In fact, we barely see it at all, until the end when its blurry and not the focal point of the shot. Paul shoots it again in the head and it sinks to the bottom, allowing Jay to escape. Therefore, Jay refusing to tell her sister Kelly who the entity resembles is a subtle hint that the man that It looks like is someone the girls know. Inside the house, Jay sees a disheveled, urinating, half-naked woman walking toward her and runs upstairs to the others, who cannot see the entity. Jay, Kelly (Lilie Sepe), Paul (Keir Gilchrist), and Yara (Olivia Luccardi) break into an indoor public pool after hours. Screaming, Jay fumbles her way upstairs and locks herself in her room. In an interviewwith Yahoo, Mitchell says, "People ask me where the shell phone is, or if they can get one, more than almost anything. But what follows? All the TVs are either clunky CRT units from the 1980s-1990s or even older models with rabbit-ears and dials. By passing it along and abusing someone else. Not a single cordless phone in sight. Why cant I have? Not only that, but it reveals another layer of the movie's metaphorical stalker. He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. I don't, however, believe that The Follower's form when it killed Greg was simply out of convenience. stunt utility . Initially skeptical of the curse, the boy seemingly never sees the entity following him until it is too late and it is atop him. Same man, basically same age, but shes a child. It received acclaim from critics; praise was directed at the films originality and Monroes performance. Greg Hannigan is a Recurring Character in The Film It Follows, He is a 19 Year Old College Student. [8], Mitchell started writing the film in 2011 while working on a separate film he intended to be his second feature film; however, Mitchell struggled with this would-be second feature and made It Follows as his next film instead. Sorry to break it to you, but there's definitively, purposefully no answer to these questions. It's more often presented with a knowing wink in the context of a satiric horror comedies like Scream or The Cabin in the Woods. "[8], The film was shot in late 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. This hints that Jay and Kellys father, who remains unseen throughout the film, likely died (or disappeared) many years ago, which is why the entity takes on the appearance of what he looked like when the girls were still children. Whatever the reason the It Follows monster chooses a particular form to take, the result always has one thing in common; being terrifying. The Follower may also represent the anxiety of STDs, adulthood, the fear of poverty (Yara has an important monologue about Detroit)I've read a slew of interpretations, few of which completely miss the mark. Greg doesn't realize it's not his mom, opens the door, and gets murdered in what's easily It Follows' most disturbing death scene. Once in the poolhouse, Jay enters the pool while the rest place a variety of electrical appliances around its edge. However, with It Follows, you have to get a little more creative if you want to know more. This time the woman is topless but also looks to have been brutally beaten, even to the point of missing teeth and she also urinates on the floor. Jay, waiting in the pool, spots the entity and realizes it has taken the appearance of her deceased father. The hell? Is the monster the IT the scariest part of the movie? Categories. They try to calm Jay's nerves when there's a knock at the door. In that time, Michael has written over 2000 articles for the site, first working solely as a news writer, then later as a senior writer and associate news editor. But not only this: it's the shame that follows you for the rest of your life, that shame reminding you that death is always around the corner, closer, closer. [36] Quinn has expressed the idea of flipping the concept of the first film around, with Jay or another protagonist going down the chain to find the origin of "it."[37]. It's then that we enter into the film's thrilling and terrifying climax. Later, when we see things from Jay's perspective, the entity appears to be manifesting as a character we've never seen before: a middle-aged man with a beard. As Neil Gaiman once said, "If someone tells you what a story is about, they are probably right. With the help of their neighbor, Greg Hannigan, the group discovers Hugh's real name Jeff Redmond and traces him to his address. Hes been dead for years, which is why the girls seem more complacent and put-together theyve learned to cope but their grieving mother is still despondent, self-medicating with alcohol. Sure, it was shot in the head, but we don't know whether or not that's enough, and since the director isn't giving us answers, we have to figure this out ourselves by looking at the film's themes. It kicks in again as an almost unnaturally tall figure emerges from the dark behind Yara. Menu. The Naked Climber This next form taken by the entity in It Follows is another that's extremely naked. Try watching it through again; its an entirely different experience once you know what youre looking for. After "Yara" arrives and proceeds to attack Jay, she and her gang run for refuge inside a hut. It's simply unfortunate that Greg was cornered when The Follower was in the guise of his mother. Jay, Paul, Kelly, and Yara then come up with a plan to try and stop the entity and head to the community pool. However, when Paul volunteers to let Jay pass the curse on to him, she eventually agrees, and the two have sex. Jay and her remaining comrades attempt to make a stand against the entity at a local indoor pool, and of course, the creature twists the knife by making its final form during this confrontation as Jay's deceased father. