Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. I don't know if this explanation makes The Follower MORE or LESS horrifying for you. Yes, mom? It's not only a movie about fear, or death, but also about shame. Subtle shifts in seasons and time subconsciously unsettle as viewers cannot place when and where the narrative takes place. If that's all a fan gets from this film, there's obviously quite a bit that they're missing. With the help of their neighbor, Greg Hannigan, the group discovers Hugh's real name Jeff Redmond and traces him to his address. The idea of a monster that kills teenagers for being promiscuous is certainly not new. Is she stupid? One of the more curious forms the entity takes comes after the beach hut, as it becomes a teenage girl and chases after Jay,who responds by hopping into Greg's car. Eventually, Paul is able to shoot it, and they run away. "[24], David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Creepy, suspenseful and sustained, this skillfully made lo-fi horror movie plays knowingly with genre tropes and yet never winks at the audience, giving it a refreshing face-value earnestness that makes it all the more gripping. [7] The film's monster, shot composition and overall aesthetic were influenced by the work of contemporary photographer Gregory Crewdson. There are other clues given to us purely through storytelling and small details rather than having the characters get right up in your face and shout what youre supposed to know. She's not shown close or long enough to make a positive identification, but the best guess based on characters seen in the film is Hugh's mom. The group plans to kill the entity by luring it into a swimming pool and dropping electrical appliances into the water. When she does this, we see that the lawns on the other side of the street are littered with leaves and the trees have started to turn. In order to kill the entity that's following Jay, her friends come up with a truly audacious plan. Later, the two make love in the car, after which Hugh suddenly attacks Jay. However, it could actually be a subtle allusion to Jay's unresolved issues with her unnamed, deceased father Mr. The monster is still with them, in one form or another, because even if the literal monster is no more, death is still coming for them, and until that happens, this experience will always follow them. Well, the pan beyond Jays mother shows an older family photo. Is the monster the IT the scariest part of the movie? As Jay tries to get out of the pool, it pulls her underwater by the ankle. We then meet Jay and her sister Kelly, who are childhood friends with Paul. , and this critical double-scare scene demonstrates how not much else gets under our skin quite like visceral reminders of our fleeting mortality. Because subconsciously, your brain is picking up on these things but you dont know it. Her inciting consensual experience was savagely undone by Hugh's chloroforming and binding of her before she could even dress. This scene marks the first time the eponymous "it" invades Jay's home and personal space. However, with It Follows, you have to get a little more creative if you want to know more. She refuses help offered to her by a neighbor and quickly gets into her car and drives away. This next form taken by the entity in It Follows is another that's extremely naked. The entity is a slow moving, unstoppable monster that is always walking towards you, and if it catches you, you die. The decor in Jays house is very old-looking, almost like youd expect to see at your grandparents. You can't kill it, you can't reason with it, and you can run for a little while, but you can't run from it forever. She turns and is faced with a disheveled woman her age, her clothes torn and missing teeth. The murderous, seemingly unstoppable entity, simply called It, remains as mysterious as ever, and its origin is never revealed. The next time you watch the movie, whenever there's a scene in Jay's house, check out the pictures on her walls. 2014 horror film by David Robert Mitchell, "An Unpredictable Release: Four Surprising Facts about It Follows' Road to Success", "Exploring the horror of 'It Follows': David Robert Mitchell interview", "David Robert Mitchell on his striking new horror film, 'It Follows', "U.K. At the beginning of the film, a young woman runs out of her house wearing a pair of heels, short-shorts, and a tank top. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Without this foreknowledge, it wouldn't have the ability to know when to appear in what form. The film opens in a peaceful neighborhood where a girl suddenly runs out of her house in fright. This is probably the most easily recognized clue because of one thing thats blatantly pointed out to us: the infamous clamshell e-reader. Hes been dead for years, which is why the girls seem more complacent and put-together theyve learned to cope but their grieving mother is still despondent, self-medicating with alcohol. In an interview with Yahoo Movies, director David Robert Mitchell clarified that Hugh's understanding of the monster's "rules" are just based on his experiences, and they're perhaps inaccurate. If you havent seen it yet I recommend getting your hands on a copy, watching it, then coming back to this analysis. The director has stated in various interviews that he intentionally mixed in a bunch of different bits of fashion and technology from different decades, to keep the film from becoming immediately dated and to give it a bit of a timeless and dreamlike feel. This includes furniture, decor, and wallpaper. Each of its appearances happens to fulfill a specific purpose. All 30 Forms IT Takes in Stephen King's Original Novel, Every Form Chucky Has Taken In The Child's Play Series, Every Form Pinhead Has Taken In The Hellraiser Franchise, Freddy's Other Forms In The Nightmare On Elm Street Franchise, Every Form IT Takes in the 1990 Miniseries, 7 Ways James Bond 26 Has To Be Different From Daniel Craig's 007 Era, Avatar: The Way of Water Breaks Major International Box Office Record, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish Set Up Shrek 5 Entirely By Accident. But not only this: it's the shame that follows you for the rest of your life, that shame reminding you that death is always around the corner, closer, closer. Her first appearance in the kitchen, shes drinking wine in the afternoon. Evidence also points to this form being Jay's grandfather, who's seen in a family photo earlier in the movie. So Yara's quote clearly demonstrates how both these works have mortality on their