View All Photos (17)
AROUND THE WEB
If He Doesn’t Have These 20 Qualities, He’s Not Your Soul MateIni Edo"s Blog
5 Best Free Team Management ToolsWebiot
Shark Tank's Daymond John Schools Me On “The Power Of Broke”TalkMarkets
How he learned 9 languages fluentlyBabbel
Recommended by
MOVIE INFO
After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. (C) Radius-TWC
Rating:
R (for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language)
Genre:
Horror
Directed By:
David Robert Mitchell
Written By:
David Robert Mitchell
Runtime:
1 hr. 34 min.
Radius-TWC - Official Site
WATCH IT NOW
Watch now
Watch now
PEOPLE WHO LIKE THIS MOVIE ALSO LIKE
Previous
82%
Something in the Air
76%
Sunshine
87%
A Field in England
92%
Frank
82%
The Double
74%
Enemy
85%
Under the Skin
86%
Night Moves
85%
The Master
83%
Blue Caprice
94%
Inside Llewyn Davis
75%
Sound of My Voice
86%
Computer Chess
88%
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
84%
Upstream Color
71%
Somewhere
87%
Buried
76%
Kill List
69%
Stoker
92%
Birdman
82%
Something in the Air
76%
Sunshine
87%
A Field in England
92%
Frank
82%
The Double
74%
Enemy
85%
Under the Skin
86%
Night Moves
85%
The Master
83%
Blue Caprice
Next
CAST
Maika Monroe
as Jay
Keir Gilchrist
as Paul
Daniel Zovatto
as Greg
Lili Sepe
as Kelly
Jake Weary
as Hugh/Jeff
Olivia Luccardi
as Yara
Show More Cast
NEWS & INTERVIEWS FOR IT FOLLOWS
Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies/TV of 2015
Star Wars Receives Late Critics’ Choice Best Picture Nomination
Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2015
View All It Follows News
FRIEND RATINGS
No Friends? Inconceivable! Log in to see what your friends have to say.
Login
CRITIC REVIEWS FOR IT FOLLOWS
All Critics (200) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (193) | Rotten (7) | DVD (2)
No question that the storytelling here is impressive; the story itself, however, is a bit thin.
Full Review… | December 30, 2015
Liz Braun
Toronto Sun
Top Critic
The horror of the new century, bet to the subtlety of the faceless monster, but is not less scary. [Full review in Spanish]
Full Review… | January 5, 2016
Alejandro Alemán
El Universal
Like the best horror films It Follows will stay with you, making you look afresh at those trailing behind. It'll take you back to your own teenage years, reminding you what a terrifying world it can be when the adults step back.
Full Review… | January 1, 2016
Emma Simmonds
The Arts Desk
While the idea might sound slightly ridiculous, Jay and her friends are all so authentic that this stylish flick remains totally believable throughout.
Full Review… | December 30, 2015
Grant Rollings
Sun Online
This is a movie you need to see right now.
Full Review… | December 2, 2015
Todd VanDerWerff
Vox
It's a testament to how scary a movie It Follows is that for days after watching it, you walk around thinking up survival plans - should you hide, stay on the move forever, pass the haunting on to someone else?
Full Review… | November 10, 2015
Alison Willmore
BuzzFeed
A good old-fashioned spooky tale that forces us to confront the inevitability of death and asks what we would do if we could see it coming.
Full Review… | September 30, 2015
Mark H. Harris
About.com
With a great handle of fear and paranoia, also with the awesome dark and blue photography, Mitchell creates an atmosphere so tense that you can feel the despair in his characters. [Full review in Spanish]
Full Review… | September 17, 2015
Anaid Ramírez
Time Out México
One of the best horror films in years.
Full Review… | September 11, 2015
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org
The photography, sound and feel of the film conjure up a threadbare and tawdry world. Detroit's outer environs are seedy and slumish. It's oddly claustrophobic to its teenage inhabitants, despite being devoid of functioning adults.
Full Review… | September 1, 2015
Ian Allison
International Business Times
Horror fans might be surprised at the lack of gory action, and yet those willing to let this one work its eerie magic should find that it follows them home.
Full Review… | September 1, 2015
David 'Mad Dog' Bradley
Rip It Up
It's been a while since a movie made me feel that way, but David Robert Mitchell's It Follows creates that kind of constant anxiety.
Full Review… | September 1, 2015
Robert Horton
Seattle Weekly
View All Critic Reviews (200)
AUDIENCE REVIEWS FOR IT FOLLOWS
½
Horror, or fear perhaps, distilled. It doesn't take much. Take many of the known ideas about the genre and cut away the fat, that's all. Less equals more. "What in God's name does it want?" That's a question for later, buddy. Good stuff.
