It Follows

The year is uncertain, the Detroit suburbs are eerily quiet, and a teenage girl named Jay Height goes on a date with a boy named Hugh. After they have sex in the back of his car, Hugh chloroforms her, ties her to a wheelchair, and explains that he has passed something to her: a shapeshifting entity that will walk toward her, slowly but relentlessly, until it kills her. The only way to shift the curse is to sleep with someone else. This is the setup of David Robert Mitchell's It Follows, a horror film that dispenses with jump scares in favor of a sustained, atmospheric dread.

Mitchell, working with cinematographer Mike Gioulakis, films the story in wide, patient shots that let the viewer scan the background for signs of the approaching figure. The score, composed by Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland), pulses with synthesizer tones that recall John Carpenter's work, adding to the retro-future unease. Maika Monroe's performance as Jay anchors the film in a recognizable vulnerability, making the supernatural premise feel grounded. Made for $1.3 million, the picture grossed over $23 million worldwide and became a touchstone for independent horror in the 2010s.

The film's setting, shot in and around Detroit, contributes to its sense of decay and isolation. Abandoned houses, empty streets, and a general lack of adult presence create a world where teenagers are left to fend for themselves against a threat that is both literal and metaphorical. Mitchell has said the idea came from a recurring nightmare he had as a child, and the film retains that dreamlike, inescapable quality. [edit]

Jay Height lives with her younger sister Kelly and their mother in a quiet Detroit suburb. She spends time with her friends Paul, Yara, and Greg, swimming in pools, playing board games, and talking about the future. On a date with a boy named Hugh, the evening takes a strange turn when Hugh panics at the sight of a woman in a yellow dress walking toward them. Later, after they have sex, Hugh drugs Jay and explains the curse: he has passed to her a supernatural entity that will follow her until it catches and kills her. She can pass it on by sleeping with someone else, but if the entity kills that person, it will come back for her.

At first Jay dismisses the story as a sick joke, but soon she begins seeing the entity. It appears as different people, often people she knows, walking slowly toward her with a fixed, deliberate gait. She tries to get away by driving, but the entity is always there, appearing from around corners or behind doors. Her friends, initially skeptical, become convinced when they witness the entity themselves. Paul, who has long harbored feelings for Jay, suggests she pass the curse to him, but Jay refuses, hoping to find another way.

Jay's friend Yara researches the phenomenon but finds no clear rules. Greg, a neighbor, offers to take the curse from Jay by sleeping with her, and she agrees. But Greg is soon killed by the entity, which appears as his mother. The curse returns to Jay. Now desperate, Jay, Paul, Yara, and Kelly decide to confront the entity directly. They try to lure it into a trap, using a swimming pool and electrical wires, but the plan fails. The entity, now appearing as a tall man, almost catches them. In the end, Jay and Paul, having slept together, walk through a park. A figure follows them in the distance, but the film ends before it reaches them, leaving their fate uncertain.[edit]