Dec
03
2015
0

Retrospective Review: It Follows (2015)

With the year coming to a close, and “best of” discussions beginning (both casually amongst friends and for the site) I’m taking some time to delve into media that I did not consume when it first came out. I’m also revisiting some media so that I can be as informed as possible in these discussions. I’ve decided to turn this process into content – and so I’ll be reviewing as much of it as I can. In some cases, this is self-serving – I really want to write about Mad Max: Fury Road, for instance. In others, I’m watching something for the first time. For the most part, these reviews will be of film, though there may be some video games, TV, and comics mixed in there. The reviews may also be shorter than normal, considering the rapid pace at which I’m going. Who knows, maybe this could become an annual occurrence.


Note: We the Nerdy has already published a review of It Follows, written by Kevin, and it offers a very different perspective on the film than my review does. I encourage you to check it out here.

I’m not a big horror guy. I know lots of people who swear by the genre, but I have a bad history of horror films grinding my psyche to tiny pieces, and most of the horror movies I have seen haven’t done much for me. This may sound counter intuitive, but if anything, I try to avoid good horror movies. It Follows is one that I simply could not avoid. It seemed like essential viewing, and hey, what better way to get over a phobia than by tackling it head on?

I won’t sugarcoat it: It Follows scares the shit out of me. It doesn’t have much in the way of jump scares or anything (those don’t really scare me anyways), but it builds tension in such a way that my teeth were clenched every second of the film. In many ways, this makes it somewhat evocative of The Blair Witch Project. Some may misinterpret that as a criticism, but let me be clear: I think Blair Witch is incredible. I’m going to try not to spend too much time comparing It Follows to other movies in the genre, however, because I find that to be more reductive than anything else.

For those who haven’t seen the film, the premise is basically that the main character, Jay (played wonderfully by Maika Monroe), has “It” passed on to her through sexual intercourse with her sort-of boyfriend Hugh. And what does It do? Well, It follows, of course! Specifically, It follows Jay – everywhere, and taking on many forms. From the first time we see It in the parking garage to the last time we see It in the swimming pool, it is portrayed as a force of nature – nigh unstoppable. Frankly, It is terrifying, especially considering that its victims are the only ones that can see it coming. Jay can really do nothing but run, and hope that It doesn’t catch up. But eventually, It always catches up with Jay and the supporting cast.

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A major element of the success of It Follows is that I actively cared about Jay and the rest of the characters. There was never a point in the movie where I wanted them to die, and having that connection only made the film more terrifying. For the majority of the film, Jay is the only one that is truly threatened, but there’s always the sense that something could go terribly for her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) or their friends Greg (Daniel Zovatto), Yara (Olivia Luccardi), and Paul (Keir Gilchrist). The entire cast gives brilliant performances, capitalizing on the well-written script to forge meaningful character dynamics. Of these four, Greg gets the most characterization, but no one (except perhaps Yara) is really left wanting for development. Still, more time with non-Jay and Greg characters would have been nice.

In addition to developing a knock-out cast of characters, It Follows has an excellent sense of place. Each of the sets used feel appropriate, from Jay and Kelly’s claustrophobic home to the beaches (a setting the movie uses frequently). No matter where the characters are – a classroom,  a hospital, a movie theater – there is always a sense of dread looming over them. Set design is key here, but perhaps more important is the music and the cuts to other people going about their normal business. The juxtaposition between the audio and visual elements create numerous poignant scenes, many of which are equal parts terrifying and touching.

While I certainly would never call It Follows a horror comedy, there are times that it pokes fun at the genre. There’s a sense of self awareness that the film carries in certain scenes, utilizing classic horror tropes to add a sense of absurdity to the movie. I may not be in love with the genre, but I am familiar with the classics of the genre, so yes, I understand the tropes. I actually found these scenes to be timed perfectly. At least for me, they acted as a tension reliever, which, to be perfectly honest, I really needed at certain points.

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While I attribute a lot of the scares in the film to me caring about the characters, another big part of it is the fact that It changes forms. We rarely see it take on the same form (though there are some scenes where it does), and It is prone to taking the form of people that Jay knows. There’s never really an explanation as to why It does this, or how It is capable of it. However, this is what leads to one of the movie’s “twists.” I’m not sure calling it a twist is 100% accurate (perhaps “reveal” is a better term), but whatever you want to refer to it as, it’s a pretty major gut punch. I haven’t put a ton of thought into it, but there are definitely those who have.

What I have out some thought into are some of the movie’s themes – namely paranoia and desperation. These themes are both developed throughout the course of the movie, largely in relation to character development. As the movie progresses, there’s definitely a sense that Jay (and even the supporting cast, though to a lesser extent) are losing sight of themselves. They’re constantly worried that It will catch up with them, and are never sure what they can do to stop It. The characters are worn down to the point where it’s clear that there’s a point where they’re just ready to be done with everything that’s happened to them.

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This allows for some solid commentary on the human condition, and what traumatic experiences can do to one’s mental state. It’s not necessarily as deep as it could have been, but the only way to flesh this out more would have been to add to the run time. Coming in at just over an hour and a half, It Follows feels like it’s the perfect length. The pacing is perfect, allowing for enough encounters with It as well as numerous quieter moments, used to flesh out the characters. Adding to the run time would likely have detracted from the movie overall, though I can’t help but wonder what writer/director David Robert Mitchell could have done with some of the thematic elements of the film with another twenty or thirty minutes.

Anyways, this speculation is pointless, because we have a final product, and the product that we have is excellent. It has flaws – the lack of thematic development being the most glaring of them. The plot is also fairly linear – though something about that feels appropriate. It also doesn’t do a ton with cinematography, and takes some liberties in terms of the rules it sets up for itself, though those are more nitpick-y than anything else. It Follows survives on establishing excellent characters and a monster that is utterly terrifying. This is a horror movie that I think I can say I truly loved.