Kevin M. Williams Super Reviewer
Too often with contemporary horror films we are subjected to a barrage of positive claims. Claims that the most recent one is the best for decades. It almost seems like audiences and critics are desperate for it to actually be the case, such is the lack of any true quality in a failing genre and the desperate demand to be spooked again. Sooner or later, though, one had to arrive where the positivity surrounding it would be genuine. Finally, we have It Follows: a film that can confidently stake it's claim to being that coveted frightener.
After a sexual encounter, 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe) is told that she will then be followed by a presence - someone or something - determined to kill her. The only way it'll stop is if she has another sexual encounter where she can pass it on. Initially, she's doubtful but soon enough the disturbing visions begin...
If you're ever in any doubt that you're being stalked by a malevolent force of some kind, then it's probably best to steer clear of the old rumpy-pumpy. Going by the usual horror tropes, when someone butters the muffin it inevitably leads to their demise. And by that, director David Robert Mitchell cleverly bases his entire horror concept around that promiscuous premise.
What works in It Follows' favour is it's homage to films of old - namely, John Carpenter's Halloween. If you consider Carpenter's depiction of Michael Myers, you'll notice that he works slowly and never in a rush to fulfil his murderous intent. That's very much like the entity in this; there's a self-assurance in it's unrelenting pursuit. The setting also takes place in a similar leafy suburban neighbourhood and our protagonist goes by the name of Jay (short for Jamie) - a direct tribute to Halloween's afflicted heroine, Jamie Lee Curtis. Even Rich Vreeland's scaled down music is very reminiscent of Carpenter's classic synthesised score.
You could actually spend some time identifying the previous horrors that Mitchell riffs on but that would detract from his own work and his ability to put his own stamp on the proceedings. His decision to shoot with a sombre mood and deliberate pace adds to the overall foreboding atmosphere and allows us to effortlessly enter into any given moment. This works the same in identifying with the characters. Their plight and struggle is all the more involving because it feels like we are getting a glimpse into their lives. It also helps that the cast is headed by reliable, and relatively unknown, faces and as the characters are in their teens, the film works as both an urban-legend horror and a dark coming-of-age tale. Their progression to adulthood and their promiscuity also sets up a clever sub-text that courses through the film in terms of sexually transmitted diseases: a reminiscent 80's setting suggesting the AIDS epidemic, in particular, and channels the deadly nature of that disease as it's psychological device.
Mitchell's real trump card, however, comes from his use of space and setting up his shots. The background plays a major part in the film as you never know at which moment "It" might make an appearance, leaving you to regularly scan the whole frame for any movement.
There's an undoubted ambiguity to Mitchell's film and while some may balk at this I, personally, welcomed it as it added another thought provoking layer. It works on many levels. If you're so inclined, you can adopt a metaphorical approach to the proceedings and delve into it's deeper meanings. But then again, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, right? If your not the type of viewer that wishes to explore the metaphors and just want to be entertained then the film can still be enjoyed at face value and works as a chilling and effective horror yarn, nonetheless. With or without mastication.
In only his second film (the first being The Myth of the American Sleepover in 2010) there's no denying David Robert Mitchell's commanding handling of events and his ability to stage a real sense of uneasiness. It's an impressive sophomore effort that has given the horror genre a much needed shot in the arm by delivering substantial terrors and retaining a sincerity in its delivery.
Mark Walker
Read More
Mark Walker Super Reviewer
½
The horror genre has been on a downward slope for the past couple of decades, as remakes and sequels seem to flood the genre more than any other. Every now and then however, a little independent gem makes it's way into a few theatres and then becomes a loved hit on DVD. "It Follows" fits the ladder half of that description, being one of the creepiest pictures I have had the pleasure of viewing in a very, very long time. Make Monroe leads this film, and wow does she ever deliver a raw and true performance. She really makes the audience believe that things like this actually could happen "in someones mind." From the work of art that is the cinematography, to the amazingly eerie score that sent chills down my spine in almost every scene, "It Follows" has the rare suspense that you just cannot find in horror films today. I was genuinely creeped out during the broad daylight sequences, and that is saying something. Overall, the film could have been pure perfection if it wasn't for the open ending that I think was great, but left a little too much to be desired. In the end, "It Follows" is one of the best recent horror flicks you can find on the shelves today. Definitely recommend, especially to fans of the genre.
Read More
KJ Proulx Super Reviewer
It's slow but its horrors is tense and nerve-racking at times. It Follows may have an eerily-horrifying concept but its dull dialogue and plain narrative defeats the clever scare-tactics the film offers and makes for a less-than-memorable frightening flick. 3/5
Eugene Bernabe Super Reviewer
View All Audience Reviews (3368)
IT FOLLOWS QUOTES
Hugh/Jeff:
It could look like someone you know or it could be a stranger in a crowd. Whatever helps it get close to you.
– Submitted by Christopher E (42 days ago)
Yara:
When I was a little girl my parents would not allow me to go south of 8th mile. And I did not even know what that meant until I got a little older. And I started realizing that. That was where the city started and the suburbs ended. And I used to think about how shitty and weird
