Personally, I am NOT one for horror movies. I hate them. Their images stay in my mind for a WHILE after I’ve seen them. That’s why you’ll never catch me watching something like this just for kicks.
But It Follows is a modern horror classic, and I keep it very close to my heart.
Why?
It Follows tells the chilling tale of an inexplicable and horrifying entity that follows you in different forms until it reaches you and kills you. This curse is passed on through sex, so one person can technically rid themselves of it by passing it on to someone else. The catch is that if the spirit kills the person who currently has it, it’s gonna go down the line to whoever got it before them.
19-year-old girl Jay, a generally trusting girl, had sex with Hugh, a guy she was dating, and got the curse. The film follows her journey in trying to escape the entity endlessly chasing her with the help of her friends.
However, this film also speaks about what we fear the most, and how our past haunts us. This is because, to me, the creature is a metaphor for our most deep, subconscious fears, regrets, and shame about having done wrong in the past. The reason is because it chases you until you project it onto someone else. However, when it is done consuming the person you projected it to, it just comes back around to you again. This way, it sees you hurt one person to another, trying to escape from its grip. This creates guilt and self-blame for the deaths of others. But the truth is, you’ll never break free from it, because guilt is the hardest emotion to break cycles of.
This movie, although not that scary (which is why I watched it), is a cinematographic gem. Its photographic composition is astonishing. With its use of colors and its balance between dark and light, the film will mesmerize you. The film’s aesthetic is really bright and subtle in some parts, but dark, mysterious, and slow in other parts. It really transports you to different places all in one film!
And don’t even get me started on the absolutely amazing soundtrack. Following the electronic symphonies with the movie will thrill you, as each sound warns of what will happen next.
With its intriguing plot, striking cinematography, and eerie soundtrack, It Follows is sure to make its way into becoming one of your absolute horror favorites. Don’t believe me? You’ll have to see (and hear) for yourself.
As a plus, there’ll be a drag pre-show before the screening by the one and only Akira Oni! So go support your local drag artist by popping into Coolidge Corner Theatre this Saturday, September 4th, and stay to watch your worst fears follow you.
It Follows
2014
dir. David Robert Mitchell
100 mins.
Screens Saturday, 9/4 at Coolidge Corner Theatre – midnight!
Preceded by a drag pre-show by Akira Oni!
