It Follows

It’s a common fear to feel as though we are being watched or being followed. “It Follows” takes hold of this fear and brings it to life in a cinema screen nightmare not soon forgotten.

The story is about Jay, a late-teens girl living in a quiet suburb of Detroit. She dates Hugh, who seems a nice, average guy, until he chloroforms her one night after they have sex in his car.

Jay awakes tied to a wheelchair in an abandoned parking garage. Hugh tells her that he has passed “it” on to her, and it will never stop coming for her until she passes it to someone else. Hugh shows her an eerie woman in the distance walking slowly towards them. From then on, Jay begins to see strange figures of people walking slowly towards her that no one else seems to see. With the help of her sister and two friends, Jay must find a way to eliminate the curse before she becomes the next victim.

“It Follows” may sound like the numerous teen-cursed horror films that are out today, but it is surprisingly original and definitely memorable. To start, the filming and cinematography are amazing. Many of the scenes are shot as a throwback to 1970s and 80s horror films, including the synthesized, creepy music. The scenery is eerie and beautiful, at the same time. The film is generally quiet; there is little dialog and only two loud “jump” scenes. The film relies on suspense and viewer anxiety, rather than cheap scares and gore.

This film also leaves you with many underlying themes to think about—which is also a rare horror film quality. From a Christian viewpoint, we would view Jay as promiscuous; she has casual sex with her boyfriend and refers to previous times with other guys. The “it” that follows Jay is passed on through sex. While possibly not the filmmaker’s intent, this movie serves as a warning against casual sex. Jay also must consider sleeping around with others to pass the curse on. The “it” can be viewed as a stigma that follows those who are casual with sex and are tainted by their promiscuous lifestyle.

Jay and her friends also lack parental supervision and involvement. In fact, Jay’s mother is heard but never seen. Jay has no one to turn to but her friends, who are almost as clueless as she is about how to deal with the situation.

Thankfully, we have someone in life that we can turn to when we are lacking in advice or feel we have sins that we can never get past. Jay tries to find love and affection in casual flings to replace what she is lacking at home. I think many teenagers today probably feel the same way. They are looking for love in all the wrong places. Isaiah 55:6-7 states:

“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
     call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
     and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
     and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (NIV)

The “it” that follows Jay in this film can be seen as many things. As a Christian, I chose to see it as a representation of the sin we have not yet given to God because we feel we deserve it. We sometimes chose to live in fear of what is following behind us, instead of giving it over to the Lord.

The high anxiety of the film also made me think about the worries we carry unduly, too. Jay succumbs to the fear of waiting on the “it” to come for her and spends most of her time locked away in her room. How many times do we do this in reality? We lock ourselves up in our worries and fears instead of giving them to God.

These are two of my favorite verses when it comes to dealing with worry:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” —Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” —Psalm 4:8 (NIV)

We often find the constant worry we have does more damage than the thing we are worrying about. Jay cannot move past her fears until her friends convince her that inaction is not going to do anything but prolong her fear. It’s a good thing we have a Savior and friend in Jesus who can lead us out of worry and fear and onto a path of living for Him.

Objectionable Content

Language: Hell (4), “Oh my G*d” (2), “God” (1), “My G*d” (1), plus f-words (8) and s-words (8)

There are several brief sex scenes in the film, but no nudity is shown during them. However, there are several instances of girls in bathing suits or underwear. One scene involves teenagers finding a nude magazine and some of the pictures are shown with graphic nudity. Three scenes of graphic nudity (but not sexual) are shown with two of them being full frontal from a distance (one man and one woman).

Final Take: I cannot recommend this film due to the heavy sexual content. However, as a horror film buff, I thoroughly enjoyed this film because of its use of suspense rather than gore and the intriguing story and moviemaking quality. I think this film will easily make it onto the best horror films of the year list and become a cult classic in the future.

Violence: Moderate to heavy / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy to extreme

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