It Follows

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: David Robert Mitchell/Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Jake Weary, Daniel Zovatto and Olivia Luccardi

It's refreshing to see a horror film that doesn't have Saw or Insidious in the title and even more so to find one that isn't about idiots behaving idiotically. But based on the trailers I watched before director David Robert Mitchell's terrific new film It Follows, it seems more are to come. But in the meantime, Mitchell's film heralds the arrival of a young, new talent behind the camera; one who does so much with what appears to be an emaciated budget. Mitchell's film is creepy, imaginative and its look is something reminiscent of a 1980s' low-budget horror flick, which isn't a disparaging knock.

Set in the urban and suburban blight of Detroit, the film tells the story of a mysterious, malevolent entity or force (Mitchell never really divulges its origins, which works really well), that assumes human form then single-mindedly pursues a victim. The protagonist, Jay Height (Maika Monroe, who resembles both Chloe Sevigny and Dakota Fanning at times) learns of the entity the hard way.

One night, after a date with a young man named Hugh (Jake Weary), who exhibits strange behavior at the movies and dinner, he becomes alarmed when he sees a lady Jay (and the audience) can't. Hugh hurriedly leads her to a secluded area for some carnal pleasure. Unfortunately for Jay, Hugh has ulterior motives, which she learns when he places a rag over her mouth to render her unconscious. When she wakes, tied to a chair in an abandoned building, he explains to her that something is after him; something that assumes human form. Explaining further, he tells Jay that in making love to her he has "passed on" the entity to her; making her its prime target. He also insists she should never allow it to touch her, as it would mean certain death, which would also mean the thing would then find and kill him before moving along the chain of those who have managed to elude its lethal malevolence. He warns her she should always have access to an exit, lest the entity corner her. Jay discovers that only the entity's prey, namely herself, can see the assailant; making its existence difficult to prove to others.

Quite a bit to lay on anyone, eh?!

So begins Jay's ordeal, which means eluding the thing she can only see and convincing her friends she isn't crazy.

What is particularly impressive about Mitchell's film is its lack of special effects. With a meager $2 million dollar budget, Mitchell proves himself to be a resourceful filmmaker. No frame-clogging CGI or ear-shattering noise to tell his story; Mitchell relies on the most basic resource available to filmmakers: people. Every stalking comes in human guise; sometimes an old woman, another time a naked or half-naked assailant. Sometimes the entity approaches from behind or when Jay is sitting in class, looking out the window. The fact that it never runs; only creeps or staggers slowly and implacably toward its victim makes it all the more frightening.

As the story progresses, we begin to see themes emerge; one involves the passing of the entity through sexual intercourse; a metaphor for sexually transmitted diseases. Much of the film's imagery is sexual; half-naked or fully naked bodies in relentless pursuit, while the libidinous and quasi-libidinous relationships Jay shares between three young men in the film connect to its sexual theme. Mitchell seems to be making a comment about the consequences of promiscuity and emotionally-detached sex.

Yet another theme focuses on Detroit's economic downturn, which serves as commentary on the country's financial woes as well. As Jay and her friends search for Hugh to learn more about the entity, the group travels from middle-class suburbs to blighted neighborhoods that may have thrived once upon a prosperity.

And as the teens devise a plan to kill the entity, the scheme's outcome leaves us with an uneasy feeling the force is impervious to destructive means. We never actually see or learn how the malign spirit came to be. Mitchell leaves much to mystery, which I think is very effective. We also never see the thing itself, only its human vessels--also very effective.

Though Jay and her friends are sometimes prey to conventional horror film teen behavior--doing things that are several bus-stops pass stupid--they act and react like real people, which means making choices and decisions that are reasonably logical. As many horror film fans know, level-headed teens with common sense are a rare species.

I really liked the film's look; we're never certain which decade we're in. We could be in a 70s' exploitation film or, as aforementioned, a modest multiplex offering from the 1980s'.

Mitchell's instinct to downplay gore is welcome and serves the film well, as does the ending, with its marvelous ambiguity.

It Follows has garnered strong reviews, which it richly deserves. Making a horror film so distinct and imaginative is hardly a frivolous venture;, as film-goers, like myself, are well-aware. To see a horror film as unique as Mitchell's, one usually has to sit through countless, uninspired, Hollywood splatter-fests and mediocre gore franchises that never seem to die.

I hope Mitchell avoids the pitfalls that sometimes rob young, successful filmmakers of their creative fire; either too much acclaim or the lure of Hollywood glamor, which almost always comes with a compromising price-tag. I think he will. Can't wait to see his next film.