The plot of It Follows, the second movie by director David Robert Mitchell, is spelled out in its entirety within the first 15 minutes of the movie, so I won’t be spoiling much by explaining it here. If you really don’t want to know, though, go ahead and cover your eyes with your hands and get a parent or relative to scroll past the next paragraph.
The chosen plot device involves a kind of curse, transmitted sexually. Jay, the main character, is a 19-year-old girl who makes a pretty common decision to have sex with the guy she’s seeing, even though he’s obviously acting pretty sketchy. The problem she finds herself saddled with afterwards involves a creature, able to appear in the guise of any person, relentlessly pursuing her — the curse this dude has passed along to her. If it catches up, the game is over. If she has sex with someone else, she’ll pass the curse along. There’s a metaphor in here somewhere, not about the dangers of youthful lust or sexually transmitted diseases, but about regret over decisions poorly made. The movie doesn’t belabor the point. The rules are simple: the thing pursuing people is slow, but it never stops; they can get away, but it will catch up; it likes to break windows, but doesn’t seem to understand doors. And one last terrifying detail — it’s invisible to everyone but the accursed.
It Follows is, of course, a horror movie, so it can’t be faulted much for having a somewhat ridiculous concept. What really sells this film is the tone set by the strong cast, the wonderful soundtrack, and the engrossing cinematography. Those factors, and the sense of dread that pervades nearly every second of its 107 minute run time.
Without its monster, It Follows could almost be a teenage romance, or one of those kids-on-an-adventure movies à la Goonies. Jay (Maika Monroe) never really has a chance to catch up with what’s happening to her, so she inhabits the mental space between thinking she’s gone insane and the conviction that what she’s seeing is real. Her friends, including her younger sister Kelly (Lili Sepe), become involved in her plight out of simple concern for her wellbeing. There is no grand plan to their actions, but the acting is mature and believable. This is a close-knit group trying to help one of their own, despite having no chance of understanding what she’s going through.
If you’ve played many indie video games in the past few years, you’ve probably heard the music of Berkeley chiptune artist Disasterpiece. The score to this movie, composed by Disasterpiece, ambles between pure, nerve-tingling textural pieces, light-hearted, almost whimsical Boards-of-Canada-esque interludes, and synth heavy compositions that will bring a nervous grin to the face of anyone who has had their blood chilled by the theme to John Carpenter’s Halloween.
The cinematography is phenomenal, and brings a participatory nature to the film. Through the use of wide-open landscape shots framing the characters, the audience is invited to help keep watch. Perhaps if you are attentive enough, you can help spot the thing. Maybe you’ll see it off in the periphery before the characters become aware of it. I found myself constantly scanning the background for clues. Another clever trick comes in the director’s use of a few scattered first-person perspective shots. Not your typical horror movie shakey-cam crap, these moments are peaceful and contemplative. Scenes like the view of Jay’s hands as she absentmindedly tugs at a plant, rhapsodizing about how she thought her life would be, help to put the viewer in the minds, and the shoes, of the characters.
It Follows is set in the Detroit, Michigan area, but doesn’t seem to take place during any specific time period. The technology you see in the movie is contained within a few shots of old TV screens filled with more static than picture. There are no cell phones, but one of the characters has some kind of e-reader device in the form of a vintage pink seashell compact, from which she occasionally quotes Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. The backdrop of Detroit’s abandoned buildings and uninhabited urban areas provides some perfect set pieces. All of these elements add up to lend the film a uniquely dream-like quality.
For a horror movie, there is little gore, very few jump scares, and surprisingly sparse action. The film runs on a cycle of slowly building up the feeling of dread until it breaks, then starting again. It works, and works well, each time bringing the despair to another level. If you’re a fan of horror movies, or even just thrillers, get your ass to a movie theater tomorrow and revel in it. Or, if you’re the kind of person who would rather be safely locked in their home cowering under a blanket in the dark, wait until it’s released (at a future date TBD) via video-on-demand.
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