“It could look like someone you know or it could be a stranger in a crowd. Whatever helps it get close to you.”
It Follows is a modern day horror film from newcomer David Robert Mitchell, based on a childhood dream and filmed with a very low budget, but huge ideas. By drawing inspiration from classic horrors of the past and adding in his own flair, Mitchel has crafted a horror film that is very rare – one that is not only terrifying, but one that stays with you long after the credits have rolled. The basic premise is very simple, and indeed, sounds ridiculous: after having sex a young girl is followed by a supernatural entity that wants to kill her.
However, where the film wins out is with its style; the framing is very ‘over the shoulder’ so you are constantly drawn into the picture looking for ‘It’. The pacing is very deliberate, building up tension all the way. The characters are very real, even though they live in a dream like landscape; they exist in ‘no-time’ i.e. there is no definite time period, they exist in ‘no-place’; anywhere suburbia USA downtown from a decaying city. The sound design has you constantly on edge, looking over your shoulder for ‘It’ when there is the slightest crackle. And the score, oh the score from Disasterpeace is at once reminiscent of classic horror whilst maintaining a modern stance, complimenting the on-screen action and adding a tremendous amount to the finished product.
The fact the film is so universally creepy is what really, genuinely, gets under your skin, making it so compelling. Framed in such a way that anyone can be ‘It’, you find yourself constantly looking over the shoulders of the characters to see what is coming, drawing you into the film and the plight of the characters. Could you, yourself be ‘It’ following them wherever they go? Heady ideas and a wonderfully enigmatic conclusion top off what must be the horror film of the year so far.
It Follows is a tremendous film, a multi-layered, multi-faceted horror story that exists on many planes, and whilst there is plenty to read into the piece there is one underlying factor: it is incredibly unnerving, becoming ever creepier as you watch until you are left terrified long after the film has ended.
Look behind you... 'It' has followed you home.
It Follows is a modern day horror film from newcomer David Robert Mitchell, based on a childhood dream and filmed with a very low budget, but huge ideas. By drawing inspiration from classic horrors of the past and adding in his own flair, Mitchel has crafted a horror film that is very rare – one that is not only terrifying, but one that stays with you long after the credits have rolled. The basic premise is very simple, and indeed, sounds ridiculous: after having sex a young girl is followed by a supernatural entity that wants to kill her.
However, where the film wins out is with its style; the framing is very ‘over the shoulder’ so you are constantly drawn into the picture looking for ‘It’. The pacing is very deliberate, building up tension all the way. The characters are very real, even though they live in a dream like landscape; they exist in ‘no-time’ i.e. there is no definite time period, they exist in ‘no-place’; anywhere suburbia USA downtown from a decaying city. The sound design has you constantly on edge, looking over your shoulder for ‘It’ when there is the slightest crackle. And the score, oh the score from Disasterpeace is at once reminiscent of classic horror whilst maintaining a modern stance, complimenting the on-screen action and adding a tremendous amount to the finished product.
The fact the film is so universally creepy is what really, genuinely, gets under your skin, making it so compelling. Framed in such a way that anyone can be ‘It’, you find yourself constantly looking over the shoulders of the characters to see what is coming, drawing you into the film and the plight of the characters. Could you, yourself be ‘It’ following them wherever they go? Heady ideas and a wonderfully enigmatic conclusion top off what must be the horror film of the year so far.
It Follows is a tremendous film, a multi-layered, multi-faceted horror story that exists on many planes, and whilst there is plenty to read into the piece there is one underlying factor: it is incredibly unnerving, becoming ever creepier as you watch until you are left terrified long after the film has ended.
Look behind you... 'It' has followed you home.
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