The present decade has slowly, yet efficiently been restoring the horror genre’s former glory. Cabin in the Woods (2012), The Conjuring (2013), and The Babadook (2014) are three prime examples which successfully pay tribute to the 2nd golden age of horror movies (namely the 60s, 70s and 80s) while simultaneously reconstructing past tropes into a contemporary setting, thereby creating refreshingly new films. To join these films comes It Follows, the film debut of director David Robert Mitchell which is as thrilling as it is beautiful. The term “beautiful” isn't commonly used when describing a great horror film, with “terrifying” or “highly entertaining” usually being more accurate adjectives. While both frightening and highly entertaining, It Follows is equally as impressive in its artistic design, effectively providing entertainment for both the average film goer and snobby arthouse lover.
I mentioned in my Babadook review how original and terrifying the title creature was; never would I have expected the Babadook to be so quickly tied. Where the Babadook wins in creature design, the unnamed creature in It Follows wins in formula and curse. The creature (as it’ll be referred to from now on) is a supernatural being invisible (though not intangible) to the average human. The creature only hunts those who can see it however, humans infected with a curse by the previous carrier (through the means of sex). Once a carrier has sex, the curse is passed onto his or hers partner, causing the creature too endlessly follow its new target until caught. The creature always knows where the cursed person is, and cannot be killed through physical means (though it can be stunned); if the creature catches its target…well the resulting corpse isn’t a pretty sight. The only way to de-curse one’s self is to have sex with someone else, thereby creating a new target. Here’s the catch however: if the creature ends up killing its present target, it will begin hunting the previously cursed person, and so on and so on. This creative twist generates a unique scenario where it’s in the cursed person’s best interests to teach the newly infected about the creature and how to rid themselves of it.
Jay (Maika Monroe) has the misfortune of becoming the next cursed victim after doing it with her boyfriend. The boyfriend (who’s been using a false identity) reveals the creature through unorthodox methods (via tying her up), since explaining “it” would presumably be disbelieved. He explains the curse along with several of the creature’s features, such as its ability to take on the form of anyone (similar to the monster in The Thing) and how it will only walk slowly; he then drives them far away from the creature before making his own escape, leaving Jay with her friends. Now this my readers is how to make a great horror film formula! The right amount of fear, the right amount of setup, and the right amount of mystery.
How the creature came to be is never explained (a wonderful decision which adds to the unknown fear factor), yet it is clearly both intelligent and malevolent, purposely taking on the forms of the carrier’s friends and family to toy with them. Despite revealing the creature early on, It Follows continues to effectively build up suspense and tension. Both Jay and the audience know the creature’s coming, just when and who it will be becomes the ever fearful question. Here’s a film where the dread gets worse the farther Jay escapes. In one scene she drives half a day to a beach house, where she can get some temporary safety; yet both Jay and the viewers know “it” is coming for her…slowly, yet surely. Jay can barely sleep for fear of when it will show; she can hardly go anywhere without fear of turning around and seeing the creature closing in on her, possibly as a close friend or relative she wouldn't suspect. The high amount of paranoia creates a thrillingly tense atmosphere even during the mildest of scenes. It Follows uses such tension for all its worth, having background characters walk noticeably slow towards the focal point setting. Most of the time these sluggishly moving characters aren't the creature…most of the time; such technique kept me on constant edge, making frantic guesses on whether a background person is actually the creature.
Jay and her friends are an enjoyable group of young adults, feeling considerably more realistic than the average horror genre teenagers. When they talk and reminisce it feels quite natural, goofing off or playing games as one would with their own friends. Despite the invisibility aspect, skepticism of the creature’s existence is given a realistic level with most of Jay’s friends, going away all together when physical evidence is revealed. In fact the majority of the film focuses on Jay and her friends working together to defeat the creature, a rarity in the horror genre. As expected with the curse’s circumstances, not all their decisions are heroic; deciding whether to pass on the curse is a rough decision for Jay, though it becomes progressively less difficult the longer she remains infected.
Right up there with the effective plot and characters are It Follow’s beautiful cinematography and unique soundtrack. The film’s editing and style feel more aligned with the likes of an arthouse drama, using wide-angle shots, circular pans and spliced edits of characters doing routine tasks such as walking. One might say such style is unnecessary for such a plot, I say it’s a much welcomed decision which serves to increase the film’s effectiveness, containing a similar beauty to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. It Follow’s soundtrack can range from tranquil to completely unnerving, sometimes even both; it possesses a paranormal, techno sound which contains beats and notes reminiscent to past horror films. Bits similar to The Exorcist, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and even A Clockwork Orange are mixed into a thrilling slew of sound and atmosphere. Sound is everything in a horror film, and It Follows’ soundtrack delivers effectively.