Review of It Follows (2015) by Watchmyshortz — 05 Sep 2016
A truly masterful psychological horror film. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I watched it a few days ago. Though there were two scenes that I felt were unnecessary and slightly confusing (where 'it' attacks Jay at the beach and when it appears on the roof of her house), the majority of the film is both shot and written ingeniously.
I loved how it didn't completely rely on jumpscares, and the scariest scenes in the film were definitely the ones that were built up for a while and gave a sense of dread, rather than a sudden instrumental thud.
I thought the cinematography was very impressive, but the thing that stood out the most to me was the writing. Unlike a lot of mainstream hollywood horror films that like to show all of the gory details, a lot of the events in It Follows are implied.
A lot of the time you're left to notice subtle visual cues that indicate what just happened off screen. This clever type of storytelling is precisely what we need more of, not just in horror films, but all types of films right now.
Other aspects of the film that we aren't shown have been left to interpretation. After watching many YouTube videos analysing the film, there are loads of valid ideas as to what the film may be a metaphor for and what the ending means.
In my opinion, the way significant parts of this film are left to interpretation rather than spelled out for the audience is part of what makes it so brilliant, and as a result It Follows has crawled under my skin as I've spent days coming up with my own explanation for the film's dark meaning.
In conclusion, easily the best horror film I've seen in years. I'm very impressed that a horror film in recent years has managed to genuinely scare me.
This review of It Follows (2015) was written by Watchmyshortz on 05 Sep 2016.
It Follows has generally received positive reviews.
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