It may be slow, but it is not dumb

Rating: 7/10 (27 June 2015)

It Follows is like a breath of fresh air in the horror genre. First of all the premise is quite unorthodox and interesting. Secondly it provides a fine blend of psychological horror along with a few jump scares as well. The somewhat ambiguous approach of the film though may face a divided response. The horror element here is something which is referred to only as "it" and "it" follows only one target person at a time. A person becomes a target through sexual encounter with a person who is currently a target. Thus one can pass the curse of "it" to a person by having sex with that person. Interesting right? There isn't much light shed into the origin of "it" but as the film goes on we learn slowly about the functioning of "it" but never its origin. The ending is ambiguous and didn't work so well for me this time but considering most of the film relies on ambiguity(ie.how the audience interprets) the ending is fine.
It Follows is a slow burning film, so have patience and let the plot and suspense build up. The best aspect I felt was the haunting soundtrack and the strong cinematography. It totally establishes the gloomy atmosphere. The script could have revealed a bit more about "it" but some open ends are fine for me (might not be for all). There were many loose ends I felt. There may not be any popular faces still the acting was quite believable for an horror film.Another similar recent horror movie comes to mind is "The Babadook". Both of these are thought provoking Psychological horror films unlike the rehashed, unoriginal, jumpy and predictably bland horror films we are getting these days. If you liked "The Babadook" I suggest you don't miss this one. It has its flaws but I would appreciate it for its originality. If you were totally sucked into the film's atmosphere and story then for days you will feel like checking around if someone is following when you are alone. This low budget indie film I believe will be a cult horror classic.
Rating: [3.5/5]