A lot of modern horror these days falls into the category of bland, with the likes of Insidious and Sinister blurring together not only in terms of their homogeneous titles, but the generic supernatural plot elements. They have forgettable casts of family units and there's an overall lack of charisma. Elsewhere the lingering smell of the Blair Witch Project and its found footage ilk remains. The type of haunted house jump scares these projects are littered with replace any really imaginative elements, which is a shame. And don't get me started on all of the remakes out there. It's understandable that the old-school slasher movie won't get as many theatre seats filled, thanks to the age rating problem. But still this is a disappointing state of affairs. Luckily there are those who try something new, which is to say they borrow from other sources.
Much like The Guest the 1980s style of John Carpenter makes a comeback with It Follows. There's even a hint of Wes Craven thrown in there, and perhaps a nod to Hideo Nakata's Ring. Which means that this is hardly original, but at least they might manage go create something with a personality. The premise is simple and like all good horror plots they create something memorable. In this case it's a curse which is passed on by teens sleeping with each other, with the next person in the chain drawing the attention of a killer entity. As a central idea this is of course pretty blunt in terms of a theme of course. But genre tradition dictates that those who fool around will get what's coming to them. Only those who have received the curse or have since passed it on can see what is drawing close. It's a sinister force which takes the form of a very slow moving person, hence the title.
In fact there's little more going on here. It walks towards them in a straight line until they get away, or until they die horribly. That's it. If they are killed the previous victim gets given the curse back, so giving it someone new is one of the character's goal in many scenes. At first it's pretty silly but slowly they build up a lot of tension with the idea. Particularly when you get drawn in, and start looking at which background extra might be the thing before the characters realise. Like a lot of movie laws or rules this all seem rather flexible at times. And while it can take the form of someone the protagonists know, on several occasions it chooses an outright creepy shape which is good for the audience but altogether less logical.
If this doesn't sound completely enthralling as a storyline, that's because in a number of sequences it's not. Now don't get me wrong, the sense of creeping dread is often put to good use. But at times they show the killer being avoided far too easily. Occasionally they leave it absent for periods of time that seem longer than expected. People running about or taking long drives isn't that engaging. Neither are sequences in which they have to decide whose bones to jump next, to pass on the curse. The cast are all fine but nothing too memorable, so that problem of charisma still remains. Even if they do have a little charm during a few childhood reminiscing scenes. Elsewhere the score tries to rectify this lack of punch, and there's a great electronic theme from Disasterpiece. They're a group who worked on puzzle adventure video-game called Fez.
The only problem with that is they made it sound, well just like Fez. It's not true all of the time but it is noticeable enough to be distracting. In a way this is also like The Guest which sounded like Hotline Miami in some cases. Still, this isn't a general complaint that all viewers will share. It's more of a personal issue, which perhaps some kinds of music fans may sympathise with where movies and games collide. It's certainly not something which goes on during the whole running time. Besides, at the end of the day any nod to 1970s and 1980s type theme music is welcome. More memorable elements are better than less when it comes to certain soundtrack style or certain visual elements.
When the speed of the narrative does get moving more quickly it's generally an entertaining ride. Even if the finale is a little cartoonish as the gang concoct a plan to finally be rid of their problem. It's just that this is a set piece that could have used some earlier trials, to really test out those rules I mentioned. It would also help to pace everything out a little better. It's not clear if the mystery ghoul can even be stopped at all in some scenes. Sometimes they seem to be able to effect it and in other moments they don't. Its own motives and methods are a little too grey at times. Still, overall this is worth a look for anyone searching for a fresh take on old ideas. Or for those taking a look back at 2014 who have already seen the much discussed Babadook.
3/5
