A movie review by: Lee Sonogan

(2014) 1h40min/ Horror, mystery

This movie can only be described as a young woman who is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter. The film’s concept derives from a recurring nightmare the director used to have, where he would be stalked by a predator that continually walked slowly towards him. According to the production company, the film’s budget was $1.3 million and was shot entirely in the state of Michigan for tax advantages. A year after its theatrical release it grossed over $20 million in the box office.

The time frame of the movie is intentionally kept ambiguous so that it resembles a dream. Some of the cars shown are from more recent times. Many appear to be from the ’60s to the late ’80s. Not only do the set props prevent the viewer from placing the year, but the clothing also prevents the viewer from placing the time of year. Throughout the film’s short duration clothing ranges from coats, jackets, t-shirts and swimsuits during the day, to barely anything at all at night… all outdoors, with no signs of discomfort.

Following overwhelmingly positive first weekend reception from critics and audiences, the film’s originally planned VOD/theatrical release was cancelled in favour of a theatrical-only release. The entire score by Rich Vreeland (“Disasterpeace”) was completed in less than three weeks. Disasterpeace recorded the score for the film because the director, David Robert Mitchell, was a huge fan of the video game Fez (for which Disasterpeace did the music).

The director David Robert Mitchell said in an interview that the ‘monster’ could potentially board a plane in order to follow the cursed person. He started writing the screenplay in 2011. David has cited the works of George A. Romero and John Carpenter as major influences on his style of filming and creative decisions on It Follows.

The film takes inspiration from several horror films and their tropes from the ’60s to the ’80s, especially from the slasher classic Halloween made in 1978. The girl in the opening scene of the film is named Annie, and one of Laurie’s friends on Halloween was named Annie Brackett. The movie is shot mainly with wide-angle lenses to give the film a more expansive, intimidating feel.

Overall, it is an interesting take on a horror movie. The music makes the scenes intense when the monster follows the lead actress. The film has a feel of the 80’s, much like the Netflix series Stranger thing. The sci-fi elements are very different tho. In my opinion, horror storys are one of the hardest to do well. This movie bought the suspense and the crazy creepy monster. So I recommend this to everyone who likes horror movies for something different. The ending of the movie is a bit dull tho.

7/10