A near perfect modern horror film that haunts the viewer for days

Rating: Null/10 (21 February 2016)

It Follows is, quite simply, a great achievement. David Robert Mitchell has created a film that's unsettling on many levels. From the moment the Carpenter-esque electronic score kicks in and the chilling, bizarre opening scenes play out, the viewer knows that this is not going to be a conventional ride.
Like A Nightmare on Elm Street, I love the mythology of this film. Its premise is quite simple but it's something I've not seen before, especially in Western cinema. The closest comparison that immediately springs to mind is 1998's Ring and this may be partly to the cinematography. It Follows looks beautiful and there are a lot of things going on at an almost subliminal level that knock the viewer out of their comfort zone. Pay attention to the changing seasons, the sense of timelessness that cloaks It Follows, the general other- worldliness that exists. Like The Shining, it's a smörgåsbord of tiny details that all stack up to create an unnerving and thoroughly uncomfortable experience.
This is a clever, thinking person's horror tale. The shocks and chills are smart and constant and there's very little time for the viewer to relax. There's a genuine sense that something bad is just out of the camera's sight and that an unspeakable, mysterious evil is stalking characters who we care about.
9 out of 10. Thoroughly recommended.