For me, It Follows was another victim of being overhyped. I had heard so many good things about it in the weeks leading up to its release that it was probably impossible for it to live up to my expectations. I mean, I still thought it was a really well put-together and interesting film (and there's a lot more to chew on than the STD angle that you've probably heard about), but ultimately I was let down. And that's not the movie's fault - had I seen this as a random watch on DVD I'd probably be pretty damned pleased with myself right now. But that's the world we live in...
Presumably you know the story? Jay (Maika Monroe) is a young woman - maybe 19-20? Ages are never really discussed, but the group seems to be high-school aged and a little older. Jay has been on a few dates with this guy and has sex with him. It turns out he has passed on some sort of sexually transmitted curse to her. When you have it, you'll be followed by some strange evil presence that wants to kill you. It can take on a variety of looks (someone you know, or a total stranger), but it is always following you. And it can only walk, but sometimes it just stands there if that's scarier. No one who hasn't been cursed can see it, but if it catches up to you, you're dead. The only way you can get rid of it is to sleep with someone else and pass it on. But if that person is killed by it, it comes back for you. And so on, and so on.
So Jay has to first convince her friends that this is in fact happening to her, and then enlist their help to figure out just what is exactly going on. Is there anything she can do to get away from the titular it?
I overheard a guy while I was leaving the theater remark "that's gonna piss a lot of people off" - and I think he's right. If the previews before It Follows are any indication (Unfriended, Insidious: Chapter 3, Poltergiest) horror fans nowadays really only want quiet quiet quiet LOUD jump-scares, insanely loud sound, and crazy lights. It Follows is not that kind of horror movie. It's not a slow burn per se (it gets to the action pretty quick), but its horror is much more dread-based than gory or jump-scarey. The characters are typical horror-movie age, but it's a decidedly more mature/adult take on the genre. (And seriously, the previews were wicked loud. I'm strongly considering earplugs the next time I go.)
But I think It Follows is one of those movies that is really going to resonate differently with different people, and frighten them in different ways. While I could see that the shots of strangers slowly walking up behind Jay were a good dread-building device, it just didn't get under my skin. But I can see where some people would just be mortified. (It's kind of like Paranormal Activity - I get tense looking at a static shot of an empty room, but a lot of people just don't and think PA is the dumbest shit ever. (I mean the 4th one sucked, but whatever.) Tomato-Tomato.) Likewise, the way nudity is used in the film - "It" is occasionally an older nude person with a body type you don't usually see onscreen. It doesn't bother me in the least, but it could get to some people. I've read interpretations of the film that say it's about dealing with poor decisions in your sexual past. I don't have a lot of those - not because I'm awesome or anything. More because I'm terrified of physical human contact, so I didn't have a lot of opportunities to make decisions, poor or no. But what I'm saying is this just feels like a movie that you imprint on, you know? How effective it's going to be is going to depend a lot on what you bring to the table.
I was a little confused by the timeframe it was supposed to take place in. I assumed modern day - one character has a little iPhone looking thing, a lot of the fashion seems pretty current, and there are definitely some hipster tendencies present in the film. But everyone drives old cars, has big old bulky televisions, and old appliances. I think *maybe* writer-director David Robert Mitchell was trying to just make the characters timeless (they watch old 50's sci-fi movies on TV, and Jay goes to see a Cary Grant movie on a date), but it just didn't work for me. I could have used a firmer frame of reference time-wise.
But a couple of readings that I totally didn't get on this first viewing (but read about afterward) was that this film could essentially be a meditation about (a) that awkward transition between teen-and-adult, when you start to try to find your place in the world, or (b) mortality, and coming to the understanding that you are going to die one day and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm not sure if I'm on board with either reading, although both would support an intentionally ambiguous timeframe.
One thing I couldn't get on board with regardless of the thematic intent of the film was the music. It just absolutely didn't work for me. It's this kind of minimalist electronic droney kind of thing that just clashed with the tone of the film. On it's own I'd probably be into it, but it seemed really inappropriate given what was happening onscreen. Having loud, almost Inception-style foghorn noises didn't make sense to me. (For the record, my preferred dread building soundtrack is silence.) I felt like the film was going for an homage to the old electronic-synth soundtracks of the 70s-80s, but it just didn't make sense here.
But still, despite all this business, I liked it. I'm pretty much on board with any horror film that decides to take the serious/dread approach (a la Babadook), and the fact of the matter is It Follows is a technically sound, well-acted and pretty effective film. It's totally worth seeing, and it's one of those weird films where I could agree with just about any review of it (unless you said it totally sucked). "Just okay" to "scariest film I've ever seen" are both valid. (Incidentally, the poster has a quote saying "one of the most striking American Horror films in years." I'd agree with that sentiment, but disagree as to whether or not that's inherently a great compliment.)
Overall, I liked It Follows. I wanted to like it more, but what can you do?
I would recommend this film.
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