It Follows

"It could look like someone you know, or it could be a stranger in a crowd. Whatever helps It get close to you."

It Follows, a 2015 horror film directed by David Robert Mitchell, follows normal teenager Jay (Maika Monroe), who, after a seemingly basic sexual encounter, is beginning to be followed by a creature simply known as “It,” a terrifying monster who- you guessed it- follows her no matter where she goes, stopping at nothing to reach her, an obvious allusion towards STDs.

I loved It Follows. It was creepy, smart (to a point), and well executed. But why, you ask? Well… it’s a bit complicated.

First things first- the soundtrack (kudos to Disasterpeace) is overwhelmingly good; not just “good” as in “average,” mind you: “good” as in “fantastic.” Besides the amazing theme that commonly plays when “It” makes an appearance and the film’s main piece, there are some quite surprisingly emotional tracks thrown in there as well- all in the same bit-like tone. All in all, the music amped up the creepiness this film had to offer to maximum levels I had not thought possible… who knew?

One other technical accolade I must give It Follows for presenting to us would most definitely have to be the cinematography- good gosh, the cinematography. Well, to put it simply, this film looks beautiful. The color palette, framing, lighting: everything looks so good and so, so creepy when it wants to be. It feels modern yet gives off a graciously odd retro theme, perfectly fitting for the film as a whole. Trust me- if I could stuff this entire review up with pictures of individual stills from the 90-or-so minute runtime, I would: it’s worth that much.

Alas, but there’s one thing that is pivotal to a horror movie’s quality; no matter how good the music is, no matter how good the cinematography is, one question remains for every horror film out there: how scary is it?

You know, I went into this film expecting to be a bit "creeped out…" not scared, just a bit tensed up. However, thanks to the two positive attributes mentioned prior, I came out of it (and when watching it, too) not just tense, but genuinely frightened as well, something I want every horror film to be able to do at least once during its whole course.

But as much as I find good in It Follows, there still is, of course, one small downside to the film as a whole: the ending. Note that it isn’t bad by any means, but (without spoiling it) I’ll just say that it feels a bit… choppy, or, in more specific terms, it feels like It Follows “follows” its own ending for multiple scenes. Every additional (short) scene after the climax just feels tacked on and wholly unnatural, one small negative amongst a sea of positives.

Putting that aside, though, It Follows is a stellar film- not just a stellar horror film, but a stellar film as a whole. It isn’t perfect, but its small faults are nearly immediately made up for by its sprawling amount of successes.

8/10- One of the better horror efforts to come out in a long while, It Follows boasts a stellar soundtrack, front-and-center cinematography, and a creepy reservoir- all signs of an effectively great horror film.

#September2016