Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Written by: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe
Rating: [3.5/5]
As with many elements of life, where there’s good, there’s also negative elements one must remain aware of. For all the positives sexual activity has on a person, the inevitability of sexually transmitted diseases must remain top of mind, especially with how freely this individual chooses their partners. A consequence of choice and It Follows evokes this issue in quite the terrifying manner as it shifts this repercussion into something one can never fully escape.
After a date with her boyfriend, Jay (Maika Monroe) has sex with him and afterward he ties her up and shows her an entity that will now begin to follow her after he spreads this curse to her through their intercourse. He tells Jay that the entity will never stop following her and only by having sex with another person and spreading this curse can she hope to survive.
Quite the fascinating concept for a film and use of an allegory, It Follows works with something so filled with dread and essentially serves as the ultimate act of kicking the can down the road. Instead of facing the consequences of one’s actions, the best result one can aim for is to spread it to someone else and have them continue to also do the same until enough of a buffer exists. Of course, no respite truly exists with this circumstance as we learn in the film that if the entity catches one of the individuals then it will once again begin to track the person who spread it to the caught and continue down the line. Where this started remains a mystery but displays but once caught in this line, there’s no escaping.
The establishment of how this entity operates works so simply but does get under your skin. Having something just slowly follow you for an eternity steals away a basic sense of security of rest because it could come at any moment. Even with it walking slowly, as seen on many occasions throughout the film, it creates this restlessness that amps up the horrifying impact of this film. This entity could appear as anything it takes that will allow it to get close to its target, and seeing this through Jay’s perspective allows to see how it warps to torment her specifically. It further creates this increasing paranoia in the mind of the person being followed because they have to remain wary of what form this entity has chosen to follow. They must remain ever-vigilant that will inevitably cause an exhaustion that wears them down seeing as this entity will never tire and evidently never stop unless you spread it.
With the relative slowness of this entity in its effort to just follow Jay until she gives in or spreads this curse, one would not think jump scares would necessarily work. It has this overall feeling of dread that makes this experience terrifying but even then this film has a decent bunch of scares in the randomness of how this entity appears for her. Some of the forms it takes do not have relative relevance as much as others but certainly come out of nowhere and terrify in their own ways. The scene with the tall man comes to mind, where it really displays how this entity will find its way to her no matter the circumstance.
Making his name known with this feature, David Robert Mitchell makes quite the impression with this film and the innovative way he utilizes this concept that really digs into the horrors of this shared affliction. The concept of it perhaps works better than how it actually lays it all out with some frustration points on my end, which I cannot fully delve into because it involves spoilers. As with any concept like this, holes will exist but in the end, Mitchell fully realizes his vision here in crafting a never-ending nightmare for these characters. Through the film we get a good leading performance by Maika Monroe, who continues to do good work within this genre and will hopefully continue to shine as the face of good horror films. Working on multiple levels of a horror experience, It Follows certainly stands out for its creativity and mood-setting above all else.
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