"It Follows" (2015) Review, Directed by David Robert Mitchell

It Follows, when condensed to its smallest molecule, is a about a disease transmitted through sexual encounters which cause both horrific and deadly hallucinations. Basically a blatant metaphor for STDs. However, it would be doing a great injustice to simply judge the film by this logline. 

Despite the silly sounding premise, It Follows is fascinating. It pulls this incredible stunt with heavy props to fledgling director David Robert Mitchell's vivid vision which plays out to the rhythm of a rusty old metronome. It walks the brink of exploitation, tip toeing dangerously around hokey zones but ultimately manages to circumvent the hurdles of conventional horror roadblocks. 

Personal opinions aside, it can hardly be denied that speaking technically from a filmmaking perspective there are many moments of brilliance. Sound, image, music, editing, acting—everything seems to work so perfectly in tandem with each other. CGI is rarely used for the legitimate scares, and is only utilized when entirely practical.

The elaborately planned shots make for some of the best in recent cinematography work. Much alike the cinematic style of Kubrick's The Shining, many of the shots are almost perfectly symmetrical. The throbbing guttural soundtrack (slightly resembling Ennio Morricone's score to The Thing with their heavy usage of the Moog synthesizers) helps to punctuate critical moments and emotions. All of these elements successfully make for killer creeper cinema.

The narrative is heavily propagated by America's current taboo perspective on sexual content and its historic correlation with horror movies. The narrative also aptly fits in layered elements of romance, companionship, moral dilemmas and trust/betrayal. The character dynamics are relatively formulaic yet solid and convincing. A very small percentage of the audience will walk away unfazed by this bizarre horror flick, but the majority will be enthralled with its balls to the wall weirdness, ace acting, music and everything else that makes for a crafty film.

In essence, It Follows is a rather simple film with a simple premise. Perhaps its predominant beauty lies in its simplicity. It Follows captures much of the spirit that seems to be missing in the void of modern horror cinema. No doubt both the director Robert Mitchell and lead actress, Maika Monroe, as well as much of the staff will go on to lead very successful careers after this achievement.

OVERALL: 9.0/10