mind. Jay, therefore, doesnt describe him to Kelly because she likely doesnt want to disturb her sister even more than she already is. We probably don't need to guess what she wanted from the guys on board. Director David Robert Mitchell Writer David Robert Mitchell Stars Maika Monroe Keir Gilchrist Olivia Luccardi Sure, its a very cool way to set up a new universe, but its also extremely off-putting whether you realize it or not. It's quiet and unassuming, out there somewhere in the world, slowly walking towards you. Hugh, whose real name is revealed to be Jeff, passes the curse from himself to Jay. Sure, Jeff couldve told Jay IT makes noise! Paul and Kelly arrive, confused as they insist no one else is in the house. For most of the film, Jay is directly targeted by It until Greg, skeptical of the danger, has sex with her. The woman edges closer as she urinates. Since everyone thats been cursed can see It, both Paul and Jay are able to see the entity and seem to have decided to try and survive the curse together. If any of you missed that detail, it was revealed subtly, by a photograph beside her bed. Maika Monroe told ComicBook.com in January 2021 that she "would do anything" to work with director David Robert Mitchell again. Instead, Mitchell uses it to sneak in another unexpected scare. Firing blindly into the pool, Paul manages to shoot the creature again in the head, and this time, it stays dead. It jumped on him, killed him by some method we don't see, and then just kind of dry humped him. She approaches the pool and sees no body, but a mist of blood. Highly disturbed, Jay's friends agree to spend the night to keep her company. And given that he isn't actually in the rest of the film, the odds are likely that he's either divorced from their mother or dead. The moment of relief gets punctuated by a music sting and the startling appearance of a tall man from the darkened room just behind Yara. It's Yara, half-asleep and perplexed by the uproar. It looks like a vintage makeup compact but seems to act like a smartphone-combo-e-reader Yara even uses it later as a light source, the way you would a phone. Other horror movies make an impression. Once in the poolhouse, Jay enters the pool while the rest place a variety of electrical appliances around its edge. Greg Hannigan - Raped to death by the Entity. In fact, It Follows is an anti-victim blaming masterpiece that gives a huge middle finger to the genre's antiquated approach to sex. While playing a game of spotting strangers, Hugh notices a woman in a yellow dress that Jay cannot see. And then, once death has you, you're forced to meet your maker. Not hearing Jay's pleas, Greg opens the door and the entity pounces on him. His identity is also confirmed by a family photo. That tendency may not be entirely born of sadism, as in a few cases it also seems to be trying to confuse its victim long enough to get caught. Sure, these could be grandparents, but even the photos of young Kelly and Jay seem more like photos from the 1960s-1970s. Since the monster passes from one person to another when they hook up, this interpretation states that the theme of the film is simply "sex is bad, and it will kill you.". IT cant walk through walls! but isnt it more interesting to learn this the same way Jay does by pure investigation? They rob you of your sleep. It Follows, and this critical double-scare scene demonstrates how not much else gets under our skin quite like visceral reminders of our fleeting mortality. However, this cant all be attributed to romance, and some very sinister factors have pushed them together. This is what made me look for more anachronisms throughout the film and oh boy there are a lot. Instead, it marks an important repetition we see throughout the movie:in every case, the final Follower each character sees is of their parent, walking towards them. Another idea explored throughout The Idiotis death, and how proximity to and awareness of death changes people. In a way, it's a fair question. It's never stated who he is, but it seems like a pretty safe assumption that this man is Jay and Kelly's father. [8], Mitchell started writing the film in 2011 while working on a separate film he intended to be his second feature film; however, Mitchell struggled with this would-be second feature and made It Follows as his next film instead. It's the disheveled woman's visual that makes this scare so powerful, as Mitchell employs conventional tactics to induce goosebumps between the ominous music stings and slowed down focus on the intended victim. How long before we get It Follows 3: Pool Warriors? [20] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 95% approval rating and a rating average score of 8.10/10, based on 270 reviews. Even though Pauls crush on Jay is evident from the start, the latter is clearly not interested in dating her childhood friend, who is a far cry from the hunky boys she seemingly goes out with. [Spoilers for "It Follows"] Did anyone else who saw "It Follows" find it weird and confusing? Jay gets ready for her date with Hugh, and the two go to the cinema. Many signs point to it being a period piece. After years of waiting, this is the ending of It Follows, finally explained. In the films many tense moments, a lot of clues are sprinkled into the background that help make sense of the ominous ending. If it's about trauma, the trauma is still with them. The protagonist, Prince Myshkin, is an extremely kind person trying to make his way in an unkind world. [34][35] Mitchell stated: "I'm not personally that interested in where 'it' comes from. Get our newsletter and join our community powered by horror fans like you. Lets go! [citation needed] The film had a domestic gross of $14.7 million and an international gross of $8.6 million for a worldwide total of $23.3 million. Then Kelly manages to throw a sheet over the creature, allowing Paul to shoot the monster in the head. Some even start to collide with her, disorienting her and drawing blood. They then cover it with a sheet, and Paul shoots it once more, causing it to fall into the pool. A way, it pulls her underwater by the entity in it Follows, finally explained [... Less horrifying for you David Robert Mitchell again with a truly audacious plan the Follower more or horrifying..., once death has you, you 're forced to meet your maker that ``! Film and oh boy there are a lot is what made me look for anachronisms. Sinister factors have pushed them together newsletter and join our community powered by horror fans like you for anachronisms! 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