New horror movie "It Follows"

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Monosterio, Mar 14, 2015.

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  1. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

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    NYC
    Got a laugh out of that
     
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  2. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

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    Sadly it is true. the trailer did get me into the theater. I came very close to walking out several times but didn't for fear of missing an unexpected payoff.
     
  3. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

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    NYC
    reminds me of Blair Witch hype
     
  4. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

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    I would say it's more like that.
     
  5. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

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    US
    That's what I originally said.
     
  6. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

    Location:
    NYC
    Me too - looks like we were right
     
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  7. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

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    Los Angeles
    If you possess the ability to have suspension of disbelief then go. If everything in movies have to adhere strictly to the rules of reality for you to enjoy, then avoid. If you like arthouse films go, if you need "boo!" style horror, then avoid. If you like storytelling that leaves a large chunk up to the imagination of the viewer then go, if you need everything thoroughly concrete and explained, then avoid.

    P.S. - Cabin In The Woods was great.
     
  8. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

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    Los Angeles
    It is NOTHING AT ALL like Blair Witch.
     
  9. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    I liked Cabin in the Woods a little more than It Follows. Blair Witch is a distant third.
     
  10. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    I'll meet the lovers of this film half way and say that it's well shot and well directed in an intentionally lo-fi style, with a good score and very good naturalistic performances. It's got texture and atmosphere for days, and I was certainly tense in quite a few passages, but I found the lack of internal logic difficult to get past. While the adult characters are mainly peripheral, presumably to create an insular bubble for the leads, I contend that the lack of any real police intervention defies credibility, even if you just go with the idea of keeping the adults at the edge of the frame. The way it turns inside-out the trope of teen sex in horror movies is its best "innovation," but I don't know that that's enough to make it really memorable. Maika Monroe is very good, however, and reminds me of a young Reese Witherspoon. I'd say it's worth seeing, just turn your expectations down a bit.
     
  11. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

    Location:
    NYC
    The hype, the movie or both?

    I was thinking the hype...
     
  12. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    The movie.

    The similarity I see is that Blair Witch had a lot of critical praise (87% on RT), but the general public mostly didn't get it (55% on RT). It Follows is a similar scenario but is rated higher (95% on RT, 67 % audience).

    Generally horror movies do not fare well with critics, so when a horror film comes out that gets widespread critical acclaim it usually gets peoples attention because it's such a rarity.

    I think it's obvious though that movie critics and horror movie fanatics are not on the same page generally.
     
  13. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

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    OK this is exactly one of my biggest issues with this film. And what makes it even worse is that the police presence is represented and is at one point a key element in the narrative. So if it were a chosen style point to keep adults out of the narrative then they failed miserably. They are in their just enough to make me wonder WTF are they doing. Of course another very big problem for me was that it never really got particularly scary for me. That is kind of an important part of a horror film. I also found the sound track to be heavy handed, cheesy and some what arbitrary to the point of being a reoccurring distraction. It constantly called attention to itself in a bad way and pulled me out of the film.

    It broke my first rule of film making. Don't be stupid. I really love it when genre movies are thoroughly thought out and every plot choice is given careful consideration for rationality and internal consistency within the scope of what realities for which the film makers are asking us to suspend our dis beliefs.
     
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  14. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA
    I hear the ost is really good though.
     
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  15. I used to really enjoy a good scary movie. Not so much a "slasher/gore" scary but rather a psychological, or plausible physical scary...things that could happen to regular people.
    However, in my relatively short life I have had experiences that basically caused me to no longer be "scared" by any "scary" movie that has come out in a long, long, time. I find myself thinking through the problem in the movie, and thus mentally evading the scare. I really don't know why this happens with scary movies. I can immerse myself in just about any kind of movie and take the movie for the ride it provides...except for scary movies. I wish, to a certain extent, that the events that led me to this state had not happened but then again they have also helped me arrive at the great position I am currently living. After going to a scary movie with friends (by the way, I'm a keep your mouth shut during the movie kind of guy as I don't want to bother others and possibly ruin their movie) I find myself thinking, "how could you possibly think THAT was scary". I try my best not to say that stuff out loud as I don't want to ruin their buzz/fun, but it is hard to have empathy towards the fear/scare and thus carry on a good conversation about the movie afterwards.
     
  16. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    I'm with you on both of these points, but for whatever reason I feel more favorable toward the film than you do. I would like it a hell of a lot more if they thought through the consequences of what they were doing in order to "pass along" the thing to other people, however. The guy at the beginning of the film is at least smart enough to have done that. I don't want to get into spoiler territory, even with the spoiler tag, but suffice to say the characters could have made smarter decisions.
     
  17. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    One of the things I really enjoyed about the movie was that it didn't over-explain everything. To me, horror works best when the audience is kept at least partially in the dark throughout. Nameless, faceless horrors where you don't understand the motivation of it/them I find far more ominous. I'm glad there was no "expert" that came in at some point to list off everything in great detail (usually this happens when you assume your audience aren't the sharpest tools in the shed). Keeping it vague, keeps it creepy.
     
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  18. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

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    And yet we had the classic exposition scene with the kids sitting around in a circle and being told the rules of it follows.....most of which they proceeded to ignore....
     
  19. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    Fabulous film. Loved it. Good horror films are rare these days and this one is great. This director appears to have some talent.

    Additionally, the soundtrack was superb. Without a doubt, I will looking for the soundtrack.
     
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  20. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    This film wasn't particularly supposed to be scary. It's more in tune with a film like Rosemary's Baby. The lack of adults in most of the film, the lack of police, and the anachronistic elements were wholly intentional. You either get it or you don't.
     
  21. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude

    It was a good movie, made my wife flench a few times. Go see it with your daughter, it's not too bloody.
    It has some good scares.:thumbsup:
     
  22. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude


    It was a good movie, made my wife flench a few times. Go see it with your daughter, it's not too bloody.
    It has some good scares.:thumbsup:
     
  23. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

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    The lack of police? The lack of adults? The movie had plenty of both. I see no connection to Rosemary's Baby. That was a creepy movie.
     
  24. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    *SPOILERS*

    Actually, no, it didn't. The police were shown in the beginning and a police car later in the film, making the police irrelevant to the story.

    There was nearly zero dialogue between adult characters and the kids other than the opening scene in the film, a schoolteacher, and when they visited her ex boyfriend, which consisted of the mom answering the door and asking them to come in. 99% of screentime was kids. Or the kids being stalked by the monster.

    This film borrowed quite a lot from past films, including the pool scene from Cat People, 1942:



    I think that talking about plausibility is often a poor method to criticize film, especially for horror films about supernatural entities. I saw the kids actions and the way the story unfolded as highly plausible. They were given vague instructions on what this thing would do so she slept with the neighbor and three men on a boat. Didn't work so they tried another method (the foreshadowed pool scene).

    Probably the most disturbing part of the film may have been when she decided to have sex with the men on the boat. This is pyschological horror completely in tune with a film like Rosemary's Baby.
     
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  25. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Why didn't it work with the men on the float, btw? Assuming it happened, of course. (It wasn't shown.)
     
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