It Follows, directed by David Roger Mitchell, was released in theaters in 2014. The film depicted the narrative of a young adolescent who is stalked by strange-looking humans who follow her around aimlessly. This monster, unfortunately for her and her pals, is far more sinister than anyone could have predicted. The curse she acquires as a result of sexual activity follows her about, refusing to let go until the recipient is dead. Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Jake Weary, and Olivia Luccardi star in It Follows.
Because of its unique take on the hazards of unprotected sex and its use of the horror genre to highlight it, the film has earned excellent reviews from both fans and critics. As an analogy for STDs, which are getting more prevalent by the day, especially now that individuals, particularly young teenagers, are beginning to explore their sexuality with greater openness and less protection. It Follows has a solid 95 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, while IMDb gives it a positive 6.8.
Story Of IT Explored in Detail
The film opens with a young girl who seems to be running for her life from something. The girl runs out of her home onto the road and as neighbors question, if she is okay, she gets in her car to drive away, looking frightened. She finally stops at a beach where she speaks to her father on call, apologizing as if she was saying goodbye. The next morning, the girl is found lying dead where she sat the previous night, and her body is brutally mangled, setting the tone of fear right from the start of the movie. The film then goes on to show Jaime, who is the protagonist as she gets ready to go on a date with a boy named Hugh. In a classic early 2000s manner, Jaime’s friends veg out on her couch, watching black and white horror films, furthering the unique atmosphere of the movie.
Jaime and Hugh’s date starts out as sweet but soon turns strange as Hugh starts acting shady right after he realises he has been seeing people that Jaime cannot. When the two find a quiet spot after dinner, they get intimate in the back of Hugh’s car which leads to them having sex. However, Hugh then drugs Jaime till she is unconscious and when she wakes up, she finds that he has her tied to a wheelchair in which he pushes her around while telling her what he has done.
He explains to Jaime that now that he has had sex with her, he has successfully passed on the “curse” to her and whatever was chasing him and wanting him dead for so long will now be after Jaime. If It succeeds at killing one victim, it starts to follow the one before until all those that have ever been affected by the curse are dead. He also explains to her that It can appear as anyone they know or maybe even a stranger, but it will only be visible to those that have been affected by the curse and those that are currently being followed by it to be killed.
After dropping her back home and rushing off, Hugh is nowhere to be found for days. Although Jaime’s parents contact the police to get some help, it does not prove fruitful. After days of not leaving her room as she was rightfully disturbed, Jaime goes back to school only to realize that everything Hugh told her may not be a psychotic episode and might have some truth to it.
An old lady walks towards her without stopping as Jaime tries to run away and none of her classmates can make sense of what is happening. Later that day, she informs her friends and her sister of the occurrence and they decide to look after her. However, Jaime is quick to realize that she isn’t safe anywhere or around anyone as It will follow her no matter where she is and not shy away from attacking her in front of other people.
As Jaime runs out of her home screaming and crying after she sees It following her to her room, her friends and her neighbor Greg find her in a park and try to console her. Not wanting to go back home just yet, the group drives to where Hugh had said his house was. Seeing as how the police’s attempts to track him down had proved futile so far, they take it upon themselves to do a little digging.
They find his house to be almost completely devoid of any furniture and the windows sealed up with newspapers as if trying to avoid anyone from looking in. Among Hugh’s things, they find a picture of him in high school which they then use to track him down. Throughout the film, we see one of the characters named Paul pining after Jaime. Although he is her sister’s friend, it is clear that he has had feelings for Jaime for a long time and is used to getting his heartbroken as she often goes off riding into sunsets with guys that don’t treat her well. The very first date she goes on in the film is a colossal disaster which proves the same.
At Hugh’s school, the group finds that his real name is Jeff and they visit his actual house to get some answers too. Looking like he has almost completely lost his mind because of all the people he keeps seeing that no one else can, Jeff tells Jaime that because It can only walk slowly, it is easy to outrun it and buy herself some time but seeing as how the curse walks non-stop and keeps following the victim, it is important that she always keep running and pass it on to the next person by having sex with them. Jaime seems to understand Jeff much better than she did the first time as she is now experiencing all of this first-hand and Paul, because of his love for Jaime, believes it too. However, Greg does not believe a single word that he has heard and claims that Jeff is saying these things because of some twisted mind game he is trying to play.
The film then goes on to show Greg and Jaime becoming closer as he teaches her how to use a gun in order to feel safer. When the group is hanging out by the beach, It arrives once again, and this time from behind Jaime. She does not realize how close it has come until she feels the hair on her head being grabbed and to the rest of the group’s horror, they see her hair moving too. It then becomes clear that although only those affected can see It, others around can feel its touch and hence harm it physically too. Paul slams his chair against whatever is pulling on Jaime’s hair despite not being able to see it and it seems to work as it gives them enough time to run and lock themselves up in a tiny shack. It is able to break open the door and convince everyone once and for all that everything outrageous they have heard so far is actually the truth.
