Thoughts on “It Follows”

I just saw “It Follows” with some friends. I was intrigued when I heard about it via NPR. They mentioned that the director used wide open spaces to instill paranoia instead of the usual closed, tight spaces. I was also curious how the main character would handle her situation of being followed by “it.” She can either pass “it” along to someone else, or keep running from it until it kills her.

For those who haven’t seen the film, this post won’t make much sense. While watching the movie, I was trying to figure out the rules that the being had to follow, doing my best to understand its methods for capturing its victims. Spoilers will be numerous. Here are some of the thoughts and questions that crossed my mind while trying to figure this thing out:

The thing just walks toward its victim no matter where they are. It did seem to take different paces depending on who it looked like, but it did just walk.Theoretically, you could just drive to a different city every day (map your route carefully) and never have to worry about it catching up. I would assume that it would try to take the shortest path possible as it would always hone in on you specifically. I’m not saying this would be a fun or financially sustainable option, but if you timed things right and could think of a way to earn money while on the move daily, this would keep you alive and save anyone else from suffering the same fate. Who knows? Maybe Google Maps could give you estimates on your time frame.

The thing can look like someone you know or it could be a stranger in a crowd, whatever helps it get close to you. If it’s trying to get close to you, why is it (almost) always naked or just in underwear? Has it not figured out how to blend in? If it can look like someone you know, is it telepathic? Does it study your family photos? What was the deal with the form it took in her kitchen – disheveled and urinating on the floor as it walked? Does it get bored and mess with its victims sometimes?

If you want to get rid of the thing, have sex with someone and it will follow them. If it catches up to its victim, it kills and rapes them. Is it a succubus/incubus? Can homosexuals pass it on to each other?

I couldn’t tell which decade we were in. One chick has an e-reader, and another had a cell phone, but Jay has a corded phone in her room. The 80’s called and wants credit for the score, the 70’s wants credit for the cars, and I’m sure the 90’s wants credit for Jay’s dress and underwear. This has nothing to do with “the thing.” These thoughts just crossed my mind. I did actually like some of the score. Anyway…

It breaks a window to get into Jay’s house, beats down a door into a shack, throws Paul backward when he hits it with a chair, and can throw objects. It is a physical being. Could it be lured into a secure chamber and locked inside? Either its current victim could be sacrificed, or the chamber could have two doors so that the victim could run out and then both doors could be shut on the thing and locked up tight. With a sign saying “Never Open.” But then, we’d get the sequel, “It Follows Again” or something where people find the chamber, don’t believe the warning and open it, only to see an empty box. (Note: Unless you’ve been infected, you can’t see the thing) What if the thing was locked up long enough that everyone who had been infected passed away? Would it stalk a random not-virgin?

Finally, the kids go to an indoor swimming pool and Jay gets in the pool. Her friends line the pool edge with various electronic devices – hair dryer, television, clothes iron, etc. Were they hoping to electrocute it? How would they ensure Jay would get out in time. When the being gets there, it stands at the edge of the pool and starts throwing the devices at her. When Paul manages to shoot it in the head, it falls into the pool and swims after Jay. Why didn’t it follow her into the pool in the first place? Did it not know it could swim? Did it observe the trap that was set? Paul is able to shoot it in the head again (miraculously), Jay climbs out of the pool and looks for it in the water, but just sees a cloud of blood. End scene. Did it just take a while to recover? We know it’s not dead by the next scene. The film ends with Jay and Paul being followed by someone.

There’s my two cents!

~ by Bethany C. on April 24, 2015.