‘It Follows’ Review: A Modern Horror Masterpiece that Plays Like a John Carpenter Classic

‘It Follows’ is not only one of the best horror films in recent memory, but a real throwback to the classic scary movies made by John Carpenter and Wes Craven in the 1970’s and 80’s…

By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer

The classic horror movie trope connecting sex and violence is as old as the genre itself, but every now and again a film comes along to reinvent the concept and ‘It Follows’ may be the best example of how to do it since classic films from the 1970’s and 80’s such as ‘Halloween’ or ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’.

Anybody who has ever seen a scary movie or just watched ‘the rules’ from ‘Scream’ knows that sex equals death, especially when it involves teenagers or young adults. The virgins escape. The promiscuous people die. This isn’t a history lesson, so I couldn’t begin to tell you which film started this particular brand of social commentary but it’s a tale as old as time that continues to play out in dozens of horror films released over the years.

But director and writer David Robert Mitchell takes a very unique stab at this classic horror plot in his new movie ‘It Follows’, which first debuted on the film festival circuit last year before receiving a wide release in theaters on March 27.

The plot goes like this: A city girl born and raised in suburban Detroit meets a nice guy and they begin dating. A few weeks into this relationship, Jay (played by relative newcomer Maika Monroe) finally goes all the way with her new boyfriend, but minutes after she’s basking in the glow of some good old fashioned backseat sex, she finds herself in serious peril.

It turns out that her new guy passed along a mysterious and supernatural curse where a figure (could be someone random or taking the form of someone you love) stalks you until you either pass it off to someone else via sex or die as a result of this horrid creature who just continuously walks you down at a methodical and relentless pace. If you die, the curse then reverts back to the previous person and down the line it goes.

There are so many things to like about this movie that the few moments that didn’t quite work were far outweighed by the new spin Mitchell creates with ‘It Follows’.

The story, acting and dialogue are all spot on and well done throughout the course of the film. Monroe does a great job of leading the way as the sweet and maybe somewhat naïve Jay, who just wants to meet the perfect guy, all the while ignoring the lovesick nerd who would walk through fire just for the chance to get one minute of her attention. The supporting cast typically fades to the background for the biggest part of the movie outside of Keir Gilchrist, who plays Paul, the socially awkward dork who not so secretly loves Jay.

The film takes place in Detroit and for all the stories you’ve read recently about how one of America’s greatest cities is falling down thanks to poverty and a lack of employments, ‘It Follows’ may actually give a better sense of what things look like there without ever making a comment about the actual state of the Motor City. Buildings are run down and abandoned. The dreary, overcast skies just set the tone for what appears to be a very downtrodden and defeated city.

Add to that a score by Disasterpeace, which sounds like it was ripped directly from one of John Carpenter’s recording sessions from the 1980’s. The music just sets the stage for the unrelenting horror that unfolds for 90-plus minutes on screen.

The best way to describe the way the plot, music and scenery all unfold would be to compare ‘It Follows’ to another great movie from the past few years, ‘Drive’, which starred Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. While the two movies have nothing in common in terms of plot or genre, ‘It Follows’ and ‘Drive’ both exist in a world created 30 years ago while living in the modern day.

If there is something negative to say about ‘It Follows’ the main complaint would be the semi-climactic scene that takes place just before the end of the movie where the protagonists attempt to not only face the evil that’s been stalking them but to defeat it by the most pedestrian of means. Thankfully while that moment fails in many ways, the actual ending of the film resurrects the overall quality of the movie.

Big budget horror films that are drowned in a PG-13 rating have not done well in recent years, but independent movies like ‘It Follows’ continue to show why a good scary movie doesn’t need the latest 20-something fresh face and an MTV audience to create something audiences at large will watch.

‘It Follows’ succeeds because it’s original, it’s well written, well executed and overall one of the best horror films in recent memory. While the force in this movie walks you down, run to the theaters to check this movie out while the big screen experience is still available to you. You won’t regret it.

‘It Follows’ gets a five out of five rating on the Skolnick scale: