IT FOLLOWS is not your typical horror. Here the style dictates the substance.

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2015)

Whenever you hear about an independent horror movie with a very humble budget of $2 million that is being thought as the best independent horror of the year, it always gets me worried. My expectation get so big that I often get disappointed with the outcome. I had this with James Wan's "The Conjuring" which news from early screenings were so optimistic that the movie was pushed forward to premiere during better, more viewers friendly time of of the year. The film was OK, but far from horror masterpiece like "INSIDIOUS", which on the other hand was wonderfully surprisingly excellent in it's own right. Director David Robert Mitchell with his stylish scary movie "IT FOLLOWS" decided to bring a new twist in the horror genre. The concept of sexually transmitted haunting has never been done to my knowledge.
For nineteen-year-old Jay, Autumn should be about school, boys and week-ends out at the lake. But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her friends must find a way to escape the horrors that seem to be only a few steps behind.
By clearly using an inspiration from directors like Carpenter, Mitchell's vision is full of 80's electronic music with long panning shots that often are the master shots of the scenes. The camera is spinning on its axes as we always wonder if something is not hiding in the shadows, or indeed following the characters. This is where the strength of this film lays, it's suspense. And not the cheap, corny kind, but sometime borderline stylistic homage giving to filmmakers like Kubrick and his horror masterpiece "The Shining". There are clear moments that brings to mind this timeless classic, even things like sound design and music which is stylistically used in a very suspenseful way. Indeed perhaps this the best way to describe this film is that is suspenseful. If it is gore you are after, then this film will not be to your satisfaction, there is very little of it. Not counting the opening sequence, that is. In fact perhaps is not right to call IT FOLLOWS a horror, its more of a dark, suspense thriller. Now, that means that there are spots of frights spread around in the story but sometime in between we might feel bit disconnected from the story, though the performances are solid specially from Maika Monroe playing "infected" Jay Height. This film has often slow and individual passing. Very meditative with above mentioned slow panning dolly shots creates moody stylistic throwback to horrors of 60's, 70's and specially 80's. This might not be to everyone liking, I personally liked it a lot. Is this the best horror film of the year? ...not too sure about that. Is it worth checking out?... most definitely, specially if you've been looking for something suspenseful and scary. But be prepared IT FOLLOWS is not your typical horror. Here the style dictates the substance.