The Chris Contingency: It Follows

(For our original review of It Follows head here: https://www.everythingaction.com/2015/03/14/review-it-follows/)

What do you get when you mixed screaming teens, a undefined monster, and some visual designs borrowed by Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive? The result is It Follows and it is a odd formula of positives and negatives.

“It Follows” follows Jay Height (Maika Monroe), a free spirited teenager spends her days between school and friends, and enjoying the occasional date night. But after one certain date, she is left with a curse and she is the latest victim to be stalked by “It”. Jay seeks the help of her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe), and her friends Yara (Olivia Luccardi), Paul (Keir Gilchrist), Greg (Daniel Zovatto) to figure out how to break the curse and how to stop “It”. 

I was excited by the idea of “It” as a stalking monster entity that no one really defines. It Follows plays on subtle horror as the creature is appears on screen from a distance, never chasing the victim, slowly walking towards the target. It’s a monster that is a constantly changing appearances as different human people and no one else can really see “It” unless you are the intend victim. The victim looks like a lunatic pointing at nothing and shouting for help while this emotionless humanoid person slowly walks around. “It” doesn’t try to be stealthy while stalking, “It” will appear in plain sight and quietly walk up to the target.  The monster just wants to follow you until it can corner and kill you.

The movie is slow paced, matching the looming sense of danger of “It” following Jay around. The subtle visuals and the use of camera work help create a creepy atmosphere that enhances some of the horror elements, but some scenes did make me laugh from how some visuals were used and from some really bizarre dialogue. I give the director credit for showing some restrain on jump scares usage in “It Follows” since the “It” doesn’t hide in a closet, waiting to pop out. I love that the monster has to follow some rule of letting the victim know its coming.

It Follows already has amassed a following since it’s screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, so this isn’t some secret movie that no one has heard of. It may disappoint the typical mainstream horror fans that are used to having every detail explained. I believe It Follows has a nightmare like effect where you only know the important details from what you see, and the experience sticks with you.

[rating=3]