Parents' Guide to

Followed

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Too many clichés in violent found-footage horror movie.

Movie R 2020 96 minutes
Followed Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In FOLLOWED, an unseen figure copies a video on a computer screen and then starts watching videos posted by "DropTheMike." Mike (Matthew Solomon) makes videos about famous murder scenes. He's been offered a huge sponsorship if he can get to 50,000 subscribers by Halloween, so he asks his viewers what they'd like to see. The answer comes in, and Mike decides to spend three nights at the haunted Hotel Lennox in the room once occupied by a serial killer. After consulting with expert Wallace Fleischer (John Savage), Mike takes along his director of photography (DP), Chris (Tim Drier); sound person, Danni (Sam Valentine); and editor, Nic (Caitlin Grace), and sets up. At first, Mike is enthusiastic about the shoot, but before long, truly horrifying things begin to happen. Will Mike risk his sponsorship, or his life?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Yet another tired example of the found-footage horror subgenre, this haunted hotel story mainly consists of junky, twitchy video footage and annoying characters who make poor decisions. Followed seems to be trying to say something about YouTube culture, exploitation, and advertising, but it adds up to not much more than an acknowledgment that these things exist. There's no other commentary or satire. The underlying story about ghost hunters blithely entering a haunted house while flippantly claiming that they don't believe in ghosts is one of the oldest clichés around, and the movie does little to dust it off and make it feel fresh.

The DropTheMike character is so enthusiastic -- he's a showman who's "on" all the time -- that he ends up feeling somewhat fake. And because he's so dialed up, when scary things start happening, they're not in the least surprising. Some of the secondary characters at least offer an interesting juxtaposition to him, but did they really expect poor editor Nic to work around the clock, cutting together the reams of footage? Putting the final nail in the coffin for Followed is the shaky video, which, following one of this genre's most obnoxious clichés, fizzles and twitches anytime anything scary is supposed to be happening. Unsubscribe to this one.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in Followed. How much is shown, and how much is suggested? How does a movie's sound work to make unseen violence seem more threatening?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of scary movies?

  • What does the movie have to say about YouTube celebrity and livestreaming? How far will some go to earn subscribers and sponsorship money? How far is "too far"?

  • How does the movie depict drug use? What is the blue pill that Mike passes around? How is it different from Chris' prescription medication?

  • Why is the "found-footage" subgenre of horror so popular?

Movie Details

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