Sundance Review: It Follows

The “it” from It Follows came from a dream: a childhood nightmare of writer/director David Robert Mitchell. Someone is always following you, slowly, out in the distance, walking in your direction. This anxiety dream comes to life in Mitchell’s second film, which follows Jay (Maika Monroe), who’s been “infected,” subject to the forever-follower. She and a group of friends struggle to accept the legitimacy of the follower, while they try to escape its unknown intentions.

The film takes place mostly in the Detroit ‘burbs, very pointed in its setting but elusive in its time period. Characters watch black-and-white television screens while they scan their e-readers, wearing an impossible clash of fashions from different decades. This creates a timeless feel, suggesting that It Follows could take place at any time, much like the unsettling confusion of a dream. It Follows doesn’t leave its location up to the imagination, however, casting light on the unfortunate division of safe suburbs and inner-city borders. 

Adding to indeterminate-time vibe is the incredible soundtrack by Disasterpeace, providing an aggressive, synth-y background that somehow combines the screechy tracks of ’80s horror classics like Halloween with a modern, electronic feel, furthering the film’s other-worldly tone. The soundtrack functions in such a way that the music is almost its own character, striking the audience at exact moments with fear-inducing nostalgia. Assuming that It Follows will find huge success and inspire an ’80s-inspired teen horror revival, its OST by Disasterpeace will likely draw a legion of copycats.

Mitchell’s cleverly written characters seem familiar from the get-go, not as established film tropes but as real people that you might know. Their reality outside of trends somehow makes them less polarizing than the personalities usually found in teen horror across the ages, like that of the “jock” or the “techie” or the “hipster.” Monroe leads a pack of strong performances from the small but powerful cast, alongside Keir Gilchrist (Paul), Lili Sepe (Kelly), and others.

As a teen horror film, it’s no surprise that sex plays a large role in the plot of It Follows, though not in the way one would assume. The curse of the follower is contracted via sex, initially confirming the suspicion that – especially in a teen horror film – sex equals death. However, sex also frees the infected, if he or she simply has sex with someone else, passing “it” along. Mitchell seems to be decidedly not taking a stance on teen sex, opting to say, “sex happens,” “sex is a part of life,” or maybe even, “sex can be a catalyst,” either positively or negatively. His usages of sex in the film puts It Follows on a lonely but important list of horror films where sex is treated with respect by its characters and screenwriters, and not as a way to demonize young people or hurry along a story.

Bottom Line: It Follows is one of the year’s best horror films, completely energizing the “teen horror” sub-genre with a cripplingly mysterious antagonist that touches on the basic anxieties of anyone who’s ever had a stress dream. Careful treatment of setting, character development, and a chill-inducing soundtrack make It Follows exist outside of time, carefully combining the greatest aspects of horror films over decades to create something completely new, and ultimately, more effective. 9.5/10