It Follows (2014) Movie Review - 31 Days of Halloween 2024

Welcome to Knockout Horror and to Day 1 of our 31 Days of Halloween 2024 Movie Review feature. I am sure you know the deal, here. We are checking out a different horror movie each day of October in celebration of the spookiest of spooky months. These reviews are going to be of a way shorter format. Something which I will probably keep up indefinitely. 

For October 1st we are watching something of a modern horror movie classic. David Robert Mitchell’s incredibly well regarded It Follows. We are coming, hot off the heels, of a sequel announcement. With the original crew reuniting to bring us They Follow sometime in the near future. But how does the first movie hold up?

A Modern Horror Hit

It Follows sees our protagonist, Jay (Maika Monroe), being stalked by a relentless, evil, entity after a night of canoodling with some random older dude with a 90’s buzz cut and a sordid past. The entity manifests as various different people who pursue Jay wherever she goes. Moving slowly but never stopping. Jay and her friends must find a way to rid her of the curse so she can go back to her normal, everyday, life.

We originally watched It Follows in the cinema back in 2014. It had a somewhat limited release in the UK but, luckily, we managed to catch it. I recall my fiancée and I loving it. I really enjoyed the fantastic, dreamy, cinematography, the brilliant and nostalgic soundtrack, the strangely haunting consistent presence of the entity, and the general pacing of the movie. Throw in a fantastic performance by Maika Monroe and you have a recipe for a brilliant horror movie deserving of the praise.

Still Good, Still Divisive

Watching again in 2024, it holds up really well. Cinematography is fantastic. Mitchell has a real knack for voyeuristic shots that put the viewer into the eyes of someone observing the events from a distance. There is a wonderful, autumnal, indie horror movie vibe to everything and it just looks great. The soundtrack is still brilliant. There are a ton of nods to 80’s horror and even a few winks to Hitchcock. Something you will also see with the direction and cinematography. Aesthetically, It Follows is one of the most pleasing horror movies of recent years. Creative but devoid of pretention and pomp.

As a horror, it still works well but I can see why some people really dislike this movie. The “entity” that follows Jay is, initially, a pretty compelling and rather scary antagonist. Taking the form of overly huge men, fully naked women, and decrepit looking people. It works well. That is, until it doesn’t.

The concept is slightly overused. I can’t help but feel like we see too much of it. I get it, it is always following and always there. But it is hard to shake the sense that you get a little bit used to seeing it after about 40 minutes. The fear factor goes and the movie starts to repeat itself a bit. It all gets a bit samey and, dare I say it? Repetitive. Mitchell resorts to some rather ridiculous set pieces to try and liven things up. Some of which simply don’t work and, ultimately, feel a bit silly and a bit disparate from the rest of the film.

The middle of the movie sags a great deal and the “sexy neighbour” side story feels out of place in a movie like this. Still, there is plenty to like. Some of the scenes are fantastic and legitimately frightening. Acting, outside of Daniel Zovatto, is brilliant and the movie has a lot of tension and atmosphere. It Follows felt very fresh when it released and there still isn’t anything quite like it now. It holds up well but I completely understand why some people dislike it. If the “relentless entity manifesting as weird looking people” thing doesn’t grab you then there isn’t much else to like.

Should You Watch It Follows?

This is still a very enjoyable horror movie. It is, aesthetically, gorgeous and feels almost timeless due to its none specific time period. Acting is decent, it is full of tension and the relentlessness of the entity is quite unnerving. Its message is a little hamfisted and the movie sags a bit in the middle but, for the most part, It Follows is very much worth watching. As I said earlier, however, if the concept doesn’t grab you you will find little to enjoy.

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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