Rarely do small-town, Illinoisans have the treat of viewing an indie movie in theaters. When there are only big chain cinemas in town, the selection of movies tends to be mainstream. Yet, sometimes a nice surprise seeps into both the film world and your local theater.

“It Follows” (Rated R; 100 min), directed by David Robert Mitchell, blindsides even the most experienced moviegoer with its tense, bone-chilling atmosphere.

{{tncms-asset app=”editorial” id=”c9e0dad0-d895-11e4-8999-53c455ce97e7″}}

Advertisement

It does not think, feel or give up. These are three rules Jay Height, played by Maika Monroe, must remember if she wants to survive. Height is inflicted with a curse after having sex with her boyfriend. A creature, only visible to her, will follow her until she passes the curse on to someone else.

Height decides to go on the run, accompanied by her sister, played by Lili Sepe, and her friends, played by Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto and Olivia Luccardi. Skeptical of the creature’s existence at first, the group soon learns it stops at nothing to reach Height. 

“It Follows” is one of many amazing independent horror movies. Films like “The Babadook,” “The House of the Devil” and “The Bay” are saving the entire genre from extinction, using the influences of masters like John Carpenter to guide them.

This movie’s greatest asset is its ability to reach back to a former generation’s example of horror.

Not to sound like an old man yelling at kids form his porch, but today’s generation of mainstream horror fans know too much about the monster faced by a flick’s heroes in movies cheapened by an over-saturation of jump scares. 

Mitchell creates a world so close to one Carpenter would build, just with a more modern flair.

Both their horror techniques never come from actually seeing the monster coming at you, but more in the psychological idea the creature represents. The inevitable doom lingers over a character, which audiences find oddly relatable.

Advertisement*

There is not much known about the creature, not even a name given to it. This ambiguity works well in this, and in all horror.

Not knowing something is one of the scariest things in the world. Humans desire to know everything about a situation, fearing the dangers of the unknown. Not only does no one know anything about the creature in “It Follows,” but it is hard to even see it when it is around.

It appears as any human, can change appearance and is only visible to said victim. The main characters never relax, thus making sure the audience experiences the same struggle. The movie’s relentless qualities push the tension of each scene to hard-to-sit-through levels.

Another Carpenter quality  is the synthesized soundtrack, scored by a musician named Disasterpeace, which adds another level of eeriness to a film already full of sinister goodness.

In particular, his track “Heels,” which is used in every chase scene, puts a feeling of alarm over you. It sounds like a tornado warning, foreshadowing destruction.

One problem remains for the film’s entire 100 minutes. The more ambiguity in a horror movie, the better.  But too much ambiguity in any movie leaves the audience distracted by simple, unimportant aspects. 

The movie gets so low-key with its information, it is hard to understand the relationships of several characters.

Jay and Kelly Height are obviously sisters, but where other characters lie is not as clear.

A female character stays at the Height home for the entire movie, sleeping in the same bed as Jay and Kelly at times. But never does it state where she lies in the family dynamic. Small things like this add up, making the movie confusing in general.

The “It Follows” journey is still a fantastic movie experience, and is only a few steps away from putting the audience right there in the film. It makes you constantly peer around, worried you too are being followed.

Stars: 4 out of 5.