Its one thing to watch a horror film by myself, but It Follows also played on all my fears of stalking, to the point where I was scared to be outside alone. Dubbed the most terrifying film to be released this year, It Follows is by far one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve seen in the last 5 years.
The film does a great job of playing with suspense, working in carefully selected jump scares that had people across the theatre practically hit the roof. Maika Monroe does a spectacular job as Jay, a college student desperate to experience all the things adulthood holds.
Without getting too much into the plot, the premise of the film revolves around a curse, or thing, that follows its victims. The twist is that the curse is transmitted through sex.
Passed to Jay by her high school boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary), Jay and her group of friends spend the duration of the film trying to find out what the ‘thing’ is, how it works and how to get rid of it. Knowing only one thing – somewhere, it is walking straight for you.
In a beautiful realisation of teenage anxiety, director and writer David Robert Mitchell turned sexual fear into a metaphysical manifestation, an entity that lingers with you until death.
Detroit serves as a wonderful backdrop for the dark and ominous story that unfolds, emphasised with classic horror sounds and distinctly real scenes of sex, angst and loss.
For a movie that will stick with you long after closing credits, It Follows is a perfect departure from the over produced torture porn of the past and sets a precedent for more impactful films to come.
