Some Flaws But Overall Quite Effective

Rating: Null/10 (1 April 2015)

It Follows (2014)
*** (out of 4)
A young woman (Maika Monroe) goes out on a date with a guy she just met and the two have sex. Soon she begins to have strange things follow her.
There's a lot more going on with IT FOLLOWS but the plot detail should be kept small so that spoilers won't ruin the movie. This is a hard film to discuss without going into spoilers but I'm going to give it a shot. Is IT FOLLOWS the most terrifying horror film ever made as some are claiming? Not even close. Is it something different than the typical horror film out there? There's certainly no question about that. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell has taken a fairly simple premise and brought all sorts of creepy moments that are certainly entertaining enough to make up for some of the flaws.
Again, I'm not going to go into great detail but we basically follow this woman around as she becomes more and more terrified because she keeps being followed by some unknown entity. At first her friends don't believe her but soon they too realize that something weird strange is going on and part of the fun in the film is trying to understand what's going on and why. For the most part I thought the screenplay did a very good job at keeping the viewer guessing as to what these things are following the woman and the entire time you're wondering how it's going to end. The film manages to have some very creepy moments scattered throughout and I especially liked how the movie started as we see what happens if you let these things catch you. I'm not going to spoil some of the bigger scares in the picture but there are times when the director puts you right in the middle of the action and makes you feel as if these things are coming after you.
The film features some wonderful cinematography by Mike Gioulakis and some great editing by Julio Perez IV. The film also benefits from some very good performances by the supporting cast but it's the lead, Maika Monroe, who really shines here. We've seen countless actresses play scared throughout the history of horror films but Monroe really leaves an impact. Even if she never appears in another horror film she's probably made herself so memorable here that they will be talking about her for years to come. She's really believable in the part and makes you feel as afraid she is. The sound effects are also a major plus here.
There are certainly some problems including it going on a tad bit too long in the final act. I think about ten-minutes less would have made for a tighter movie as things did start to repeat a bit too much. The music score by Rich Vreeland, on its own, is downright terrific and one of the most memorable in recent horror memory. It really reminded me of the scores Dario Argento used during his 80's films. The score was very loud and very much in your face and at times I thought it somewhat took away from what was going on on the screen but at other times it was quite fitting. There also appeared to be a brief nod to John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN theme.
IT FOLLOWS is certainly a flawed film but there are enough creepy moments to make it worth viewing.