After a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, a young woman finds herself plagued by nightmarish visions that someone, or something, is following her. A film by David Robert Mitchell, starring Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, and Lili Sepe.
IT FOLLOWS
David Robert Mitchell
(2015)
As dusk settles over the suburbs, Annie (Bailey Spry) bursts out of her house, wild-eyed and frantic. She stumbles into the middle of the road, backing away slowly as if facing an unseen threat. Her neighbor (Carollette Phillips), startled by the commotion, asks if she needs any help. However, Annie simply responds with “No.” Just then, her confused father (Loren Bass) emerges from the house, asking her what she is doing. Annie bolts back inside. Moments later, she reappears clutching at her purse and car keys. She jumps into her car and peels out of the driveway. As she speeds down the quiet streets, Annie can’t stop glancing back, her eyes wide with panic. Her phone buzzes insistently, but she ignores it, too focused on whatever she’s fleeing from to even consider answering.
At the beach, headlights from her car illuminate Annie as she sits alone. Her phone starts to ring again, and this time she picks up. It’s her father, presumably calling to ask where she is and what’s wrong. Annie repeatedly says that she loves mom and dad, apologizing for how she’s acted sometimes. The next morning, Annie’s body is discovered twisted and mutilated on the beach.
The scene shifts to a bustling cinema, where Jay (Maika Monroe) and her boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary) wait in line for tickets. Jay tells Hugh about a people-watching game she and her younger sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) used to play when they were bored. She explains the rules of the game further: players watch people around them and choose someone they’d like to trade places with. Then the other player gets two guesses to figure out who the player picks and why. Hugh picks someone, but Jay’s guess is wrong. Inside the cinema, it’s Jay’s turn to pick. Hugh guesses that she picks the girl in the yellow dress. Jay asks, “Where?” Hugh points at the entrance. However, Jay sees no one there. Suddenly uneasy, Hugh asks anxiously if they can leave, claiming that he’s not feeling well. As they walk to his car, Hugh keeps glancing back nervously, as if fearing he’s being followed.
As the couple dines at a cozy restaurant, the camera drifts, peering through the window to the street beyond. In the background, an indistinct figure slowly approaches. The following evening takes a darker turn. Hugh drives Jay to a secluded spot near an abandoned building on the outskirts of town. There, in the confines of his car, they share an intimate moment for the first time. Suddenly, the mood shifts. Before Jay can react, Hugh presses a chloroform-soaked cloth to her face. Her struggles are brief, her world fading to black as questions flood her dimming consciousness.
Hugh wanders through the abandoned building, shining his flashlight around as if searching for something. Jay stirs and realizes she is tied to a wheelchair. Seeing that Jay is awake, Hugh apologizes and assures her he won’t hurt her. He then begins to explain about the thing that will now haunt her — a curse that someone passed to him, and he has now passed to Jay back in the car. He elaborates further in a cryptic manner, saying the thing could take the form of someone Jay knows or anyone in a crowd. It will do whatever it takes to get close to her. Suddenly, Hugh spots what he has been looking for. He grabs the wheelchair and pushes it towards the edge of the building. There, on the ground below, a shadowy naked woman slowly walks towards them and looks up.
Hugh drags the wheelchair back inside and advises Jay to get rid of it by passing it on to someone else as soon as she can, just like he did. He explains that the curse can only be transferred through sexual intercourse. He warns Jay that only those who have the curse can see it, and if it succeeds in killing her, it will come after him next. Suddenly, the naked woman appears and slowly approaches them. Hugh rushes to the side of the woman, but she completely ignores him, continuing her advance toward Jay, proving that she no longer follows him.
Jay quickly returns to the wheelchair and pushes away, fleeing from the evil entity. Hugh offers Jay one last piece of advice: never go to a place that doesn’t have more than one exit. He asserts that while the entity is very slow, it’s not dumb. He drops Jay off at the curb in front of her home and drives away, disappearing into the darkness.
Written and directed by American filmmaker David Robert Mitchell, IT FOLLOWS” is a gripping psychological horror that breaks the mold of typical genre fare. While some moments may drag, the film’s strength lies in its ability to create unsettling thrills without relying on cheap jump scares.
Mitchell masterfully uses visuals and a haunting soundtrack to keep viewers on edge throughout the story. The film’s atmosphere is thick with suspense, cultivating a constant sense of impending doom. This approach leaves audiences feeling that something terrifying could happen at any moment, even during seemingly mundane scenes.
By eschewing conventional horror tropes, “It Follows” stands out in the crowded horror landscape. Despite its occasional pacing issues, the film’s innovative approach to horror storytelling makes it a compelling and memorable experience.
One of the film’s standout features is its meticulous framing. The camera work keeps us constantly scanning the screen for any sign of the malevolent entity. Even in crowded scenes, there’s this nagging feeling that something’s off. I find myself eyeing every extra, wondering if they’re really just a bystander or the evil force in disguise. It’s a clever trick that puts us right in the protagonist’s shoes, mirroring their constant state of anxiety and paranoia.
The film’s main weakness lies in its plot, which sometimes feels unconvincing or illogical. The protagonist’s unclear decisions and actions leave us questioning her true motives. For example, in one scene, she decides not to pass the curse on to one of her male friends because she values their friendship and their lives. However, after the accident, she changes her mind and passes it on anyway. Another example is the swimming scene. Here, the characters act like the Ghostbusters team in an attempt to kill the evil entity. However, they have no experience and no guarantee that their plan will work.
In a sense, IT FOLLOWS doesn’t have a climactic scene or the satisfying conclusion of what actually happened with the curse. The filmmaker intentionally leaves the ending open to interpretation. This may not be what some viewers want.
IT FOLLOWS premiered at Festival de Cannes on 17 May 2014. The film was theatrically released in France on 4 February 2015, and in the United States on 13 March.
IT FOLLOWS received a 4K Blu-ray release on 28 August 2023. The 4K UHD offers several enhancements compared to previous home video versions. It features a new 4K master approved by director David Robert Mitchell, ensuring improved picture quality. The film is presented in Dolby Vision HDR, providing vibrant visuals, and includes a new Dolby Atmos audio track. This release also introduces a variety special features, including audio commentary by Joshua Grimm, interviews with cast members Keir Gilchrist and Olivia Luccardi, and a video essay titled “It Follows – The Architecture of Loneliness” by Joseph Wallace.
Additionally, the limited edition packaging includes a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thinh Dinh, a 150-page hardback book with essays, and six collectible art cards.
