Storyline
For nineteen-year-old Jay, Autumn should be about school, boys and week-ends out at the lake. But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her friends must find a way to escape the horrors that seem to be only a few steps behind.
Cast: Bailey Spry -
Annie
Carollette Phillips -
Woman with Groceries
Loren Bass -
Annie's Father
Keir Gilchrist -
Paul
Maika Monroe -
Jay Height
Lili Sepe -
Kelly Height
Charles Gertner -
Neighbor Boy
Debbie Williams -
Mrs. Height
Olivia Luccardi -
Yara
Jake Weary -
Hugh /
Jeff
Daniel Zovatto -
Greg Hannigan
Ruby Harris -
Mrs. Redmond
Leisa Pulido -
Mrs. Hannigan
D.J. Oliver -
Police Officer
Linda Boston -
Teacher
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 13 March 2015
Filming Locations: Michigan, USA
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The theatre featured at the beginning of the film is The Redford Theatre, a historic Japanese style theatre with a fully functioning Wurlitzer organ, in Redford, MI. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
Unique. That is the word that first comes to mind after a screening of
David Robert Mitchell's It Follows which has now shown twice to
accepting audiences at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
It Follows is the story about a sexually transmitted haunting. Let me
repeat that sentence so that in sinks in a little bit. It Follows is
the story about a sexually transmitted haunting. The haunting is all
too real for teenager Jay (Maika Monroe). After a brief sexual
encounter with a new boyfriend, Jay is haunted by ghosts that only she
can see. Their intentions are not clear, but an opening scene of a
disfigured young girl on the beach reveals to the audience that the
ghosts are violently inclined.
The carrier that inflicted Jay with the haunting reveals to her and her
inner circle that the ghosts will be relentless until they kill Jay. He
goes on to disclose that the ghosts can only walk to their prey. So if
you can run, drive or speed away from them it might buy you minutes,
hours or even days until they catch up. The only way to pass on the
haunting is to have sex with another and this knowledge torments Jay
while intriguing the two male suitors that are part of her friendship
ring.
Whether Jay can pass on the hauntings enough so that she herself is
safe and whether her friends will play a part in her survival is the
crux of the film that hearkens back to the glory years of horror where
blood and guts were not paraded out in gore porn glory.
Director David Robert Mitchell confidently maintains the integrity of
the story without the lure of upping the body count for the purpose of
appeasing a microwave horror generation that wants its blood and wants
it thick.
In fact, the body count is so low in It Follows that a leper can count
them on one hand. This lack of blood and guts however only adds to the
atmosphere that is thick and complimented by one of the best musical
scores for a horror film that we have relished since the early John
Carpenter years.
The idea is truly original and its execution is brilliant in its
simplicity. An experiment which attempts to destroy the ghost reminded
us slightly of 1981's The Entity (in which Barbara Hershey was raped by
a sexually abusive spirit) but It Follows maintains its originality to
the end.
In a Hollywood world where horror films are stereotypically deformed
serial killers who randomly kill high school students on the brink of
sexual revelation, It Follows is a breath of fresh air that is worthy
of a high recommendation. Unique indeed.
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