'It Follows' A Review

It Follows is a supernatural horror film about a curse that is passed by sexual intercourse. The curse manifests itself in the form of a creature that slowly walks straight towards the individual cursed and if caught they are killed, the curse then reverts to the previous person that had it. In an unnamed suburb of Detroit in an unknown time Jay(Maika Monroe) hangs out with her sister and friends before going out on a date. She has sex with her boyfriend for the first time only to be drugged by him and tied to a wheelchair. He explains he has passed on a curse to her and that the only way to get rid of it is to have sex with someone. The remainder of the film Jay, her sister, and her friends attempt to deal with the homicidal spirit.

The cinematography is lush and colorfully hypnotic. The score a slow and pulsing synth. The performances all natural and striking especially Monroe in the lead. The supernatural conceit, a murderous ghost slowly and deliberately moving straight for its victim, terrifyingly effective.

The film seems to attempt to function as some kind of teen sex parable however the message, if there is one, is unclear and unrealized. The narrative while certainly entertaining and scary enough lacks a sense of completion or cohesion. It is only two acts of a three act film. There are some interesting ideas that are brought up but discarded as the story plods along to its mediocre conclusion.

It Follows has received a lot of hyperbolic praise, in truth its not as playful as The Guest or as richly complex as The Babadook. It shows promise and ambition but taken as a whole it is unsatisfying.

Rent It.