From nearly every perspective, "It Follows" is a home-run horror movie devoid of all the tired cliches that seemingly plague the genre. It's a lo-fi, grind-it-out film with a perfectly complementary electronic soundtrack droning in the background. No frills, just straight-ahead scares with old-school stylistic tendencies. The Achilles heel of the film is its choice in the ending — one that will assuredly divide audiences. Yet once I let it settle in, I appreciated the movie as a whole.
Speaking strictly from an originality standpoint, "It Follows" is a much-needed breath of fresh air — progressive and a throwback all at the same time. That is to say, that the filmmaking itself is very much contemporary, but the attention to detail and the avoidance of cheap scares hearkens back to a simpler era of horror.
The story is simple enough, but various complexities develop as the plot furthers along. It revolves around an unrelenting entity with the ability to shape-shift into whomever it pleases. The victims are chosen based on a chain of sexual intercourse, the origins of which are unknown. The entity stalks the last person in the chain and works its way in reverse order until everyone is dead. Therefore, the only way to divert attention away from oneself is to pass it along via sex with another individual.
The sophomoric nature of the plot is reminiscent of '80s slasher horror, specifically the unspoken rule that promiscuity seals your fate. But "It Follows" is far from formulaic, the plot driven by this theme of sexuality but unpredictable throughout. I refer to this particular kind of movie as a "shout" flick because you'll inevitably find yourself shouting at characters on the screen — a futile endeavor that is also the mark of a well constructed and tension-laden film.
Moreover, this is just a fun movie plain and simple. The story flows like a lucid dream, going in and out of sequences with a fluidity that is unlike most mainstream horror. Ironically, the entity's shape-shifting characteristics ultimately yields a faceless quality. You never know who "it" is, which makes for a great deal of paranoia and looking over your shoulder. As an audience, you know who is fixin' to get it, and subsequently who's next in line, but it's executed with such a deliberate fervor that you can't help but get sucked into the paranoia.
"It Follows" features a slew of young up-and-coming actors whose baby-faced presences are much needed. The main character Jay, played by Maika Monroe, is simply perfect in her execution, yet it's her crew of friends that truly shine through despite being relegated to background characters. The casting is pivotal to the overall aesthetics of the film. There are no over-the-top characters or purposefully dumbed-down bait. Everybody is relatable and everybody has a likable quality, which makes the stalking that much more nerve-racking.
I also got a hint of "The Sixth Sense" while watching this. There was something about the cavalcade of faces that the entity is able to take on that reminded me of Haley Joel Osment relentlessly running into dead people, only deeply more sinister. At first my only qualm with the film was the very end, but then I came to terms with the fact that I enjoyed myself so much that I simply did not want it to end. It's truly a rare feat when a movie can leave you with such a blissful frustration, and if nothing else, "It Follows" will certainly leave you thirsting for more.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaRx7iR9kXg&w=560&h=315]