Followed (2018) Review – An Obnoxious but Watchable Influencer Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. We are taking a look at yet another social media themed horror movie today – Followed.

Is Followed based on real life crimes?

Yes, Followed is actually based partly off some real life crimes, a horrifying tragedy, and an actual location with a sordid past. It’s all fictionalised, however so it might not be immediately recognisable.

Directed by Antoine Le, Followed is a mix of found footage and a little bit of screenlife horror. Following a social media influencer as he investigates a haunted hotel. This movie feels a tiny little bit like the very watchable Deadstream. Only, it preceded it by a couple of years.

Followed follows the story of social media influencer Mike. Mike runs a successful vlogging channel where he investigates the paranormal. After hearing about a young woman who died in a downtown LA hotel, he becomes inundated by viewer requests to investigate. The hotel appears to have a rather sordid past, having been home to a notorious serial killer years before as well as being the scene of many unexplained deaths. With a sponsorship deal on offer and his fans desperate for him to go. Mike assembles a crew and heads to the hotel, a decision he may come to regret.

Inspired by harrowing events?

The Cecil Hotel was afforded a terrible reputation. Not only was it located in the deprived area of Skid Row and the scene of numerous suicides, murders and assaults. It was also home to the serial killer Richard Ramirez, AKA the Night Stalker.

The Cecil Hotel’s sordid past has been the inspiration for a number of horror movies. The continual misfortune of the building, and the people associated with it, offer a never ending source of real life terror for those looking to write horror stories.

“The Cecil Hotel’s sordid past has been the inspiration for a number of horror movies. The misfortune of the building offers a never-ending source of real-life terror.”

The Cecil Hotel was most recently brought to the public’s attention, however. In the death of Elisa Lam. Lam was a sufferer of bipolar disorder who found her way to the hotel’s roof and entered a water tank, sadly drowning. The famous elevator footage associated with her death is referenced here and her untimely demise is exploited, once more, by greedy content creators.

Social media influencer horror

Followed feels just like every other found footage that came before it. The only major difference is the social media influencer theme and some of the YouTube style presentation. Unlike Deadstream, which followed our protagonist live streaming events, the things that happen in Followed are shown retrospectively. Our cast of characters are at the hotel investigating the haunting. While there, they film scenes for videos which are edited and uploaded shortly after. We watch the videos in sequence, as played on a computer screen by some unknown person.

Our lead character, Mike, is an utterly obnoxious person. He is, basically, Logan Paul turned up to 11. Completely unlikable and incredibly difficult to care about, he frequently indulges in the type of humour that wouldn’t even appeal to 12 year olds. He is loud, annoying and, generally, a bit offensive. When you are about to spend over an hour with this person, this is an enormous problem.

“Our lead character, Mike, is an utterly obnoxious person. He is, basically, Logan Paul turned up to 11. Completely unlikable and incredibly difficult to care about.”

Mike really doesn’t develop as a character, either. He remains unlikable throughout and really hampers the story progression. I found him impossible to care about. Robbing the movie of much of its horror element, which is a big shame, really. There are a couple of decent scares in this film. One scene in particular could have been especially effective had it simply featured a character that wasn’t completely detestable.

A poorly fleshed out story

So much of the story’s background is drawn from actual real life events that, when it comes to crafting something original and effective, the writers simply seem to give up. The actual lore is barely established and poorly explained. Events that take place seem disconnected and inconsequential. On top of that, an ending that hints at something intriguing doesn’t really end up going anywhere and, basically, shrugs its shoulders at the viewer. You can’t help but feel a little bit underwhelmed.

There’s a distinct feeling of laziness with Followed, as if the makers had no desire to really get balls deep into the story crafting. Instead content to use one to one copies of real life events to establish plot. The writers were far to eager to jump on things that were popular in internet circles at the time, foregoing actual storytelling.

Despite all of this. Followed is a fairly watchable movie in parts, if you can make it past the detestable main character. Some of the horror is quite effective and the group’s dynamics are pretty compelling. The cast of characters has distinctly different views on what is happening. There is an underlying sense of tension between the characters and the use of prescription sleeping aids adds a reason to question what is happening. The ultimate dissension between the group adds a few layers to the horror, dividing our characters and increasing the level of threat.

Social media and found footage

The social media aspect works pretty well. These types of movies are a little bit marmite. They are likely to divide but if you enjoy them then Followed does a good job. It doesn’t go too over the top with the YouTube style video editing, leaving most of the movie to play out like a standard found footage horror. The parts that feel like social media videos work well and feel pretty genuine. I did notice a massive problem with the sound mixing, though. The music is way too loud in parts drowning out the speech in a big way.

“Followed is competent enough as a movie in this niche. It has a few effective scenes, and the social media elements feel genuine and aren’t overdone.”

Camera work is okay. It gets a bit shaky here and there which can be a little off putting. Still, this movie came out at a time when found footage had long since been mastered. There are far fewer of the issues that plagued early movies from this genre. There are some very nice shots of the LA skyline at night. Some of the visual effects work quite well, as well.

Acting is fine. Mike is a loathsome character but Matthew Solomon nails the delivery. He was, obviously, supposed to play the character like this and he does a good job. Sam Valentine and Tim Drier, as Dani and Chris, are decent. They read as something of a logical, calm foil to Mike’s eccentric and impulsive nature. The cast is fine, overall, and does a decent job.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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