2) It Follows
David Robert Mitchell went from average guy to horror genre hero thanks to his film It Follows, which spread like an STD on a college campus this year. It gave people something to fear by assuring them of no way out, running solely on the idea that you can never escape the film’s villain. You can run, you can hide, but the creature will always find you – and turn you into a human pretzel. The concept is so simple, and while some haters took pleasure in hole-punching Mitchell’s idea, others (like myself) gushed over how effective, ingenious, and simple this haunting horror piece is.
New genre superstar Maika Monroe (who also held her own opposite Dan Stevens in The Guest) stars as a girl with a deadly pursuer, who she acquires while having sex with her high school crush. Monroe’s character has no idea how to combat her persistent stalker, and we feel her hopelessness through the film’s entirety.
[zergpaid]Sure, it’s essentially a metaphor for STDs, but the concept works well enough on its own with the right cast in place, and a vision from Mitchell that conjures fear through repetition. No matter how hard you try, the beast just never stops, begging the question of how long before you give up.
It Follows scores one for the slow burn, and sinisterly simmers until you just can’t take it anymore. Plus it gets bonus points for a bitchin’ soundtrack. I love it when a plan comes together.