It Follows - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

It Follows



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Wow, has it really been a decade since I reviewed If Follows? Back in 2015, we were in a complete doldrums for good horror films. The genre had been overshadowed by torture fests like Saw, Hostel, and the like, and the days of classic slashers, or atmospheric thrillers, had all but ended. The horror genre felt like it was teetering on the edge of collapse, and this jaded horror fan was pretty bored with the genre, but around this time we had just started to see a small resurgence with films like The Conjuring (which ironically pretty much wore itself to death with sequels), The Babadook and the like, so when I went into It Follows, I was tickled pink at the throwback feel of the entire thing as it encompasses the entire run time with amazing world building, call backs to previous generations of horror films, and saturating ever last inch of the screen with intrigue and suspense.

Hearkening back to the days of Halloween, our film opens with a tinkling synthesizer-based score as we watch a young girl run down the street, terrified of something that seems to be following her. As hard as the audience and in film characters look, there doesn’t seem to be anything behind her. Desperate and frightened, said girl runs to the beach where she calls her father for the typical horror “goodbye” speech before being found the next day, all contorted and disfigured. Flash forward a bit, and we’re introduced to Jay (Maika Monroe), your everyday teen girl who is going out on a date with her new boyfriend, Hugh (Jack Weary). All is rainbows and sunshine with the couple wining and dining out on the town, culminating with a bit of sexual fun. However, that’s where the fun ends, as Jay wakes up from her encounter tied to a chair in the middle of a parking garage. There, Hugh informs her that now that they’ve had sex, she has inherited a curse. A monster that follows its victim in an unrelenting manner. Without fear, without mercy, and without tiring. Luckily for Jay, it’s extremely slow-moving, but now that Hugh is free from his curse, it’s up to her to escape the monster if she can, with the only way to extricate herself from her predicament being by copulating with someone else and passing it on to the next person.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went into my initial viewing of the film, and even watching it a decade later, I’m still just amazed at how well it defies genre bounds. The chatter online was what drew me to the film, and after watching it, I totally understand why so many people were comparing it to John Carpenter’s Halloween, even though there are no elements of a slasher in this one. It’s not the jump scares or the blood that garnered those similarities, but rather that tense and heavy atmosphere of watching Jay run away from a monster that terrifies her, and is chasing her to the point of death. All the while, intertwining elements and visual aspects of films that came before it in a beautifully artistic manner. The film never comes across as a knockoff or fake, but rather an homage to a genre that has long since moved on from the more artistic and atmospheric elements of horror and shifted to blood and gore. Back in 2015, this was especially true with films like Saw and the Hostel duo taking over, and leaving classic suspenseful horror films in the dust. Now we’re seeing a bit of a resurgence in the 2020s, and it’s nice to look back a decade before to see the beginning glimpses of its return.

There are some great GREAT points of the movie, but it does have a couple of small flaws, mainly in the pacing. Things can get a little bit confusing in the 2nd act, and the final act culminates with a confrontation with the “monster” that just wasn’t as satisfying as I would have hoped. The actual ending is brilliant, though, with a creepy “is this done?” type of ending that leaves the audience with a growing feeling of uneasiness in their stomach as they wonder if things are truly OVER for Jay. I won’t go out and say that it’s the best horror film I’ve ever seen, but It Follows was by FAR the best horror movie of 2015 and still is one of the better creepfests of the last decade. A film that doesn’t rely on blood, gore, or jump scares, but pure oppressive atmosphere that permeates every square inch of the film till it spills over into the viewing room.

What makes It Follows so awesome is that it just adds tons of member berries and homages to older films (which it most certainly has), but watching just how intricately and seamlessly they build up the world that Jay lives in. Crafting a place from the ground up that is real, touchable, and extremely relatable even in today’s society. And judging by the rate of teen pregnancies over the last 10 or so years, it may have just scared an entire generation into abstinence for a VERY long time. Philosophical questions get asked and answered, and the monster itself ends with a disturbing twist that makes you want to watch it again and see what you missed.




