A young woman is stalked by a killer shapeshifting STD demon, and her friends have to help her find someone to sleep with to pass the demon on to save her life.
I love the slow 70s-inspired filmmaking, plus the way they work in “mumblecore” style acting is very unique, and while I’m not the biggest fan of the genre, this is one of the better and more entertaining examples, so that’s always a big plus.
Definitely one of those underrated scores of the 2010s, it’s the perfect mix of 80s symphony nostalgia but also doing its own thing.
While we don’t learn a whole lot about the characters, they all feel realistic and likable and are very supportive of their friend through her demonic possession, which I always like to see in films lol.
Maika Monroe is great as the lead “Jay”; she plays the character as very shut down and reserved, reacting to all the drama stuff that happened to her, and it’s a very subtle but effective performance that I quite enjoyed.
Keir Gilchrist plays Jay’s friend Paul, who clearly has feelings for Jay but hasn’t said anything yet, and Paul’s unrelated feelings for Jay add an interesting layer to his character that Gilchrist does a great job performing.
A nice surprise was seeing actress Olivia Luccardi in the film. I saw this movie when it originally came out, but she was a complete unknown back then, and it was the first time I ever saw her. Sherri has popped up in some projects I quite enjoy since then, and this is my first time going back in a while and revisiting the film, so it was nice to have something fresh in a movie I’ve already seen.
Lili Sepe, Daniel Zovatto, and Jake Weary all give very subtle but strong performances, and each brings a unique dynamic to the film (Sepe is nurturing, Zovatto is nonchalant, and Weary is paranoid).
The movie does have quite a few jump scares, but they’re very effective in the overall mood of the film, which is very slow burn and heavy on the tension, so big props to the filmmakers. We are being able to constantly pay off that tension so well.
I’m not going to spoil anything, but this movie definitely has one of the most messed up character deaths I’ve ever seen… When you see it, you’ll know lol.
I love all the wide shots in the film. So the demon just walks up to you and then kills you, so the character spends a lot of the movie just looking around at random people, hoping they don’t attack them. So David Robert Mitchell, he’s really good at framing everything so even in the quiet moments, you’re looking around hoping you don’t see the demon pop up, which is a great way of visual storytelling and helping you be in the main headspace of the character.
I quite enjoyed the climax; I love when characters have a problem anduse creative problem-solving to try and accomplish their goal. Not to mention some subtle plot choices in the movie don’t come right out and say it but heavily imply it, which is quite interesting. Not to mention some of the special effects are very 1980s-inspired and feel right out of Dream Warriors or something, so that’s always a big plus.
And the movie's overall pacing, while definitely on the slower side, never drags on, and the characters always act smart, and the story takes a lot of interesting twists.
It Follows is a great example of a movie that takes a bunch of different classic throwback ideas and filmmaking styles and not only pulls it off but also adds a new layer that makes the movie feel fresh and original… Not to mention some effective, scary, fun characters, an interesting premise, and a kickassscore. I give the film a low five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You should also check out the director’s next film, “Under the Silver Lake.” It’s a good… Follow up lol.
No comments:
Post a Comment