Young lass Jay allows her date, the hunky Hugh, to get down on it in the back of his car one night, and unbeknownst to her, pass on a pesky curse in the process. No...not the clap...but a persistent stalker entity, hence the title of IT FOLLOWS. After doing the nasty, Jay wakes up tied to a chair beneath an overpass, as Hugh explains the predicament she is in. "All you have to do is find someone else, and pass it on. It should be easy...you're a girl.", meaning, of course, find some schmoe, let him jump on for a quick ride, and like magic, they will be the one IT FOLLOWS from there on out. the catch is, if that person is killed, the curse reverts back to the last person carrying the burden.
Jay is soon a believer, as the entity, which can appear as anyone, it's guise constantly changing, is following her, and eventually knocking on her bedroom door. With the help of her friends, and a couple horny boys, Jay thwarts the curse for brief periods, but death comes walking, and eventually winds it's way back to her.
Ok...first off, this movie has been getting some serious, and I mean serious love, from the horror community, as well as film critics. I must, however strongly disagree. The first third of the film borrows so heavily in tone and sound design from John Carpenter's uber-classic HALLOWEEN that it's actually distracting. Factor in the "have sex and die" trope, which isn't mined in any kind of clever, modern way, but merely stands as a tired cliche, and a missed opportunity at some true terror when the friends make a weekend escape to a beach front home, and the only thing that "followed" for me was severe disappointment. The finale, which recalls LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, as well as Hideo Nakata's underrated Quatermass-like RINGU 2, carries none of the innovation of those films, and only devolves into a silly climax that reeks of an R-rated GOOSEBUMPS episode. The sexual proclivity angle is also never fleshed out. Does it matter if it's with someone you are in love with? (a question the film nearly raises, then never goes anywhere with). What about gay sex? Group sex? Hell, in this case it might be a good time experimenting with being a zoophile! Nope. Just pure Wonderbread land here folks.
What the hell IT FOLLOWS is getting so much praise for leaves me scratching my head, especially when this last year has actually made a very strong showing as far as domestic horror fare. THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN. STARRY EYES. PROXY. All are much better scare-fare. The saving grace of IT FOLLOWS is the cast.
Maika Monroe (seen recently in the infinitely better action oriented screamer THE GUEST), Keir Gilchrist (THE UNITED STATES OF TARA), along with Daniel Zovatto, Olivia Luccardi, and Lili Sepe, all do a fine job in what amounts to a hot mess of YA hormonal horror. But for me? The only thing this film follows is a trite and over-walked path.
Rating: 2.25 out of 5
~ The Butcher
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