It Follows

In the early 80´s i used to visit my grandmother Maj a lot, and there was a reason why i loved coming home to her. She loved horror films, and sci fi films. Even if i may have been only 8 - 9 years old, i was watching horror films that was supposed to be forbidden for my age. I remember we watched one of the A Nightmare On Elm Street films, i think it might have been the second one on VHS. I was scared as hell, well who was not when they saw Freddy Krueger for the first time ? I also remember we watched V - The Series. Loved the lizards aliens dressed as humans. I suppose you can say that my grandmother helped me get into the horror films, because my parents did not really watch anything in the horror genre. When the 90´s kicked in, i was finally old enough to rent whatever i wanted to see. The problem was that a lot of releases was very cut on VHS in Sweden. Some asshole decided that we can´t see lots of blood, gore, body parts, because it would be bad for you. Luckily a friend of mine, Anders, used to order uncut VHS films from England, where you could find titles that never got released in Sweden. I think i still have some of them left, nostalgic memories. In present day, i feel that horror films have not been very good lately. A lot of releases are either remakes, prequels, sequels, or they borrow the exact same idea as many classic films. But last year we finally got a hit, with The Babadook. An australian horror thriller film that was very different from all the other horror releases. We found an intelligent plot, superb acting, and a very well made film. The Babadook was a really big surprise, and i have to say that i finally saw that there is still hope for good horror films. It must have been in November, 2014, when i heard rumors of a new horror film called It Follows. People were really positive about the film, especially after the film was shown at Cannes Film Festival. When you hear positive feedback, you always hope that it is true, so you are guaranteed a good time. Unfortunately, not every release does please me. Could this be the best horror film since The Babadook, or is this just another college horror film like all the 2600 ones that are already released ?

A woman is found brutally murdered on a beach. She managed to do a last call to her father, but it seems that there is no witness to what happened. College student Jay ( Maika Monroe ) go with her boyfriend Hugh ( Jake Weary ) to watch a film at the cinema. As they fool around, playing a game, Hugh notice that he sees a woman near the entrance, but Jay can´t see her. Hugh is terrified and ask Jay to leave the cinema with him. On their next date, Hugh and Jay have sex together, and when they finish Jay go outside of the car, to get chloroform. He uses it on Jay to get her unconscious. Jay wakes up, without clothes, tied in a chair. Hugh tries to explain that when they had sex, he passed ona curse to her, This curse means that she will always be followed by something, that take different human formations. Whatever she does, do not let this thing touch her. To get rid of this thing, she needs to have sex with someone else, so she will be left alone. Jay can see something is following her, everyday in ordinary day life. What is this thing ? Why is she being followed ? Jay´s friends realise that something is not right, but since they can´t see what is following her, she have to try and find a way out of this situation.

There are very few horror films that stand out of the ordinary releases these days, most of the time you know exactly what will happen, or what might happen. It Follows is certainly not an ordinary horror film, the combination of early John Carpenter´s early 70´s style, combined with a limited budget, give this film a surprisingly good image. Knowing that something is following the chosen person, may sound very dull on paper. To be honest, it works much better than i expected. Name one really good american horror film this year ?

Waiting........

You see ? There are not many great horror films out so far this year, in fact so far i have only seen very few that i could only mention in here, that are only descent. It Follows does not follow the jump scare tradition that many other teenage horror films does. This is more old school style, with a much more intelligent plot, and with intelligent teenagers for once, how often do we see that in horror film ? The music in the background is really weird, and fits perfect into the atmosphere of the film. While you see the thing that follows, with the odd soundtrack, you can almost feel the fear, not knowing why you are being followed. You really never find out how it all started, and that is a really good detail. Director David Robert Mitchell have only directed a short film in the past, and one feature film called The Myth Of The American Sleepover. I have not seen any of his previous work, but in this case it does not really matter. It Follows is the most original horror film in a very long time. The style is definetely taken from the 70´s or the 80´s, but made with a big heart for classic horror films. Even if the plot is very simple, and does not feel very original, director David Robert Mitchell manage to put the pieces together, in a very intelligent way. He does not need lots of blood, body parts, or the typical psycholoigical killer. Instead, we see different people, following the chosen one, almost like this thing have chosen different bodies. This might sound like something from Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, but there is nothing here that tries to copy the same concept. It Follows is original enough to be loved by old school horror fans. I have to say that this is probably the best horror film i have seen lately since The Badabook. The cinematography looks really good, the soundtrack is absolutely brilliant, and the acting is really good from all the teenagers. I am surprised to say this, It Follows does give us a really good time, and also remind us of classic horror ingredients, still made original enough to enjoy. There is only one thing that scares the shit out of me, and that is to see Rolf Lassggård play rock music in Colin Nutley´s film Angel. Ever since i saw that scene, i have nightmares over and over. That might actually changed now after i watched It Follows. Trust me, this is how a creepy film should look like.

Rating: DDDD