Writer: David Robert Mitchell
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Finally released in the UK after it seemed to be touring film festivals
for ever and with a number of great reviews to its credit It Follows, er,
follows 19-year-old Jay (Monroe) who's unwittingly plunged into a waking
nightmare after a sexual encounter results in her being the recipient of a
curse which involves being pursued by a murderous, soul-sucking entity that can
only be seen by those who've been cursed. Just about the only positive thing is
that said entity can only pursue its prey at walking pace and can't use any
sort of transport so it can be outrun so Jay will have to keep
outrunning it unless she can pass the curse on to someone else. And, of course,
there's only one way to do that...
Firstly, let me say that this is a fine horror movie. The characters and their actions are, on the whole, extremely
believable. The electronic score by Disasterpiece is nothing short of stunning
(I'm buying a copy). The movie has a terrific late 70s/early 80s small town teen
horror vibe; more than once I was reminded of Halloween, which is praise
indeed. Maika Monroe (who was also in the superb Wingard/Barrett thriller The
Guest) is excellent in the lead role and she's ably supported by a talented
group of young performers. In short, I really liked it. I'm just slightly
annoyed that I didn't love it, because so many people obviously do.
The first half of the movie is an impressive exercise in palm-moistening
suspense as Jay is forced - literally - to see that her pursuer is real and
then is confronted with any number of everyday situations where anyone
approaching could be about to kill her. It's a genuinely unnerving premise and the film doesn't
have to revert to a plethora of cheap jump scares to work incredibly well
(although it can't resist an unexpectedly loud thump on a window at one
point). Unfortunately the second half, although it has its share of chilling
set-pieces, succumbs to the Law Of Diminishing Returns and it just didn't grab me the way the earlier sequences did. The story doesn't explore too many of the possibilities of Jay's
predicament either. Monroe looking troubled, then having to leg it from some perambulating lunatic, then wondering just whether or not she should sleep with
someone to pass on the curse is intriguing and fun for quite a long while but it doesn't quite
hold up for 100 minutes.
I've read some reviews which said the very end is by far the weakest
part of the film. I have to say that I disagree; considering what's gone
before, I thought the final scene fitted the bill perfectly, complete with
quite a nice "hold on, is that...?" moment. I wish I could
wholeheartedly shout my praises of this film to the rooftops but I'm sorry to
say that I can't. Don't get me wrong, you should check this out as it's a very good movie. I just can't say
that it's a truly great one.
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