It Follows – 2015
I’ve mentioned before that the earliest “horror stories” were the cautionary tales told around the campfires, their hopeful intentions to steer the youngsters away from bad decisions or habits. This is most obvious in the slasher films, where drug use, the imbibing of alcohol, pre-marital sex, and even profane and outspoken behavior can often draw the ire of something…well, bad…typically ending with a bladed instrument of some sort to the forehead, but it often finds itself a prominent theme in other subgenres. The extension of the morality play into horror films was an obvious evolution, and one that, at least for a while, was an effective and entertaining method of getting into our collective subconscious; now I’m not saying that horror filmmakers are trying to preach morality (we’d sure as hell be in trouble if that were the case), merely that the natural progression of the art form conveniently went in that direction. Still, it got tired pretty quick, and in turn helped create the “formulas” that we’re all so used to, causing the “cookie-cutter” effect that was all too often seen (and still is, really) in a lot of horror films. That said, we Fellow Fans are the kinds of people that just won’t accept when a well has run dry, and with good reason; despite the countless “lather, rinse, repeat” plots of the countless films that we sit and watch with bright-eyed hope, there’s always that occasional moment when we discover a nugget or gem in the mucky mines of horror flicks…
David Robert Mitchell’s film It Follows is, in my opinion, one of those that shows us that there’s still some diamonds left in that vein.
Jay (short for Jamie) is a blossoming young woman in suburban Detroit. She divides her time amongst lounging in the family’s pool, hanging with her group of friends, and attending classes at the local community college. Overall, her life doesn’t seem that different than most of ours as we found ourselves in that gray area between teen and adult; balancing the youthful desire to have fun with preparing for the inevitability of growing up, Jay enjoys her time with her longstanding group of companions, as well as exploring new avenues with her new, older boyfriend.
Jay and her “crew”
After dating him a short while, the pair engage in the tried-and-true teen staple of car sex, and Jay seems rather blissful after the experience (in both a naïve and carnal sense)…right up until the point where her boyfriend chloroforms her. When she awakens, he apologetically reveals to her that now, she will have some….thing following her, coming to kill her, until she passes the curse on to someone else via sleeping with them. She can’t argue, as he lets her see the thing as it approaches, and lets her know that only she or someone else so cursed will be able to perceive the entity; it can appear as anyone. No matter where she goes, it will always be coming for her, walking slowly but unwaveringly, and if the one she passes it onto should perish, it will return to stalking her. Her friends, though skeptical at first, worry for her, but eventually come to believe in her wild tale as it’s proven to them in frightening ways. Together, these lifelong friends struggle to find answers to why this is happening, and hope to undo what has been done…but can it be?
Of course, I’d heard the hype about this “new horror” and how frightening it was, and went into it with hope, but a hope tempered with a stripe of cynicism. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised; not necessarily that it was something “new”, but something done with the same kind of minimalist panache that I haven’t seen much of since the ’80s. Conceptually, the idea of sex being the means by which the young characters meet their doom isn’t necessarily new (God knows, we’ve seen that with guys like Jason and Michael for years), but the idea of the “bad guy” being an unstoppable, can’t-be-reasoned-with supernatural force methodically walking you down is patently terrifying, particularly in the way that this film was handled stylistically. The Cundy-esque cinematography utilized a stark, often static style that makes the whole world of the film seem alive, and with good reason; the lingering, wide shots have you watching the background for danger as much (or more) than you’re watching the characters in the scene.
The fearful search for answers…
Some shots are from the perspective of those that can see the whatever the hell “it” is, and some are from the angle of witnessing the manipulations of an invisible force…and these POVs are unpredictable, creating some frenetic and terrifying sequences. However, it’s in the overall, imposing atmosphere that this movie really gets its traction. Throughout, the feeling of impending doom and the specter of something unseen and dedicated making its way inexorably towards the characters is palpable, all accented with a chilling score that rises and falls with the tension impeccably. This film drags you into this world, making suburbia the most frightening I’ve seen it since the original Halloween; writer/director Mitchell doesn’t rely on jump-scares or an overt amount of expository grue to get to us in this film, he instead hangs the pall of dread around our shoulders and makes us carry it alongside his protagonists. Speaking of which, these are some of the most convincing teens I’ve seen in a while; they react to their situations in logical, realistic fashion most of the time, and most importantly to me, they at least look like real teens, not twenty-somethings masquerading as such. Of particular note to me was Maika Monroe in the lead role of Jay; she turns in a great performance, showing a very credible “girl-becoming-a-woman” portrayal, but still within the grasp of some vestiges of immaturity and unsure youthful awkwardness.
Whatever “IT” does certainly doesn’t seem pleasant…
Combining what in many ways is a sort of coming-of-age film with a pretty damned original horror idea was executed beautifully, and a tip of the hat to Mitchell for his prowess in this endeavor. Taking tropes from both supernatural and slasher films then creating a stand-alone mythology with one of the more creative (and frightening) ideas for an antagonist in a long time, I found It Follows to be well worth the watch. As always, there’s going to be those that would prefer the “monster” to have ripped the heads off of people and pulled their hearts out through the wound (and there’s not a damned thing wrong with that), but this one instead actually seeks to scare you, and keep you scared, rather than horrify with blood and guts.
If the latter is your bag, I recommend this one.
Keep the change.
–Mouse
Andrew Thompson
