Genre: Horror/Thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
SPOILER WARNING
Thrilling, Scary and GREAT
It Follows is a really interesting and enticing horror film about a young girl, Jay, who has fallen victim to a mysterious curse. The curse is transferred through sexual intercourse, and after sleeping with her boyfriend for the first time, he kidnaps her to reveal her new situation. A mysterious creature takes the form of random people and slowly and incessantly walks towards the cursed victim. There is no hiding, there’s not distance that is far enough, it is hopeless.
It Follows uses framing and cinematography masterfully to its advantage to keep the audience on our toes. We know the monster is always going to be walking towards Jay, so pretty much any person walking around the character is immediately suspect. The filmmakers bait the audience multiple times, which just helps us remain on our toes. We can never be too sure. It’s scary and compelling.
The characters do whatever they can to escape the curse, but the monster inevitably returns. One of Jay’s friends decides to sacrifice himself for her and has sex with her. The curse transfers to him, but the monster is able to reach him. The monster promptly kills him and the curse is back on Jay. This really gives the audience a feeling of a no-win scenario. The only way would be to have many, many people sleep with each other until you are so far down the line, that you are more likely safe than not. That’s what they discover the others did in the past. Although they try, Jay and her friends never figure out the origin of the monster and the curse, so neither does the audience. Some find that really frustrating, I think it adds to the horror of the film.
In a dramatic climax, Jay and her supportive friends attempt to kill the monster. The monster is able to turn invisible, and is able to survive many shots from a gun. One of the friends is shot in the process too! It’s a dramatic action scene that makes the characters improvise, keeping the audience on its toes. Even as the monster is seemingly defeated…the final shot of the film shows a person walking directly at Jay. We can never be too sure.
Side note: This is one of the only films that has made me ACTUALLY jump from a jump scare.
Overall, I love this movie. This is a great example of how cinematography can tell the story, particularly in horror films. There’s a lot to learn from the cinematography of It Follows. The acting isn’t anything award worthy, but it’s solid enough. Would I watch it again? 100%, there’s a lot to learn from the storytelling in this film. Should you watch it? Yes! It’s well-worth the scares, the chills and the time.
Tony King