It Follows
Last night, I went to see It Follows at the Camden Odeon with some friends. The film centres on 19 year old Jay, who finds herself the victim of a curse which spreads through sexual activity. The curse involves being followed by a figure moving towards the victim at walking speed to kill them. The only means of ridding oneself of the curse is to have sex with someone else. However, if they are subsequently killed, the curse reverts to the previous person in the chain. Jay with the support of her friends is constantly on the move, attempting to escape the effects of the curse.
And that's about it really. On the BBC's flagship film programme last week, Mark Kermode spoke eloquently about the film and how it plays with a number of horror conventions. As someone with no grounding in horror this is something I can't really comment on. I think it's reasonable to assume that there will be people out there who will get more out of this movie than I did. Someone wrote in to say that they thought in 20 years, It Follows would be seen as a genre classic. If that is the case, the genre will be in dire straits. In the opening minutes of Selma, four young girls are seen chatting to each other in a church before they are killed by a sudden explosion. I found that scene infinitely more terrifying than anything in this film.
Other than the occasional smashed window, loud thud or creature stalking Jay and her group of friends, there was little to be scared or even particularly unsettled by. On the plus side, the film has a very distinctive synth based soundtrack that attempts to add a creepy tone to proceedings and is also visually impressive, nicely depicting a dreary American suburbia.
I'll admit I've never been a fan of horror, in part because I like to watch things that have some sort of internal logic. It Follows fails in that regard, particularly when the walking creature manifests itself as a naked man on Jay's roof. Similarly, a scene late on involving luring the creature to a swimming pool is utterly absurd and completely ridiculous. Long periods in this film pass without a great deal happening and we don't learn a great deal about Jay's friends. The possible exception to this is Paul, who amusingly seems so desperate to sleep with Jay that he'd be prepared to take on a possible fatal affliction to do so.
Ultimately, It Follows is lacking in substance and simply doesn't work as a horror film. A disappointment.
And that's about it really. On the BBC's flagship film programme last week, Mark Kermode spoke eloquently about the film and how it plays with a number of horror conventions. As someone with no grounding in horror this is something I can't really comment on. I think it's reasonable to assume that there will be people out there who will get more out of this movie than I did. Someone wrote in to say that they thought in 20 years, It Follows would be seen as a genre classic. If that is the case, the genre will be in dire straits. In the opening minutes of Selma, four young girls are seen chatting to each other in a church before they are killed by a sudden explosion. I found that scene infinitely more terrifying than anything in this film.
Other than the occasional smashed window, loud thud or creature stalking Jay and her group of friends, there was little to be scared or even particularly unsettled by. On the plus side, the film has a very distinctive synth based soundtrack that attempts to add a creepy tone to proceedings and is also visually impressive, nicely depicting a dreary American suburbia.
I'll admit I've never been a fan of horror, in part because I like to watch things that have some sort of internal logic. It Follows fails in that regard, particularly when the walking creature manifests itself as a naked man on Jay's roof. Similarly, a scene late on involving luring the creature to a swimming pool is utterly absurd and completely ridiculous. Long periods in this film pass without a great deal happening and we don't learn a great deal about Jay's friends. The possible exception to this is Paul, who amusingly seems so desperate to sleep with Jay that he'd be prepared to take on a possible fatal affliction to do so.
Ultimately, It Follows is lacking in substance and simply doesn't work as a horror film. A disappointment.
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