It Follows Follows the Footsteps of Its Predecessors

Rating: 7/10 (31 October 2017)

It Follows is a slow burner, lots of build up and all the horror is based almost strictly off tension. The slow, methodical drive of the antagonist is eerily terrifying.
My criticisms of the film include the acting. While its not terrible it could have been a lot better. The main actress Maika Monroe did very well but the rest of the cast is rather lacking. I also thought the "leaving the suburbs" scene was a rather odd inclusion. It was very preachy and just felt entirely out of place next to the rest of the film. It kind of took me out of it a bit moving forward.
What I did love was the anachronistic feel of this, almost as if the viewer is watching someone's dream. This, coupled with a score very reminiscent of John Carpenter, fitted perfectly with the ambiance of the film, makes this a very refreshing horror movie.
One question I have is what exactly is the message of this movie? "Don't have casual sex or it could lead to your demise?" I suppose it is a warning against STDs and advising safe sex but its not exactly clear what we're meant to learn.
The throwbacks and homages of this horror film reminded me a lot of The Guest (also of 2014 and also starring Maika Monroe). We need more horror movies of this tone moving forward. I'm excited to see where this director goes next.