It Follows, a Daunting Teen Sex Chiller

Jay Height (Maika Monroe) waits for her boyfriend to return after having sex

ITFOLLOWS poster Radius

 

Very daunting, compelling, edgy and different the chiller It Follows takes you on a horror ride where sex is key and death the consequence. The disturbing film takes on a complex storyline and sorts it all out during the finale. Perfect for fans that like a good scare and staying with you for a long time after leaving the theater. The movie should do well at the box-office with the teens and twenties being target audience.

The film opens with Annie (Bailey Spry) running from her house into the street as if fleeing something and moments later getting into her car. The next day she’s on a beach, dead. Flash forward to Jay a 19-year-old girl swimming in a pool. Her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) and longtime friends Yara (Olivia Luccardi) and Paul (Keir Gilchrist) have come over to visit her. Kelly wants to know about her new boyfriend she just met.

Jay (Maika  Monroe), Greg (Daniel Zovatto), and Kelly (Lili Sepe) in IT FOLLOWS
Jay (Maika Monroe), Greg (Daniel Zovatto), and Kelly (Lili Sepe) in IT FOLLOWS

Two days later Jay goes on a date with Hugh (Jake Weary) and they have sex. He drugs her and takes her to an abandoned building. There he tells her that a thing is going to follow her and try to kill her. He then says someone passed it to him through sex and that he has now passed to on to her. He urges her to get rid of it by having sex with someone to pass it along. If it kills you before you do, it will come after the previous person and so on to the very first one who started it. Two rules of thumb, it moves slowly and never go into a place that doesn’t have two exits, he says.

Jay Height (Maika Monroe) waits for her boyfriend to return after having sex
Jay Height (Maika Monroe) waits for her boyfriend to return after having sex

So begins a story so diabolical that it frightens to the bone. Director and writer David Robert Mitchell spins his tale with precision never giving in to the pressure of spilling a lot of blood, just enough to keep it mysterious and alarming. He uses unsettling music that adds to the urgency and approaching danger. Mitchell creates moments that are terrifying, and others gripping as Jay tries to get to the bottom of her predicament and find a way out.

For an independent movie, It Follows is made well with nicely placed cameras, menacing sets and terrific lighting that gives the film a nice aura relaying Jay’s ominous situation. Most good horror flicks depend on the audience relating somewhat from past experience or dreams. Here Mitchell’s film exudes terror, bending the mind with ordinary people caught up in a common thread of sexual promiscuity where there’s no turning back.

Jay  (Maika Monroe)  comes to after escaping near death
Jay (Maika Monroe) comes to after escaping near death

While the film is just a horror flick that has a human monster hidden within a creature that’s relentless and unforgiving, I believe there’s a hidden message within the story. The sexual transmission of the creature’s curse could very well be a deadly disease transmitted in the same manor. When people pass it on, mostly unknowingly, it does come back to haunt those that started it and the ones they infected. The thought is there and I believe rings loud and clear. Just saying.

It Follows has been rated R by the MPAA for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language. It also contains some smoking, teen drinking and drug use.

Additional Film Information:
Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi and Lili Sepe
Director and Writer: David Robert Mitchell 
Genre: Horror
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language 
Running Time: 1 hr. 32 min
Release Date: March 27, 2015
Distributed by: Radius/Weinstein Co.

Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com