🧠Plot Summary
It Follows starts with an unsettling long shot of a terrified girl sprinting around her suburban home which sets the uneasy atmosphere for the rest of the movie. Jay Height, the main character, is a 19-year-old college student in Michigan. After spending the night with her new boyfriend Hugh, Jay discovers that she has been cursed with some kind of supernatural illness.
The curse itself takes the form of a shapeshifting, slow walking creature that unrelentingly stalks its victim until death ensues unless it is passed through sex—only then can this curse be shifted to a different individual. This being is capable of taking the guise of any human, frequently showing up as strangers or even people the victim is familiar with. It is only visible to those who are “infected” and no one else.
Along with her close knit friend group Paul, Yara, Kelly, and the rest Jay goes on the run trying to escape the creature while trying to understand it’s terrifying rules. With heightened emotions and mistrust breaching the group tries everything in their power to either spread the curse or confront the relentless darkness.
đź‘Ą Main Cast
Maika Monroe as Jay Height –The protagonist and emotional center of the film, maintaining her sanity while trying to keep herself safe.
Keir Gilchrist as Paul – Jay’s devoted childhood friend, who is willing to take the curse to shield her.
Daniel Zovatto as Greg – A suspicious neighbor who gets pulled into the events with catastrophic results.
Lili Sepe as Kelly – Jay’s encouraging younger sister.
Olivia Luccardi as Yara – Outlandish and reflective, often seen quoting words from an e-reader.
Jake Weary as Hugh / Jeff – The boy who gives the curse to Jay, only to be entangled in his own fears.
🎥 Cinematic Style & Direction
David Robert Mitchell constructs It Follows as a hybrid of classic horror and contemporary fear:
Widescreen framing that features long takes and panning shots with a slow reveal, as well as symmetry within the shots.
Disasterpeace’s electronic score featuring 80s synth-horror infused rhythms, amps up anxiety and nostalgia.
Setting is timeless: old cars and rotary phones alongside e-readers, keeping viewers disoriented in time; the dreamlike unreality of the film is reinforced.
A slow pacing is maintained throughout the film in order to match the relentless pace of the creature. Like Jay, the audience is always on edge of the seat, waiting to see someone step forward into the frame.
🧠Themes & Symbolism
And now, let’s discuss how deeply integrated and multi-faceted the symbols of the story are. It Follows, in particular, is interesting because:
Sexuality and Consequences: The film’s main premise revolves the idea of intimacy—similar to how STDs or emotional trauma works—using stereotypical themes of horror.
Loss of Innocence: The world Jay lives in begins evolving after differently meeting Hugh for the first time, which illustrates a haunting rite of passage into maturity.
Anxiety & Death: The beast embodies the certitude of death lurking over one’s shoulder. No matter how far one chooses run, postpone, or distract, it will always be there and its persistent nature makes it impossible to escape.
Social Isolation: Jay is the only one who experiences such tormenting horror while others outside are oblivious to it. The cone of silence she is in amplifies the ancient phenomenon of silence surrounding suffering people so often encounter after being placed under the crossfire of violence which becomes a devastating theme of their life.
🏆 Reception & Awards
The original score marks It Follows as one of the best horror films of the decade for many filmmakers and critics. The coloritions of the film were received extremely positively, and the It Follows narrative was endorsed by the critics showering the film with awards and nominations, and it received:
A 96% rating conflict on Rotten Tomatoes
and was also positively reviewed by RogerEbert.com, The Guardian, and The New York Times winning multiple independent awards, here are some further accolades the film received nominations for were:
Best Horror Film – Empire Awards
Best Editing and Best Score – Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
Official Selection – Cannes Film Festival 2014
🧨 Why It Still Stands Out
What makes It Follows especially memorable is its unique monster: a supernatural being that:
Always walks toward you
Can take on any physical form
Cannot be seen by anyone else
Will stop at nothing to kill you
Each of these characteristics is both startling and horrifying on its own, and is accompanied by an infinite number of fan theories and interpretive essays.
A film like It Follows does not utilize an excessive amount of blood or sudden scares; instead, it gradually builds fear. The film is a woeful masterpiece that is still capable of delivering chills to its viewers, proving it respects their intelligence.
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