Film: It Follows

Oh, I'd missed going to films.. as I realised at the film talk last Tuesday. So I was delighted to get to a film tonight - so was my foot, which is getting better, mind. Anyway, when I did out the list of currently showing films, ranked in order of their IMDB rating, the two at the top of the list didn't really appeal. Marvellously, that left It Follows. This horror film has got great reviews, and started unusually high in the ratings for a horror film. And then it went up! So that made it a must-see.

It's only still showing in three cinemas in town, and the nearest to me is the Odeon Panton Street, where it was showing at 8:50. So I had time to eat at home.. and still ended up rushing, of course! And at the last minute, I remembered I'd forgotten the way to the cinema, except that I had to go to Piccadilly Circus.. so I snatched a look at Streetview, reminded myself that the road I had to go down was beside the fountain (but forgot to look up the name of the road), and scurried off.

The spookiness started early - as I made my way towards the station, I could've sworn I saw a train approaching. So I made a run for it, expecting the train to be pulling in as I swiped through the barrier. Except, when I got to within sight of the tracks.. no train at all! Anywhere. Hmm. Anyway, one was due in 1 minute. And when I changed at Earl's Court, a train had just pulled in as I arrived on the platform. The only delay was the stop of over a minute further down the line - it had to happen somewhere. I knew I'd be tight on time.

As I finally panted my way to the cinema and asked for a ticket, she remarked that it was just about to start. Interestingly, the website had advertised it as showing in Screen 1, but it turned out to be in Screen 4. And after I finally climbed all the stairs to it, praying all the time that I wouldn't miss the start - I hate that - it turned out that the trailers were still showing. I walked in on one for the new Poltergeist - hadn't known that was happening! Then there was one for a new horror film about Skype or similar, called Unfriended. And then the feature started.

The plot of It Follows isn't unfamiliar - a teenage girl has sex, and catches something unexpected: a bad case of demonic possession. Apparently, the demon can take any human form it pleases, and once you have it, it'll come after you - until either it kills you, or you have sex with someone else to pass it on. There's a catch - when it manages to kill the last person in the chain, it starts working its way back to the start. So, for instance, if everyone you have sex with gets killed before having sex again, or they and everyone they do have sex with gets killed.. well hello, it comes for you again.

First thing I noticed about the film was the soundtrack -very full-on, very Hallowe'en. But I soon discovered that wasn't typical of the whole film. In fact, the only generalisation you can make about the film is something I didn't figure out until I got home. The horror genre is full of clichés - and this film uses none of them. And I mean none.

There are scenes where scary music means something is about to happen. There are scenes where scary music is a red herring. There are quiet scenes where absolutely nothing happens. There are quiet scenes that descend into horror. The demon generally appears as a normal person. Except when it doesn't. The genius of the film is to make you scared of the everyday, so that you take nothing for granted. Which means that you are suspicious of every scene, you're always on edge.. and it's relentless.

Even the ending was just so odd, the handful of us at the screening laughed. But I had the jitters all the way home. It's brilliant, and highly recommended - to those with strong nerves.

Tomorrow is looking like another film, specifically The Forecaster - a documentary about a guy who works out the markets mathematically, and fell foul of the US government. The film is banned in the States, interestingly.. and only showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury, which was the Renoir, last time I was there. I see they have a dedicated documentary screen now, which is where this is showing - and they have discounted rates for that screen. Cool!