Look at the room around you, notice the people in it. Pick one you’d like to trade places with. Do not tell me who or why. My job is to guess both correctly.
David Mitchell’s sophomore piece, It Follows is a psychological thriller asking you to question everyone; even and especially those closest to you. This is a slow burn. During the introductory sequences I found myself yawning, checking the time. Round about midway though, I was glancing around in paranoia and several times almost shrieked in an empty theater. The atmosphere, mood and tension build here is top shelf, and the soundtrack (done by Disasterpeace) definitely compliments.
Basically, the main character becomes a target for the unnamed phantom after sleeping with former prey. Once a character sleeps with a target, tag, they’re it. They can only free themselves from the hunt by passing it on to another. Should the phantom manage to kill the new target successfully, the originator is back under its radar. It can take on any form – maybe that of a stranger, maybe someone you know, even family . It gets close faster and can hurt its target more easily with a familiar resemblance. The demon is unpredictable, consistently inconsistent; we fear what we don’t know. The creep factor of each progressive incarnation? HIGH. This story reminded me a bit of a human chain letter – the kind we used to get in high school, with a threat and promise in the fine print.
The mark of any great movie in my opinion is an open-ended nature: having an ability to make me think beyond the images projecting on the screen, which It Follows accomplished beautifully. Is this really just a metaphor for painful relationships? Hurt people and continue that cycle until they face their pain. Taking it once step further, could this be a metaphor for any traumatic life experience? The aftershocks of hard times may follow and affect every action until peace and acceptance from the catalyzing event are reached. This film could even represent a cautionary urban legend referencing teenage promiscuity. It Follows is like the herpes of cinema – it could potentially be any, well everywhere, and it will never go away.
The main character, Jay, faces difficulty making the decision to pass the curse onto another, passing the buck to free herself from certain demise. As anticipated, taking action only makes things worse. When she finally makes that judgment call, her martyr, her sacrificial lamb, perishes almost immediately and she winds up right back on the platter. Note to audience: throwing another under the bus in lieu of self preservation, will almost certainly NEVER work.
The ending for me was intense but wishy washy in terms of realistic effectiveness. In hindsight though, it makes sense. This group of teenagers possessed limited resources, and were up against a force they couldn’t even begin to understand, so they did what we all have to do under such circumstances – use whatever resources are available to survive.
Going back to our game, take a look at your circle. Is everyone who they appear to be? Can you trust the people you know? Is there someone anyone in the room you would rather be?
…And are any of them out to get you?
This is a film I think most horror addicts will enjoy. Check it out for yourself and see if you feel you’ll be sleeping a little less soundly after the credits roll.
| It Follows | ||
| RATING: | R (for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language) |
It Follows: Trailer #1 
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| Runtime: | 1 hr. 34 min. | |
| Directed By: | David Robert Mitchell | |
| Written By: | David Robert Mitchell | |