When Jaime tries to get away in Greg’s car, she meets with an accident which lands her in the hospital. Later that night, she and Greg have sex and she seems relieved hoping that the curse has been passed on. A couple of days later, Jaime notices It arriving at Greg’s house, and in order to save him from being killed, she runs over to his place. Unfortunately for her, it is too late and Greg is already killed. Knowing that It will once again start following her, Jaime gets in her car and drives away, crying. Jaime decides that it is time to put It away once and for all and makes a plan to do the same with her friends.
The group gets together at a public swimming pool which they surround with electronics that they will drown to electrocute when it follows Jaime into the water. In yet another twist of events, It turns out to be much smarter than any of them anticipated and throws the appliances into the water so that Jaime would be electrocuted or forced to come out. Her friends quickly unplug them and when It dives into the water to catch hold of Jaime, they are able to shoot it and Jaime watches its blood spread in the water. Convinced that the curse is now over, Jaime and Paul finally make love to each other and the film ends with the two of them walking down the street hand in hand, as a figure is seen following them.
STD Curse Creature of IT Follows Explored
The curse that was following those that were affected throughout the film was only ever referred to as the “Entity” or “It”. Nothing is known about its origin, only how it spreads and pursues those it wants to kill at a bizarre walking pace. Although it appears like humans, there is something lifeless about it, like a zombie that does not get fazed by anything in its way, be it another person or a bullet to the head. It is not clear why It chooses to appear in different forms even though only the affected can see it and the filmmakers use this as a great sense of ambiguous fear. Any person that is seen walking towards the cursed could be the Entity whether or not the cursed notice it coming their way. This leaves the audience, especially on the edge of their seats.
It is clear that the Entity never runs low on stamina as it does not sleep or stop walking at any given point. It continues to walk towards and stalk its victims and on more than one occasion has displayed an unnatural amount of strength like when it caused the wooden door to the beach shack to break open, or when it threw Paul meters away from where he was standing. The film’s director revealed that the Entity can go wherever the cursed can and knows how to get back at them in case they try to cheat their way out of the curse.
Even though it appears mindless, it is far from it. It becomes clear from the swimming pool scene that the Entity has the ability to navigate its way through any and all obstacles in order to get to its victim and does not fear confrontation with others who cannot see it. The ending of the film never fully reveals if the Entity has ceased to be a problem for Jaime and Paul but seeing as how Paul slept with a few prostitutes after having sex with Jaime, it can be assumed that the curse has been passed on to enough people and they might still be able to see the Entity, but it is no longer after either of them.
Burning Questions Fans Have About the Entity
Why It takes up different forms throughout the film-
Many fans have had their fair share to say about this and two of the most likely theories are that It appears as the previous victims of the curse or that it appears as what one’s subconscious would allow them to see. In the case of the former, the lifeless and often naked bodies make sense as the Entity is technically an STD that is passed on from one person to another. It only makes sense that it would appear as those victims whose life it has already claimed in a brutal manner.
However, many fans also firmly stick by the theory that the victims of the Entity see it how their minds allow them to. Jaime has had a recently disturbing encounter on a date that involved sex could be seeing It as the naked women that often look like they have been crying or have peed themselves in fear of something. Meanwhile, Jeff sees It as a girl in a yellow dress which could be indicative of his personality as someone who is often quite the ladies’ man.
Where and when is the film set?
The film’s aesthetics make it very confusing to understand what year or place it is taking place in. The only clue we get about the location is one of Jaime’s friends mentioning 8 Mile Road which is located in Detroit. But not much can be made out about the year. We see Jaime using a landline phone and the color scheme makes it seem like the 80s, but her friend uses a touch screen device for her reading which is proof that it cannot be that long ago. The film has quite the indie vibe to it and Jaime’s character is supposed to be the “different” girl hence we see her with all the “cool’ things such as a retro TV in her room, a group of friends that like to watch silent horror films and a backyard makeshift pool.
There is also no sign of any adults throughout the film with the exception of Jaime’s mother comforting her towards the end. This type of fantasy world may have been acceptable in films from long ago, but today, people like to watch realistic things portrayed on screen, and the too good to be a true scenario of the friends practically living with each other and drinking on their porch is a little far too removed from reality.
Were they finally able to stop the Entity?
The director has pretty much confirmed that the Entity is not dead as it is probably impossible to kill it. But if we were to judge by the film’s face value, the answer seems quite ambiguous. Some believe that Jaime and Paul decide to share their misery by only sleeping with each other and passing the curse back and forth. This could mean that they are stuck in a relationship which can be seen towards the end as they walk hand in hand but still look beaten down.
Many also believe that the prostitutes that seemed to show interest in Paul might have taken the curse from him after he slept with them. Seeing how they might have sex with many people on a daily basis, the curse can be passed down to a long line of victims, and even if It managed to kill a few of them, it would be a long time before it comes back into Jaime and Paul’s lives to haunt them again.