Perfect? Hardly. Entertaining? Absolutely.

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2015)

Independent movie hits are few and far between. It usually takes a Hollywood marketing machine to churn out a box office success. But occasionally, an independent film hits the mainstream based off of its own merits and garners a following, securing a place in pop culture history and usually boosting the profile of its stars and creators. Good examples of this are Pulp Fiction, Clerks, Good Will Hunting and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
A particular genre of film where independent movies can have a good chance of capturing a large audience is that of horror. Entire franchises, sub-genres and mountains of revenue have been spawned from the horror genre. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are all, by definition, independent films. New Line Cinema, the studio behind Elm Street, is often referred to as "the house that Freddy built", going from an unheard of studio before Elm Street's success to one that would eventually be responsible for theatrical juggernauts like The Lord of the Rings.
With that said, a good bet for an independent film to garner high success with little budget is in this genre, and the most recent example of said success is a film titled It Follows. It Follows puts a new spin on the psychological thriller or boogeyman sub-genres by opting for a villain that any conscious and sexually-active human being would be wary of. The story revolves around a vicious entity that will pursue its victim until it catches them and devours them, and the only way to escape from it is to "pass it on", so to speak, by sexually transferring it to another victim. Imagine an STD in the form of a relentless killer, and you've got the plot for the film, as ludicrous, yet entertaining, as it sounds.
With such an imaginably silly premise, one might be quick to write off It Follows as just another cash-grab in the genre. The opposite is the case, however, once you've viewed the film. One thing that is apparent from director David Robert Mitchell is that he is clearly a respectful fan of horror and litters homages and nods to the pioneering films that made something like this possible. The musical score to It Follows feels like it was composed by John Carpenter or was borrowed from a 70s grindhouse offering. Little nuances like this give the film credibility by its audience for a terrifying, yet fun experience.
The screenwriter, also Mitchell, is trying to evoke the real human emotion of fear of disease with a physical manifestation. He pulls it off rather brilliantly, creating a Grim Reaper-like adversary that is born of a poor decision in fidelity. The message is one that resonates with any sexually active person of being cautious of what you get yourself into, because it could ruin your life, or even worse, kill you.
Upon finishing the film, it leaves you with a strange comprehension of what you have just seen. While flawed, it certainly executes in the areas where it needs to in order to connect with its audience. If questioning whether the film was worth doing, I would say that any film that keeps you thinking into the next day is one that was worth it, and It Follows accomplishes that wonderfully. From a financial standpoint it was certainly worth the production, as it started in 4 theaters and has managed to work itself through perseverance and word-of-mouth into a much wider release, more than quadrupling its $2 million budget back. It would be an understatement to call the film successful.
Using an unknown cast of actors was definitely the right choice for It Follows. For the most part, the characters appear believable and the lack of big names keeps the film grounded. The main girl, Jay, played by Maika Monroe, is a good example of how an unknown actor can carry a role on their shoulders and blossom the film into a believable territory, regardless of how far-fetched the plot may get. The macabre tone of the film and the heightened terror that the cast experiences is conveyed on a very primal but professional level that leaves the viewer enticed, anxious, and most importantly, scared. While none of the performances are Oscar-worthy, for the horror genre, they are very well-portrayed.
Is It Follows the scariest film to come out in recent years? Very arguably. Will it go down as a classic of the genre? Probably not. The most important question, however, is if you see it, will it keep you up at night? If you believe that a film can haunt you, then yes, prepare to save a section of your thought-process to ponder over this new type of boogeyman.