It Follows

Finally a real horror in a long time! No more bloody, slasher crap. This is how the really scary movies were made. Suspense and fear are created by great cinematography and music.

The pace of the movie is slow and almost no to few special effects are present. I surely hope that this movie hails the return of the great horror genre: we are scared of the unknown and not violence for the sake of it.

All the young actors are promising, they really pulled it off. Kudos to the director who also wrote the script, I am looking forward to his next movie.

Go see it, you won't regret it!

I just recently rewatched this film and really enjoyed it. I had forgotten how well made it is. I love the way it makes you feel tense and unsettled, but does it in a way that feels like the old school classic horror films. It's got a good pace, believable characters and feels very real. Like this could happen to you, which is why I think it works so well. It definitely is thought-provoking, and has the same kind of feeling as a John Carpenter movie. On second viewing, you start to see all the creative elements going on that all work well together. (score, choice of locations, production value, props) Some have said the idea of having a curse put on you through having sex is a little silly, but I think it's a fresh approach and like that the writer was thinking outside the box. Too many people like to bash on filmmakers, but I am here to praise people for their creativity and their hard work. It's not easy to get a film made, and I commend anybody for getting it from script to screen.

Inspired by 70's and 80's horror, it follows is a refreshing psychological horror film with a simple premise and a chilling concept. The cinematography is electrifying, every shot is beautiful and the score holds brilliance, it carries a very obvious John Carpenter vibe to it. The tension is raw, avoiding cheap jump scares and relies on music. Its eerie atmosphere is extremely effective keeping you inches above your seat for the majority of the runtime. The characters are interesting, providing depth and emotional attachment, most modern horror films seem to forget the importance of character development, its nice to see the genre hasn't completely lost it yet. There are several jumps scares, but they work, as they are not carried with unnecessary piecing music jolts but with the use of disturbing and sudden imagery.

The only errors I could detect were the unconventional editing style, the transitions were a little dodgy lacking fluency, this left the film to appear choppy at times but this flaw can be easily forgiven. Its outstanding cinematography and soundtrack make up for this. The film leaves a daunting stain of disturbing after effects that follow you for a long while, with a constant reminder to always check behind your back. An exceptional low budget indie horror film, strongly recommend.

The metaphor was fine. In general, I liked the movie.

There are metaphors and subtexts in good horror movies that have been made recently. This is a good thing I think.

That is the only way to review this film.

The goal of every journeyman film-maker from the beginning of the medium to the present, is to produce something that has the most impact per dollar spent.

Think of the first Night of the Living Dead. Shot on location with unknowns and local residents as extras. And the local butcher donated the entrails.

Think Ginger Snaps, which started as an obscure Canadian horror flick but found an audience because of the great writing and the charisma of its stars.

What we have here is another attempt to strike film gold by going for a high I/B ratio.

A small cast. Minimal special effects. No special sets or backgrounds.

A really clever idea, sort of a take off on the Ring which itself was a riff off a Japanese horror classic.

So what's the bottom line? Well done for what you get. Writer/Director Mitchell has a heck of a career ahead of him. Several "jump out of your seat" moments. And also a plot riff which you just know was contributed by some of the frat boys who crowd-sourced the film -- "you can get rid of the curse if you just sleep with someone, fast!"

The bad news? It is not in the same class as Living Dead or Ginger. There are lulls. There are gaps. There are times you start to wish you have purchased the extra large popcorn and coke.

Great career launch.