Is It Follows actually a bad movie? (Spoilers)

[awesomeClaw]

So, I just watched It Follows and...wow.

It's been a long time since I disliked a movie this much. Everything about it rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn't scary, the characters were unlikeable, the plotholes were absolutely massive and it was just plain boring.

But when I went online and checked rotten tomatoes, I saw it had a chockingly high rating of 96%(!). Now I feel I must ventilate myself.

There are a couple of big problems IMO, but the thing that bothered me during the whole movie is this:

It follows you anywhere, I get that. At first I thought it had teleportation-powers or something, but it is later revealed that it doesn't. And that right there immediately kills the whole movie for me. Why, in the name of god, doesn't Jay just book the next flight to Thailand? The only thing It has at its disposal is walking - so it'll have to walk across the entire Pacific just to get another shot at killing her.

Considering it only walks at a modest pace, that'll likely take It a while. Using some simple math, it will be relatively simple to estimate the time it will take It to cross the Pacific. To be safe - a month before the times expires, you simply fly back to the US again. While you're in Thailand, you can pass it on to someone just to make sure It will have to walk the entire Pacific again.

The problem with the entire plot is that It lacks the tools to destroy this set-up.

Another thing is that It acts inconsistently. During the swimming-hall scene, it suddenly starts throwing objects at Jay. If it could just kill her from a distance to start with, why not just take a pistol and sneak up on her? "It's slow, but not dumb", remember?

This movie and the praise it has received frustrates me, because I really cannot see it.

Perhaps someone who likes it can explain to me what I have missed? Because I do like the premise, I really do. But the execution is just bad.

What did you think of It Follows?

 

[Asita]

Obligatory: Take it away Geico:

Spoiler

More seriously, not necessarily an option (they don't necessarily have the means) and certainly not a smart one. While "It" largely stuck to walking, there's no reason that it couldn't get on a bus, a train, a boat, or a plane. The director actually explicitly pointed that out in an AMA on Reddit. Ironically enough, that means that going international to escape "It" might actually make it more dangerous because it becomes harder to calculate its rate of approach.

 

[HardkorSB]

It follows you anywhere, I get that. At first I thought it had teleportation-powers or something, but it is later revealed that it doesn't. And that right there immediately kills the whole movie for me. Why, in the name of god, doesn't Jay just book the next flight to Thailand? The only thing It has at its disposal is walking - so it'll have to walk across the entire Pacific just to get another shot at killing her.

Considering it only walks at a modest pace, that'll likely take It a while. Using some simple math, it will be relatively simple to estimate the time it will take It to cross the Pacific. To be safe - a month before the times expires, you simply fly back to the US again. While you're in Thailand, you can pass it on to someone just to make sure It will have to walk the entire Pacific again.

There's a simple one word explanation for this:
Money.

The kids in the movie didn't look like they could just buy tickets to Thailand (weren't they high school kids?).
If that thing follows you constantly, you can't even get a job to earn the money to buy the tickets in the first place.
Most people don't have any savings and live from paycheck to paycheck.

This is the same reason why I don't buy the complaint about people not moving out of a newly bought haunted house.
They just bought a house, they will probably be paying back the mortgage for the next 40 years, they don't have the resources to just move out.

Another thing is that It acts inconsistently. During the swimming-hall scene, it suddenly starts throwing objects at Jay. If it could just kill her from a distance to start with, why not just take a pistol and sneak up on her? "It's slow, but not dumb", remember?

From what I understood (especially after they showed the one kid getting killed), the way this thing kills requires direct contact.
I think that water was set up as it's weakness so when the girl got into the pool, it started throwing things at her to make her get out.
Also, it keeps walking towards the victim in as much of a straight line as possible. That eliminates the possibility of it getting a gun on the way.

 

[awesomeClaw]

Obligatory: Take it away Geico:

Spoiler

More seriously, not necessarily an option (they don't necessarily have the means) and certainly not a smart one. While "It" largely stuck to walking, there's no reason that it couldn't get on a bus, a train, a boat, or a plane. The director actually explicitly pointed that out in an AMA on Reddit. Ironically enough, that means that going international to escape "It" might actually make it more dangerous because it becomes harder to calculate its rate of approach.

