thought-provoking horror. It might seem slow, but it’s only because the director’s building up to something more.
