There are few things that are less surprising to me than disappointing horror films these days.  I’m used to awful films that don’t really make sense, and I’m pretty tired of them.  So when I heard about “It Follows” being “the scariest horror film in decades” and that I shouldn’t see it alone, I jumped at the opportunity to see it with a few of my friends.  My sleep means a lot to me.  Yes, this tidbit of information is important.  Reason being: I worked an 8-hour shift and then went to go see this film.  I worked 2-10:30pm and then went straight to a 12:01 movie because I was so sure that it was going to be the best film I’d seen since The Babadook.  Well, I wasted a night.

Let me fill you guys in on the biggest disappointment of the year…

I went into the film with absolutely no knowledge of what it was about at all, I didn’t read reviews, I didn’t look for a synopsis.  I was so excited that I just threw myself into it with no doubt in my mind that it was going to be horrifying.

Here’s the plot according to the film’s IMDB page:

“After a young girl gets involved in a sexual confrontation, she is followed by an unknown force.”

So, let’s talk about the characters.  The acting is wonderful, I admit that wholeheartedly.  I really enjoyed watching the actors throughout the whole film.  They’re talented and very believable.  The main character, Jay, is a little quirky, but that’s okay.  Aren’t we all?  There’s a little bit of a love-triangle throughout the film which was not painful to watch.  There was only one really unnecessary character who was thrown in and really had no purpose, but I”ll allow you to form an opinion on that one.

Now, let’s discuss the scare factor: there is none.  I jumped a total of 3 times, because I was taken by surprise by loud noises.  Those were the jump scares.  They were terrible and unnecessary, but I believe they were thrown in because there was nothing else about the film that was really scary or overwhelming.  The concept of this girl being followed by some evil force could have been so terrifying that I would never sleep again.  Instead, it was done awkwardly and uncomfortably.  It would have been better if other people could have seen what was going on.  Do I believe that it made sense that no one else saw them?  Sure.  It was to make sure that Jay looked crazy.  But, the people following her were not scary at all (except the old woman at the school).  They were overly-sexualized and unnecessarily so.  Most of them were naked (or almost naked) complete with open robes to expose breasts and every other body part you could think of, however it added nothing to the film or to the story.  And the other issues was half of them were inappropriately nude and others weren’t.  There was little to no consistency in the people following Jay around.  It just didn’t make any sense.

Now, here was my biggest pet peeve in the entire film: the mother saw all of this going on.  The screaming. The crying. The window in the house being broken so someone could break in…if your kid was running around your house shrieking while you were there, wouldn’t you try to see what was going on, rather than just call the cops after believing she was raped, or take her to the hospital when she totals a car?  I don’t know, maybe I’m the only person that was annoyed by that.

So, all in all, this film is easily one of the most overrated horror films of 2015.  I would never watch it again.  You would have to strap me too a wheelchair and wheel me around like they did in the film.

Concept/Story: 1
Direction/Style: 1
Scares: 0
Atmosphere: 0
Rewatchability: 000000

TOTAL: 2/10

I was so sad to be disappointed by this film.  So, my little ghoulies, please let me know if you completely disagree with my opinion.

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Taylor Krauss

Taylor has been a horror fan for as long as she can remember, begging her parents to let her see The Exorcist at the tender age of just five years old. Since then, she has developed a lifelong obsession with all things strange, paranormal, and creepy. If you find her doing something other than watching a horror film, she’s probably raging as a dwarf barbarian playing Dungeons and Dragons (obsessively…it’s a problem), quoting Lord of the Rings incessantly, or trying to become Dana Scully.

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