The problems with that is that now the rules of what It can/cannot do have become thin. We NEVER see it steal a car or ride a train in the movie, even though that would many times be a hundred times quicker than the walking-alternative.

So if I board a plane, it just boards the next plane over? It doesn't have to walk all the time?

Then why doesn't it just lay an ambush? Why does it show itself to Jay the first time? If It can wait, It might as well do so. Hell, why does it show itself to both Jay and her boyfriend in the beginning. Much easier to just make the boyfriend look crazy and then kill Jay when she's unprepared. As soon as we give the monster too many options, the whole thing falls apart.

A flight ticket does cost money, but it's the kind of money you could probably get a bank to loan you without much security. What are we talking about, really? A couple of hundred dollars in debt vs constant risk of death is an easy choice.

 

[Asita]

Obligatory: Take it away Geico:

Spoiler

More seriously, not necessarily an option (they don't necessarily have the means) and certainly not a smart one. While "It" largely stuck to walking, there's no reason that it couldn't get on a bus, a train, a boat, or a plane. The director actually explicitly pointed that out in an AMA on Reddit. Ironically enough, that means that going international to escape "It" might actually make it more dangerous because it becomes harder to calculate its rate of approach.

The problems with that is that now the rules of what It can/cannot do have become thin. We NEVER see it steal a car or ride a train in the movie, even though that would many times be a hundred times quicker than the walking-alternative.

So if I board a plane, it just boards the next plane over? It doesn't have to walk all the time?

Who said anything about stealing a car? Think of it like a hitchhiker. Doesn't drive, catches a ride, and presumably only when the distance becomes impractical to traverse. The car was perhaps a bad example, but there's no logical reason why it shouldn't be capable of shambling onto a bus or a plane if that is the more effective route to where it knows its target is.

"Why does it show itself to Jay?" It's somewhat implied that the monster has a sadistic streak to it. When we first hear the rules it's even suggested that its choice of appearance is to cause further pain to its victims (which makes its method of killing them all the more horrific) and from the simple fact that it walks around, it's probably safe to say that It is not in any particular rush provided that the approach seems reasonable.

Regarding the flight tickets: Less viable the more distance you try to put between you and "It". International trips would require an active passport - which we don't know that the characters have - and even in the most optimistic circumstances shuffling back and forth between countries would drain your funds relatively quickly. Heck, flying back and forth from LA to NYC would drain your funds fairly quickly.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

It is Slow, but It isn't Stupid.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

So, I just watched It Follows and...wow.

It's been a long time since I disliked a movie this much. Everything about it rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn't scary, the characters were unlikeable, the plotholes were absolutely massive and it was just plain boring.

But when I went online and checked rotten tomatoes, I saw it had a chockingly high rating of 96%(!). Now I feel I must ventilate myself.

There are a couple of big problems IMO, but the thing that bothered me during the whole movie is this:

It follows you anywhere, I get that. At first I thought it had teleportation-powers or something, but it is later revealed that it doesn't. And that right there immediately kills the whole movie for me. Why, in the name of god, doesn't Jay just book the next flight to Thailand? The only thing It has at its disposal is walking - so it'll have to walk across the entire Pacific just to get another shot at killing her.

Considering it only walks at a modest pace, that'll likely take It a while. Using some simple math, it will be relatively simple to estimate the time it will take It to cross the Pacific. To be safe - a month before the times expires, you simply fly back to the US again. While you're in Thailand, you can pass it on to someone just to make sure It will have to walk the entire Pacific again.

The problem with the entire plot is that It lacks the tools to destroy this set-up.

Another thing is that It acts inconsistently. During the swimming-hall scene, it suddenly starts throwing objects at Jay. If it could just kill her from a distance to start with, why not just take a pistol and sneak up on her? "It's slow, but not dumb", remember?

This movie and the praise it has received frustrates me, because I really cannot see it.

Perhaps someone who likes it can explain to me what I have missed? Because I do like the premise, I really do. But the execution is just bad.

What did you think of It Follows?

1. As Asita points out, there is no reason why it can't just catch a plane or a boat. It's made quite apparent that it's not stupid. Also, it's pretty clear that these kids aren't wealthy. How much do you think frequent flights from the US to Thailand are? The most you can do is delay it... also, little bit of trivia, the world record for swimming across the Atlantic is 72 days. Now imagine that without getting tired or stopping for a rest for 6 hours every day.

