Ollie Charles, formerly of this publication and now, champion of cinema culture, waxed lyrical about the brilliant IT FOLLOWS for his review some 7 years hence.
I covered this for a different publication and loved its interlacing of horror cinema mythology ( Ollie over egged the piece by saying it ‘takes all expectations, all boundaries, all generic conventions and does away with them.’) with that very real brilliance of both science fiction and horror genres, social commentary. David Robert Mitchell wanted to resurrect the idea that frightens the many is personal horrors. The body politic and its inescapable.
This is the pitch. Young and happy Jay (Maika Monroe) is at home. She hangs with family, her boyfriend. Lives in real life and in reel life (note CHARADE playing at the cinema). Her boyfriend and her have sex and then he knocks her out with chloroform. When she comes to, a naked woman lumbering toward her, seen apparently by only her and him, sets a course for horror. Her boyfriend explains that she needs to have sex with someone else and quickly. This lumbering beast is ‘it’, the following monster that if it catches up with you, will kill you. Then after dealing with him, it will go back after him.
So far, so absurd you think? Mitchell layers the film with a sense of unease. Sprinkling cinema master work homages and a tone that is part art museum and part war for the self. The Second Sight edition of the vanilla original release, ups the ante on the quality (we saw the BLU RAY) which is 1080p but from a 4K master. Making the cinematography of Mike Gioulakis (infused as it is with pop art and renaissance elements) magnetic. Joshua Grimm literally wrote the book on the film and details it all, in some ways a little heavily. Joseph Wallace video essay is a work of perfection. The essays are vital to a developing conversation and all in all, this is a masterly release.
Special Features
- Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
- Second Sight Films 4K master produced in conjunction with the original post production facility
- Approved by Director David Robert Mitchell
- UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
- New Dolby Atmos audio track produced by Second Sight Films
- New audio commentary by Joshua Grimm
- Audio commentary by Danny Leigh and Mark Jancovich
- Chasing Ghosts: a new interview with Actor Keir Gilchrist
- Following: a new interview with Actor Olivia Luccardi
- It’s in the House: an interview with Producer David Kaplan
- Composing a Masterpiece: an interview with Composer Rich Vreeland
- A Girl’s World: an interview with Production Designer Michael Perry
- It Follows – The Architecture of Loneliness: a video essay by Joseph Wallace
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thinh Dinh
- 150 page hardback book with new essays by Anne Billson, Martyn Conterio, Kat Ellinger, Eugenio Ercolani, Matt Glasby, Kat Hughes, Jennie Kermode and Katie Rife
- 6 collectors’ art cards
