Does for Sex What The Ring Did for Videotapes

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2015)

It Follows is one of those movies that relies on atmosphere to carry it...and, unlike numerous others, it succeeds in setting an eerie and unsettling atmosphere that reinforces the story. Between the musical score, the acceptably decent narrative, acting that successfully lends realism and plausibility to a pretty far fetched (though exceedingly uncomfortable) premise, and directing that capitalizes on all of those elements in such a way as to create a very memorable movie that sticks with you after the credits are rolling...this ended up being a movie that lived up to the interest it piqued in me from seeing the trailers. Think of it as The Ring, but with sex as the method of transmission. The correlation with American adaptation of The Ring is appropriate in other ways as well, there is a similarly pervasive atmosphere and an artistic build up that fluctuates between subtle intervals and tense moments that make for a strong overall flow. There is a part of me that thinks teachers should show this in sexual education classes just to make the whole idea of sex as uncomfortable as possible for children and adolescents...because making kids afraid of sex until they are old enough to rationalize that this is entirely fiction might be effective. Hit them when they are young enough and this movie could absolutely implant a bit of fear at the prospect of having sex. Of course I'm not being serious there, since fear of sex is probably about as counterproductive as abstinence-only education...potentially more so. I'm sure there will be mixed feelings from people who watch this one, but personally I found it to be one of the best horror movies I've seen...I like this sort of movie quite a bit though, not that I have seen many along these lines. I'm not going to give anything away. You'll just have to watch it for yourself. Comment