Review: "It Follows"

"It Follows," which made its debut back at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, is the first horror movie in years to actually be worth the price of admission.

David Robert Mitchell directs Maika Monroe as Jay, an innocent college student who, after a sexual encounter with her new boyfriend, becomes a target for "it," with "it" being some supernatural entity that takes up the form of a human and constantly walks directly towards its target. Along with her group of extremely loyal friends, Jay seeks to rid herself of "it" and discover more about what "it" even is.

The fact that "it" can only follow at a low walking speed does not, as one might expect, diminish the sense of urgency and terror. In fact, it contributes to it. Throughout the entirety of the movie, the viewers do not know who "it" will turn up as, thus making everyone a suspect. The thing's slow and steady pace allows it to blend in and not arouse suspicion, and so, the viewers are constantly searching the crowds for "it" and Jay is never in a guaranteed safe place. This sense of suspicion creates a tense and beautifully unsettling atmosphere in the film, which is brilliantly accentuated by what is my personal favorite part of "It Follows": the soundtrack.

The track above is the first in "It Follows." The first scene of the film unravels with this masterpiece rolling in the background. The soundtrack, created by Disasterpeace, is retro, and reminiscent of the John Carpenter greats of the '80s (and so is much of the film itself, for that matter) and it effectively builds a dreary, disturbing feel throughout the movie. This soundtrack is one for the ages, and I don't think I'll stop listening to it anytime soon. Here's another fantastic track.

The cinematography in "It Follows" is well-thought out and exquisitely executed. It features many 360-degree pan shots, tracking shots, and zooms, often combining two or more of these techniques. Most of these shots were beautiful and functioned well within the film, however it was clear that "It Follows" could have greatly benefited from shooting 48fps rather than the industry standard of 24fps. So far, only Peter Jackson has ventured into the land of 48fps with his excessive "Hobbit" trilogy, but this new shooting technology should not be left in Middle Earth. Especially in its 360 pan shots, "It Follows" suffers in its blurriness and out-of-focus subjects and is in desperate need of 48fps. This one detraction aside, however, Mike Gioulakis demonstrates his masterful skill through his use of color, composition, and creativity.

Despite the film's somewhat heavy-handed symbolism ("It" is an STD Jay contracted from her sexual encounter with her new boyfriend) and a lack of actual horror (although, it does take a lot for a movie to scare me), "It Follows" is a terrific piece of film-making and bodes well for the future of the horror genre. Maybe, just maybe, horror isn't dead yet (or is it coming back from the dead?).