directed by David Robert Mitchell
I’ve heard this line several times from people: “If I don’t like the first 5-10 minutes of a film, I turn it off”. I kind of understand because I wasted a lot of time on bad productions, but, on the other hand, I still try to see a story from the beginning till the end to consciously say “yep, it’s horrible”. When it comes to this film… I tried watching it twice. For the first time I managed to see about 15-20 minutes and I had to stop because of some reason, something distracted me. I didn’t feel like coming back to it because those 15-20 minutes weren’t that engaging, so after months I played it again. To waste even more time? Not at all. I checked its ratings and I was surprised that people either say it’s a mistake, or that it’s an underrated masterpiece. So, let’s discuss it, shall we? We start with a weird situation which you have to see yourselves, so I’m not spoiling it. Then we meet the main character – Jay (Maika Monroe), a university student that is about to have a date with her new boyfriend. During the date, the man is acting strange, which makes Jay ask questions, but she lets it go as an attractive guy can be a perfect distraction. Especially if that attractive guy shows a lot of interest and right on the next date those two are having sex in a car. Sounds like good old times? Well, not really. At least I hope you never had a chance to be incapacitated and tied to a wheelchair to wake up like this in an abandoned factory. Creepy suff begins… Jay is told that her boyfriend slept with her just to get rid of some curse. Now, Jay is the one struggling with it. And it follows… (see what I did there?). What IT is is for you to see (or not). And now, why the hell are people so confused about this film? I can understand. Because if you watch it with friends on a film night, then you all might be disappointed. There aren’t any exciting jumpscares, not that many occasions to scream and hide under a blanket. But if you like Ari Aster films (for example “Midsommar”, “Hereditary”), you should enjoy “It follows” as well. Visually this production isn’t breathtaking (except some interesting shots – for example in the factory, loved how the camera followed Jay in the wheelchair), but the story is a real well of interpretations. And here come *SPOILERS*. So, first we need to answer what this whole curse is? At the beginning I thought it’s quite tacky that you can pass it on by having sex with another person. But the longer I was watching the film, the more it made sense to me. Based on some ideas from other viewers, I have created my own interpretation – this “curse” is sexual trauma. As people, we’ve become more open-minded about discussing sexual preferences and experiences, but what about the things that we don’t talk about? Sex is a very enigmatic activity, even if in our times you can see it basically everywhere without feeling ashamed. At least not as much as, let’s say, 50 years ago. Now, here’s a little test from me – think of every sex partner of yours and now individually think of the sex partners of each of them. You might not know who they’d slept with before, you might not know what they had been through before passing this sexual energy onto you. Maybe I’m overthinking, but that’s an interpretation that speaks to me. Besides, one reviewer said that this film is also about how artificial relations in our times are. Instead of being affectionate and loving someone for real, we just pass on this “curse” of empty feelings. And that’s the kind of films I appreciate the most. Each of you may see something different and the story leaves several questions unanswered. The director hasn’t made that many films, but I really wish to see next works because there’s a big potential hiding there.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 