It Follows

There has always been a correlation between sex and becoming a victim in a horror movie, but never quite like in It Follows. In this film, having sex passes on a supernatural force, like an STD that will follow you until it literally catches and kills you. It always slowly follows the latest person to contract it and once they are dead, it goes back down the line to whoever passed it on last. Sex Ed class just got a whole new level of scary.

In It Follows, Jay (Maika Monroe) becomes the next to contract the follower. We get a few clues that there’s something creepy about her date, but it’s shocking when after their encounter in his car, he knocks her out with chloroform, ties her to a chair and when she wakes he explains exactly what she’s up against as a grim form slowly walks toward them, now coming for Jay.  Her friends have a hard time believing her, since they cannot see the following entity. Jay and her friends spend the film running from the follower and trying to get rid of it, before it catches up to them.

I can see some who haven’t seen the film shrugging the premise off. So what? A creepy thing follows you? Just keep moving, right? Yeah, but where would you sleep? Could you live a productive life without getting caught? The night after watching It Follows, I tried to calculate how far one would have to drive away from home each day in order be safe through the night. My midnight math didn’t look promising. I also hatched a half baked idea that the follower is the reason for the decline of Detroit.

Then there is the option of passing it on. Easy for a pretty girl like Jay, right? But how could you live with the guilt of cursing someone like that? And what if the follower catches them and you don’t know? You could never fully be free of the follower.

Obviously, it’s the idea behind It Follows that I found most intriguing, but the other aspects of the film are well done also. The score and cinematography set a perfect tone for this slow burning horror film. Jay and her friends are a good batch of friends to bring along for a supernatural adventure. And every scene with the follower inching too close for comfort is perfect. I enjoyed flipping out on my couch, telling Jay she better run.

If you enjoy a tight, suspenseful horror film that is light on the gore, It Follows is perfect. With the following entity always on the prowl, you can never fully relax and are suspicious of any person in the background. If you’re lucky, like me, it will worm its way into your mind and keep you up at night.

“You don’t believe me do you?”