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Her inciting consensual experience was savagely undone by Hugh's chloroforming and binding of her before she could even dress. https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/deadmeatDnDnD (D\u0026D podcast James and Chelsea are in) https://open.spotify.com/show/3fonY7n07M7eCfTGukfw0a?si=5EHRJwKoTBq92NorQ4Eyyw\u0026dl_branch=1Dead Meat on Social Media:Twitter https://twitter.com/deadmeatjamesInstagram https://www.instagram.com/deadmeatjames/Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@deadmeatjamesFacebook https://www.facebook.com/deadmeatjamesReddit https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmeatjames/James A. Janisse on Social Media:Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesAJanisseInstagram https://www.instagram.com/jamesajanisse/Practical Folks (James's other channel):https://www.youtube.com/practicalfolksMUSIC! Though it is left unclear whether Paul passes on the curse, in the end, it is irrelevant because we see the entity following him and Jay in the films closing scene. For what it's worth, the star actress is already on board. Assume Annie, the first victim (Bailey Spry), does drive far enough away, but it still kills her. The next day, the police cannot find the naked woman or Hugh, who was living under a false identity. The Brady Bunch (1969) - S04E02 Family 2.1s Oh, oh, Greg, Greg, sweetheart. Unfortunately, none of them have been able to grasp the essence of the story, but I think this one does. The movie was a great commercial and critical hit. Alone, Jay cautiously makes her way to the kitchen to see the damage for herself. Other horror movies make an impression. From the moment Jay's neighbor Greg began offering her help, it was clear he was attracted to her. With no It Follows sequel seemingly on the horizon, that mysteryis likely to stay unsolved, but as some other instances of horror movies filling in monster backstories prove, sometimes the mystery is the better option. Height. It's the precise type of scene that would otherwise allow the viewer a moment to soothe their rapid pulse. For example, the young woman in the beginning is running from IT in heels. "[24], David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Creepy, suspenseful and sustained, this skillfully made lo-fi horror movie plays knowingly with genre tropes and yet never winks at the audience, giving it a refreshing face-value earnestness that makes it all the more gripping. Hes obviously absent from the house. Hugh points out a young girl in the back of the theater. Did you notice that we never see Jays mothers face in full focus? The camera slows down, and all music fades, save for the drumming beat, as Jay walks into the kitchen. Paul starts shooting at where he thinks the entity is, but he ends up hitting Yara in the leg. A common criticism of It Follows is that the monster isn't particularly threatening, relative to other horror movie baddies. In his defense, there's clearly much more on this film's mind, thematically speaking, than just sex. While playing a game of spotting strangers, Hugh notices a woman in a yellow dress that Jay cannot see. Then again, it's tough to argue with the facts. "[6] On review aggregator website Metacritic, the film has an average rating of 83 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". "[7] The role that sexual transmission plays came later, from Mitchell's desire for something that could transfer between people. Paul reports a smashed window in the kitchen, then heads upstairs to wake Jay's sister. The film never lays down definitive rules for how the creature works, so if you want to poke holes, it's defenseless. The murderous, seemingly unstoppable entity, simply called It, remains as mysterious as ever, and its origin is never revealed. She then undresses and walks into the water, though it is unclear if she does anything with them. Because subconsciously, your brain is picking up on these things but you dont know it. For most of the film, Jay is directly targeted by It until Greg, skeptical of the danger, has sex with her. The Follower is a punishment for that fabled, suburban image of sex, and that fear that, after sex, there's nothing left but death at your heels. [3], It Follows received critical acclaim. [6] It grossed $23.3 million worldwide against a $1.3 million budget. visual effects supervisor (uncredited) Stunts . Of course,it keeps pursuing her relentlessly, making It Followsfeel like The Terminator in that respect. 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