It Follows

One thing is certain about horror films: they are either extremely well done or they are incredibly a waste of artistry. To be honest, the horror genre is not one of my favorites, however if a filmmaker can give me an amazing premise, storyline and execution, I can enjoy the ride of being scared which is why most people enjoy this genre. Everybody really likes to be scared, especially if there's no consequences involved, so when "It Follows" came along, the premise seemed so interesting, that I was willing to take a stab (pun intended) at it.

For nineteen-year-old Jay Height (Maika Monroe), Autumn should be about school, boys and week-ends out at the lake. But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter with a new boyfriend, Hugh (Jake Weary), she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something is following her. Faced with this burden which is passed on from person to person as she experienced with Hugh, Jay and her friends including Paul (Keir Gilchrist), Greg Hannigan (Daniel Zovatto), her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) and others, must find a way to escape the horrors that seem to be only a few steps behind. The catch? As Hugh told her after the encounter, pass it on, and that if she dies, 'they' will go after the predecessor and keep going back.

others to round out the cast are Olivia Luccardi as Yara, Debbie Williams as Mrs. Height, Jay's mom, and Leisa Pulido as Mrs. Hannigan, Greg's mom.

This was written and directed by David Robert Mitchell ("The Myth of the American Sleeper" '10) plus one short--"Virgin" '02. His direction was effective, basically adequate to the task in that these characters emitted the emotions one would expect given the situations they were presented. Where this project falls short is in the writing. What started as an original, fresh and unique premise, soon gave way to choppiness, non-cohesiveness, and areas that were not even explained, all with an ending that just drops in your lap. Mind you, I have no problem with not having a 'tied with a nice ribbon' ending--Hitchcock didn't have a lot of traditional endings in his projects. However, Hitchcock didn't drop the 'no ending' on the audience's head either. I went to see this film because of the premise--it seemed so intriguing to me even though I'm not a huge fan of horror films, but after seeing this I realize that Mitchell should maybe cut his teeth on TV work and possibly graduate to feature films. He doesn't have a ton of experience and TV would be a great place for honing one's skills.

If you are a fan of the horror genre, you'll probably like this--written well or not, but if you are one that needs to be wooed into the multiplex with a genre that you can take or leave, wait for another horror film that is better executed.

Out of 4 Stars: 1.5                                 Rated: R                              100mins.