It Follows
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Masterful, mature horror movie deals with teen sex.
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It Follows
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What's the Story?
In the suburbs of Detroit, a group of friends is on the verge of adulthood, becoming independent and thinking about sex. Pretty Jay Height (Maika Monroe) has met a boy (Jake Weary) and decides to fool around with him. Afterward, he chloroforms her and explains that when they had sex, he passed on something to her: An evil being will now start following her. It can appear as anyone. It doesn't run and doesn't speak; it only walks, but it continues walking, directly toward you, until it finds you. Jay must not let it touch her, and the only way to get rid of it is to have sex with someone else. She and her friends try to come up with ways to escape the monster -- or to thwart it. But the rules aren't nearly as straightforward as they sound.
Is It Any Good?
With his sophomore feature, writer-director David Robert Mitchell (The Myth of the American Sleepover) has created an honest-to-goodness horror masterpiece. It draws from classical influences, mainly Halloween and The Thing, but it feels startlingly fresh. It's been a long time since horror fans were treated to a movie that used widescreen cinematography, physical locations (the Detroit area), and three-dimensional space in such a haunting way; this is the opposite of the usual shaky-cam, "found footage" stuff that currently dominates the genre.
Moreover, IT FOLLOWS delves into extremely primal themes, specifically the confusing, conflicting way that sex ushers teens into adulthood. Mitchell goes a step further by using water as a creepily fascinating metaphor, while the truly frightening musical score by Rich Vreeland (a.k.a. "Disasterpiece") goes to work on your nerves. It Follows is both scary enough to please horror fans and deep enough to inspire term papers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about It Follows' violence. How much is promised, and how much is actually shown? How does the presence of a gun change things?
What makes the movie scary? How does it compare to other horror movies you've seen?
How is teen sex portrayed in this movie? What ideas, thoughts, or feelings come up around the subject? What message does it send to have sex so tied to a scary/violent subject? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
How many adults are seen in this movie? What role do they fill? How do the teens solve problems? Do they work together? Do they ask for help?
Movie Details
- In theaters: March 13, 2015
- On DVD or streaming: July 14, 2015
- Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Jake Weary
- Director: David Robert Mitchell
- Studio: Radius TWC
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 100 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language
- Last updated: June 2, 2023
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