Effective Horror at its Finest

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2015)

It Follows. The perfect title to understand this brilliant horror flick - two words that sum up all the great tense moments of this film with a clear explanation.
The premise - this supernatural figure follows you. There is only one of it, it only walks and never runs, and it will kill you. It can look like anybody and only people who have "had it" can see it. Why does it follow? If somebody who "has it" has sex with you, they pass it on (a likely metaphor for STD's) and you become the new target.
It may sound really simple, but that is the beauty of it. It follows you wherever you go, but it has a slow pace, not unlike a zombie. It follows you in a straight path and kills you if it has the chance to get close to you. What is creepier than basically being stalked and having no idea when your stalker will get to you?
What helps induce horror in the audience is the techno, heavy-bass style music not unlike the music in horror classic Halloween by John Carpenter. It really sets the tone for the film, and has an eerie feel to it, which keeps reminding you that there is something wrong and disturbing with this world.
Trust issues are a heavy theme in this film and understandably so. The main character "gets it" from a guy she goes on a few dates with, but he explains the situation to her in order to warn her and help get her out of the situation. Guys she knows want to protect her and take "it" away from her, but she is hesitant on letting certain people have it, especially her good friend Paul. On a couple occasions, however, characters attempt to pass it on to complete strangers - they would have no regrets if strangers die because of them. The idea of sexuality can, and should be discussed in great detail when analyzing this film.
Is it a perfect film? No. I believe it is very difficult to make a "perfect" horror movie, but this one keeps you on the edge of your seat while simultaneously making you question the idea of sex, making for a great, layered horror movie.
3.5/4.0