It Follows

With an inventive retro style, writer-director David Robert Mitchell offers an enjoyable riff on the teen horror movie. The film is shot with a fierce sense of perspective that draws the audience into a series of situations that are so unnerving that we're looking over our own shoulders as we leave the cinema. So even though some of the set-pieces feel under-cooked, the film is unsettling and involving.

The story takes place in a Detroit suburb, where Jay (Maika Monroe) is told by her boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary) that he's passed something on to her when they slept together. And it's far worse than an STD. Now Jay can see random people following her everywhere. If one of them catches up with her she dies, and they'll go back to following Hugh. In a panic, Jay turns to her lovelorn childhood pal Paul (Keir Gilchrist) and her little sister Kelly (Lili Sepe), as well as her friend Yara (Olivia Luccardi) and groovy neighbour Greg (Daniel Zovatto). Together they run away to take stock of the situation, and all become convinced that the threat is real. The question is what to do next.

Although set in the present day, the film has a vivid 1970s feel, as these teens drive around in vintage cars, use landlines and think hiding out at a cabin in the woods is a good idea. And there are thematic echoes as well, with absent parents and the dark approach to youthful sex. Yes, this sexually transmitted stalker makes all of the film's intimate encounters feel eerily joyless, as if sex is something to reluctantly get out of the way. So over the course of the film, we watch these happy, carefree teens turn hollow and paranoid, which is surprisingly moving. And more than a little creepy. The fresh cast makes all of this remarkably realistic, especially since the plot's supernatural craziness is clearly a metaphor for the "Just say no" generation.

Through all of this Mitchell keeps the film's focus tightly on Jay's point of view, which makes everything that happens feel deeply personal. It also allows Monroe to inject refreshing blasts of humour and tenacity into the character, which helps smooth out the transitions from comical moments to those that are more horrific or emotional. So even if some of the showdowns feel awkward and unplanned, this reflects the characters rather than the filmmakers, and it makes everything that happens carry a deeper kick along with the general freak-out.

It Follows Trailer