[Shaded Dogfood]

I looked for a thread but couldn't find one; surprising, as the denizens seem to love horror movies, and this one has a lot to offer.

It Follows is in the grand tradition of the sex+teens=death cinema. Much of the setup and resolution defies comprehensible logic, so if you feel obliged to pick things apart you might just want to wait on Netflix for this one. But you still ought to see it.

Maika Monroe decides on the wrong boy to lose her virginity to: he drugs her, and when she awakes she finds herself tied to a wheelchair in a derelict parking lot (it was filmed around Detroit). Boyfriend then explains to her that he has been pursued by this malevolent entity that will kill him unless he passes the curse on by having sex with someone else. This will only postpone things, as it will then turn its attentions back to him. The very beginning of the movie shows what happened to the person who presumably gave it to him.

Clear as mud, right?

It's actually a very stylish and atmospheric little indy, with a real sense of dread in the autumn suburbs, ruined mansions and great lake beaches of Michigan. For those not desensitized to gore (not a lot in this) and violence (a fair amount in this) may find themselves genuinely frightened, and with a fright that lingers on for some time. We are sure to see more from the director and his leading lady in the future.

 

[General Kenobi]

This was mentioned by a couple folks (me included) in the horror movie thread but did not get any praise there. In short the "tension" never built to anything "scary" and really failed to deliver. If you can't be scary or graphic you start leaning more towards "thriller" but this didn't do any of that, just missed opportunity here. I liked the premise and think this could have been solid in the hands of someone a bit more outside the box.

 

[Shaded Dogfood]

I liked the director's lingering on details. To me this was along the line of The Shining. I thought both created a poisonous mood rather than indulge in merely jumping out and yelling "boo!" or bathing the screen in karo blood. I thought the photography of a stark and rather hopeless modern urban and suburban environment was part of the point of the movie too.

 

[oink]

Sounds interesting...in my queue.

 

[General Kenobi]

I liked the director's lingering on details. To me this was along the line of The Shining. I thought both created a poisonous mood rather than indulge in merely jumping out and yelling "boo!" or bathing the screen in karo blood. I thought the photography of a stark and rather hopeless modern urban and suburban environment was part of the point of the movie too.

The score played well with that too I just didn't feel what happened within that ecosystem ever really succeeded in delivering fear, dread, or the sense of foreboding it seemed to tease us with.