One of the most unique horror films in recent years

Rating: 9/10 (26 February 2016)

A terrific concept and a flawless execution solidify "It Follows" as one of the best horror films in years.
The film follows Jay (no pun intended), a girl who after having intercourse with a guy she'd been dating starts being followed by an unknown entity. Jay quickly aligns herself with her friends and together they try to make sense of what exactly "It" is. The group finds out that "It" can take the shape of anyone it pleases and will follow Jay and kill her unless she has sex with someone else and passes the "curse" onto them. The premise isn't hard to grasp and the film does a fine job of getting the specifics out of the way quickly.
David Robert Mitchell stages "It Follows" carefully and shoots it methodically. He often frames his characters in wide shots and continuously uses pans to engulf them in their surrounding world. But what world is this? Adults are strangely scarce. "It Follows" mainly encompasses teenagers who seem somehow adrift in their life, none of them really knowing what to do. Many have stated the premise is a metaphor for STD's, although continuously having sex with others wouldn't diminish your chance of dying.
In the beginning of the film, a 21 year old states that he would like to be a little boy of 6 again, so that he would have "his whole life ahead of him". Maybe that's what it's about, teenage angst; having to leave the safeguard of childhood and embrace the inherent challenges of adulthood. These characters spend their time running from something they simply cannot run far enough away from. Sex is widely seen as an act of transition into adulthood and they struggle between escape and embrace. They're defiant but afraid of what the future will bring. They can try and ignore their maturity, but with each passing day, it's closer and one day they'll have to do something about it. They'll have to accept certain responsibilities and maybe confront old fears they had buried so deep, they thought they would never have to face.
Of course this is my take on it. You might not agree and it might not be yours. We can disagree on that, but hopefully we'll agree on this: "It Follows" is unique. It's unique and frightening as very few recent films have been.