Maika Monroe senses something over her shoulder in David Robert Mitchell’s IT FOLLOWS.
her friend Paul (Keir Gilchrist)—try to behave. Even knowing that only sex will rid her of the follower, Jamie delays doing so as long as she can. When she sleeps with her neighbor Greg (Daniel Zovatto), it’s in his full knowledge of the consequences, and they’ve previously had sex at high school. Paul plainly wants both to save her and to have a rela- tionship with her, but the film is ambiguous about whether he achieves both. An elided scene sug- gests that she tries passing the curse to at least one man on a boat, but she and the narrative do their best not to own up to the ruse. Otherwise, older people are seldom approached for help. Jamie declares that she “can’t tell Mom,” and the theme of trying to grow up and become indepen- dent, not to mention its attendant problems, is central to the film.
This is at the core of the controversial cli- max, which seems to alienate quite a few view- ers. Certainly it goes against an established convention of the genre, the idea that the char- acters under threat will find a level-headed way to combat their adversary, either traditional (a cross, a silver bullet) or a new one to overcome new terrors (staying awake to confound Freddy Krueger, blowing the alien into outer space) even if it ultimately proves temporary. Instead, writer- director David Robert Mitchell takes the risk of making his characters behave as we—the present writer anyway—might have at their age. Though they’re intelligent—Jamie’s friend Yara (Olivia
Luccardi) is sufficiently well-read to compare Paul to Dostoyevsky’s Prince Myshkin, a just assess- ment—this doesn’t mean they’re competent to deal with the supernatural, and their bid to destroy the monster is ramshackle at best, which Mitchell means it to be. Perhaps it might have worked—it’s designed to catch the follower when he or she en- ters a swimming pool, while Jamie stays in the middle—but, in any case, it never has the chance. Surely more to the point, it’s an attempt to behave well, to end the menace without endangering any- one else. If the sisters and their friends are inept in their planning, at least they aren’t morally blind. The Icon Blu-ray does full justice to the film, which is sometimes very beautiful in its 2.39 ra- tio—see the undefinably eerie shot of a tree tinted by a car’s brake lights, for instance. The disc of- fers a commentary by Danny Leigh and Mark Jancovich, and also includes a 5m interview with soundtrack composer “Disasterpeace” (Rich Vreeland) and a 2m trailer.
Editor’s note: IT FOLLOWS is also available stateside from Anchor Bay Entertainment ($12.99, BD-A) with shorter supplements intact, while ex- cusing the UK commentary in favor of a “critics’ commentary” hosted by Scott Weinberg, featur- ing Movie B.S.’s Eric D. Snider, ScreenCrush’s Britt Hayes, Shock Till You Drop’s Samuel D. Zimmerman, Flavorwire’s Alison Nastasi, and Ain’t It Cool News’ Eric Vespe.
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