crafty horror film

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2016)

Young adults and promiscuity often lead to bad things in horror features. The story's no different for It Follows, where main protagonist Jay (Maika Monroe) is cursed with an ominous, constantly pursuing "it" after having sex with her seemingly harmless boyfriend. Amidst heavy nods to the conventions of slasher films past, the caveat here is that, in the same way sex is the bringer of doom, it's also the singular path to salvation: if Jay has sex again, she will pass the "it" to her next partner, and so long as the new victim does not get caught by "it," the chain continues. Allegory for STD? Can't be, that's too easy...but either way, it's certainly telling of one of the film's key charms: a sense of ambiguity. What time frame are we in exactly? Are there implications to the persons which "it" manifests as? What's the deal with that cliffhanger ending?! Horror films as of late are too much funhouse and not enough suspense, so it's refreshing to see It Follows doesn't rely entirely on out-of-nowhere jolts to justify its scares. Director David Robert Mitchell often incorporates a clever 360-degree camera pan that acts as the audience's wandering eye, always on the lookout for that foreboding figure that walks (and walks only...here's to you , Michael Myers) dead-set towards Jay. The film can occasionally slow down a bit, but this can be forgiven, as it contributes to the looming dread of waiting for "it" to next appear.