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It Follows Movie Review

It Follows is a 2015 horror film directed by David Robert Mitchell and it is one of a few horror movies in recent years that has received critical acclaim and rightfully so.

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“It could look like someone you know

or it could be a stranger in a crowd.

Whatever helps it get close to you.“

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It Follows follows a girl who is chased by a supernatural being after a sexual encounter she had. She then learns that she can pass it to someone else as the occurrences of these creatures appear when sleeping with a person who already has it. Afterwards she goes with her friends from place to place into hiding and preparing to destroy it. The plot is fairly simple, but it is executed perfectly with quite stellar script. What I find fascinating is its powerful theme which is too obvious and that is the STD aspect to it. The fear and panic caused by it is a great touch and a reason why this plot works so well as a parallel to those serious deceases.

What is also great is the fact that the movie is very smart and rather original not only in its execution but also in character interactions and behavior. It Follows has an authentic premise never quite seen before and it uses that to its fullest advantage. The detail is great with the creatures and their properties. Although I found the zombie appearance of the beings extremely annoying and very typical along with their slow movements which was also seen countless times before, their design nevertheless changes throughout the movie, from male to female, from older to younger, and that was interesting as is the fact that only she can see them but her friends can’t, but still help her and they are with her from start to finish, trusting her.

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I found that really wonderful and refreshing. The characters thankfully never make stupid mistakes and ridiculous decisions and they stick together which was fascinating to me and a pleasant surprise. The movie still has some empty scenes with just staring and coming closer, but it is mostly devoid of that. But the thing that surprised me the most has to be the fact that almost the entire movie happens at daylight. The whole of it! That was really brave and fresh from the filmmakers and I hope others would take note from them for their movies because this is certainly the way to go.

The characterization is solid as is the acting. The main character is rather well developed and although her friends are not, they are still with her throughout the whole movie showing a strong friendship which was great to see. The performances are solid across the board. Not one of them was cringe-worthy and Maika Monroe as the protagonist is especially good portraying the fear and madness in a great way.

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As for the scares themselves, there are only a couple of true scares, but nothing too frightening which definitely hurts the movie. It should have been more terrifying. But it compensates for it with beautifully created atmosphere of utter despair and sickness which can definitely be felt in the air. The cinematography is also quite good, but it was frustrating to me with sometimes too frequent moving camera shots and wide angles. The direction is excellent and quite stupendous as is the editing. It really is a tightly edited little film with never a spare or dull moment.

Engrossing from start to finish, authentic in its plot and smart in is execution with not only realistic character interactions and behavior but also with most of the time spent on daylight which is really refreshing, It Follows has some annoying stares and empty scenes as well as typical creature design and behavior and it is never truly frightening, but it has a stellar script, a wonderfully created atmosphere filled with utter despair and madness, evident theme, solid acting and it is above all a smart in its authentic horror film which is really rare and it should be seen by horror and non-horror fans alike.

My Rating – 4

You can get It Follows on Amazon.