Rating:

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language





Video:

Being that this is simply a repressing of the 2015 disc, the video doesn’t change at all, and for that I’m glad. The 2015 disc was superb, with a fantastic visual flair that sets itself apart from other films of the time period. Instead of looking all modern and glossy, It Follows borrows color tones and textures that are more reminiscent of 1970s John Carpenter, just with a little bit of a cleaner look overall, thanks to modern cameras. The yellow and earthy color grading gives the film a retro look, but clean of grain, noise, or artifacting, and even though the film is digitally shot, it doesn’t look over-processed or too glossy as a result. Instead, utilizing fake grain and that muted color palette to give it a more aged feel. Fine details are exemplary, showing no crush or banding that I could see, and allow great detail levels to shine through, even though the film is swathed in darkness. Personally, I would have LOVED to have seen how this compares to the 4K release (which we didn’t have access to at the this time) as this transfer is still top notch some 10 years later.









Audio:

Horror movies live and die by their audio mixes, and It Follows is an absolute dream of a 5.1 audio mix. Much like the video, this sports the same 5.1 mix as the 10-year-old Blu-ray, so my thoughts are going to retain much of the same thoughts. Aggressive and brutally forward, the 5.1 track saturates every last speaker in your home theater system with deep and throbbing LFE that really accentuates the subtle ticks, clicks, and creaks of the creature following. Dialog is well placed in the center of the room, and there are no signs of distortions or distress whatsoever. Surrounds get a ton of activity with rushing water, feet pitter-pattering in the background, and, of course, the obligatory creaking door in the distance. The wonderful score by Disasterpeace is absolutely mesmerizing and totally sets the tone of the film. Honestly, this was one of my favorite audio mixes of 2015, and it still is a treat to listen to 10 years later. This is just one of those audio tracks that actually uplifts the movie, and without it, the film would not be AS good as it is.









Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Critics Eric D. Snider, Britt Hayes and Sauel D. Zimmerman
• A Conversation with Film Composer Disasterpeace
• Theatrical Trailer
• Poster Art Gallery

Final Score:

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It Follows was my favorite horror flick of 2015, and for good reasons. There aren’t any typical horror scares in the film, but it does so much with the incredibly haunting and creepy atmosphere that you don’t mind the lack of traditional terror. It’s intense and creepy while allowing for a slow burn, and the philosophical and nuanced take on what makes the monster up is more than worth it. It took multiple viewings back in 2015 for me to truly digest the film, and even today, I’m picking up new elements that I missed back then. The audio and video encodes are to die for (sorry, a little horror pun), and the extras are still a bit lacking. This is a top-tier horror film, and while I would have loved to have seen the 4K release this last month, the Blu-ray is still a stellar viewing experience (this particular Blu-ray is a Walmart exclusive that has new cover art and a collectible slip cover that is actually out of print right now, which is kind of amusing as this the version we were sent to review). Highly recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Written by: David Robert Mitchell
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 100 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 31st, 2024

Recommendation: Great Watch

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[Todd Anderson]

This is such a great horror movie. I remember your original review - it got me to buy the disc!

Has David Robert Mitchell had any success since?

 

[Michael Scott]

This is such a great horror movie. I remember your original review - it got me to buy the disc!

Has David Robert Mitchell had any success since?

not really. he's done "Under the Silver Lake" in 2018 and that's been it. supposedly he's working pre-production on "The Follows" as a sequel, but I don't think they even have a date yet

 

[Todd Anderson]

Weird. You'd think It Follows would have sparked something greater.

 

[Michael Scott]

Weird. You'd think It Follows would have sparked something greater.

haha, yeah the definition of a one hit wonder. Not complaining about It Follows though. it was a great film. And in that same vein, Weapons is another one of those "out of nowhere" great horror films. Hopefully I'll be able to refiew it next week.