3.5 stars. Rated R, for disturbing violent and sexual content, graphic nudity and profanity
By Derrick Bang
Young indie filmmaker David
Robert Mitchell acknowledges a debt to horror auteurs John Carpenter and George Romero, and it’s easy to see why:
Mitchell’s little chiller, It Follows,
is suffused with the original Halloween
vibe.
And I mean that in the best
possible way.
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| As the full implications of her terrifying dilemma are explained to Jay (Maika Monroe, center), her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) and former boyfriend Greg (Daniel Zovatto) react with varying degrees of skepticism. Their doubts won't last long... |
Mitchell’s film is unsettling and
nervous-making, in the manner of 1968’s Night
of the Living Dead and 1978’s Halloween,
both of which emphasized atmosphere over the gratuitous gore they were
(somewhat unfairly) accused of spawning in subsequent rip-offs. Mitchell
understands the distinction; rather than gross out the audience, he’s far more
interested in sending us home with a desire to leave the lights on all night.
Not to mention regarding the next
sidewalk-strolling stranger with a worried eye.
For the most part, Mitchell plays
this card skillfully: This is a
seriously disturbing suburban nightmare, and editor Julio Perez IV knows
precisely how to pace cinematographer Mike Gioulakis’ often disconcerting
camera set-ups: a slightly wonky angle here, a worrying overhead shot there, a
tense tracking shot taking us to the next scene.
Nor does Mitchell cheat, with
cats bursting from darkened closets, or potential victims playing nasty tricks
on each other. This narrative is scary not because of in-our-face surprises or
frenzied assaults, but because of inexorable, slow-moving doom: the horror of
ghastly inevitability.
The setting is a dilapidated
neighborhood in suburban Detroit, with homes just distressed enough to suggest
residents trying their best to maintain appearances, despite rampant
unemployment and fractured families. The occasional empty house signifies a
battle lost, just as nearby streets leading toward the city pass entire blocks
of shattered structures that look more like the aftermath of the London blitz,
than any portion of a modern American metropolis.
The actual time, though, feels
ambiguous (and deliberately so, I’m sure). Technology exists, but smart phones
aren’t ubiquitous; neither are we far enough back to glimpse LPs and
turntables. It’s as if time, like suburban renewal, has skipped this particular
enclave, which exists in something of a dreamlike haze.
Which is appropriate, given
what’s about to happen.
College-age Jay (Maika Monroe)
and her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) lead a casual lifestyle with their mother, the
latter an alcoholic who barely charts her daughters’ comings and goings.
Despite this, Jay and Kelly seem to be reasonably well-adjusted, spending most
of their time watching old fright flicks with best buds Yara (Olivia Luccardi)
and Paul (Keir Gilchrist), who has had an obvious crush on Jay for many years.
