It Follows is a pretty nicely crafted indie thriller, which premiered at Cannes in 2013 and in the United States in 2014. It Follows centers around a young woman named Jamie who must shake herself free from some sort of ghost-like presence that begins following her and can take the form of strangers and her loved ones alike. We learn early on that ‘it’ is passed down from person to person by sexual intercourse and that it never ends. We also learn that you can’t let ‘it’ touch you but we never see the consequence of that (which I actually enjoyed).
The premise isn’t anything entirely new and yet its specific enough that people want to attach meaning to it and that’s always pretty neat in the horror genre, some believe it’s an allegory on HIV/AIDS or any number of STD’s and others believe it’s something much less specific and more of a general commentary on the act of sex and it’s freedoms and demons alike. I personally fall in the ladder.
I think as a whole ‘It Follows’ is a lot of decent to great parts coming together to make a slightly above the average whole. The score is the main stand out, supplying eerie synths and creepy subtle keys that really enhance the natural horror of the images. The cinematography is also fairly good, there isn’t anything notable about the camera work other than consistently clean zooms and close-ups, but the use of darker and heavier color saturation to express the natural dread of the situation at hand was pretty clever and definitely added to the experience.
The acting was okay and served a purpose but definitely comes off as a weak link when compared to the design and direction and work put into creating such a specific tone but I do feel that the script is the main thing working against this film as a whole.
The writing feels purposefully stripped back and bare and bleak and empty as to enhance the natural horror of the situation but it never felt REAL, I never really felt myself believe that people would say and act the way they were if in the same situation and I feel like there could have been a perfect middle in which we get the spacey, creepy, dark and empty vibe, but that we actually have believable dialogue with a bit of feeling.
Beginning, Middle, and End there were many stand out moments and I would say I enjoyed this project as a whole, I was just disappointed by the script and the acting could have been stronger at times. The production and design teams really know how to catch a vibe and if the sequel talks are true, I will definitely be tuning in!
I’ve adopted the reviewing system of a great youtuber whom I enjoy, Anthony Fantano, and with this first entry, I’m feeling a 6-7.
(6.9)
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