Ultimately traveling abroad gives you roughly 2 months... and exhausts your money, which could leave you trapped in an unfamiliar country.

2. It's slow but not dumb, true. It's also malicious and malevolent. It spends most of its time simply tormenting its victims (though it follows up with killing them of course). Based on one particular scene, the end result is pretty horrifying. Which considering the themes of the film, it fits in pretty well.

3. I just assumed it figured out it was trap and tried to force Jay out of the pool.

At what point is the the creatures full potential revealed to us? From what I remember, all we have are bunch of juveniles sitting around scared out of their brains, completely unsure of what it is or what they should do. The thing about "it" is that you don't know what it is or what it can do. The kids don't know what it is and what it can do. Presumably others that came before who tried to outsmart it failed.

Why did I like it?

Well, first of all, it was better then most horrors that have been released in... well, the last decade. It's been a horrible time for horrors lately.

It had a solid theme, one that permeated through the film. Considering the themes of most Horrors is as bland as "Violence" or "Supernatural" it's nice to see a little bit of effort to add substance to it.

It explores sexuality in a relatively mature way, which is ironic since it's focused on those awkward phases teens go through. It also subverts the, virtually standard, horror trope of "death by sex", where any character who has sex while a monster is about is guaranteed to die. If I was a betting man, I would say that this film was made with that concept in mind from the start. While the characters are cursed by the act of having sex, they are actually "saved" by promiscuity...

"IT" is left open to interpretation, but considering the themes at play I imagine "it" to be a metaphor for sexual trauma or STI's. Rather then "it" being just some big nasty or another spooky ghost, there is some actual depth to the creatures concept.

The film had a fantastic 80's horror vibe. I love that haunting synth sound.

The concept of "IT" is actually pretty fun and creepy. It follows you and it never stops, only the cursed can see it, it can be anyone, but it often chooses identities that emotionally resonate with the victim. It's a worst nightmare stalker scenario.

I thought the characters were good. It didn't resort to tokenism, each character (relevant to the plot) had depth and, as far as fictional teens go, these were far more believable then the majority of Hollywood films.

TL/DR: It's a smart horror film, which is something that isn't seen too often. Now don't take that out of all proportions, it's not super deep or complex, it's just well thought out and cleverly put together. Smart.

 

[Rylot]

I rather liked the movie. It went on a bit long and did some weird arty things for no real reason, but honestly it's one of the better horror movies from the last few years.

I did find it a bit inconsistent at a few points.

Spoiler

When it sneaks up behind her at the beach and started playing with her hair. Or when she left the house and it was standing on the roof.

 

[awesomeClaw]

Obligatory: Take it away Geico:

Spoiler

More seriously, not necessarily an option (they don't necessarily have the means) and certainly not a smart one. While "It" largely stuck to walking, there's no reason that it couldn't get on a bus, a train, a boat, or a plane. The director actually explicitly pointed that out in an AMA on Reddit. Ironically enough, that means that going international to escape "It" might actually make it more dangerous because it becomes harder to calculate its rate of approach.

The problems with that is that now the rules of what It can/cannot do have become thin. We NEVER see it steal a car or ride a train in the movie, even though that would many times be a hundred times quicker than the walking-alternative.

So if I board a plane, it just boards the next plane over? It doesn't have to walk all the time?

Who said anything about stealing a car? Think of it like a hitchhiker. Doesn't drive, catches a ride, and presumably only when the distance becomes impractical to traverse. The car was perhaps a bad example, but there's no logical reason why it shouldn't be capable of shambling onto a bus or a plane if that is the more effective route to where it knows its target is.

"Why does it show itself to Jay?" It's somewhat implied that the monster has a sadistic streak to it. When we first hear the rules it's even suggested that its choice of appearance is to cause further pain to its victims (which makes its method of killing them all the more horrific) and from the simple fact that it walks around, it's probably safe to say that It is not in any particular rush provided that the approach seems reasonable.

Regarding the flight tickets: Less viable the more distance you try to put between you and "It". International trips would require an active passport - which we don't know that the characters have - and even in the most optimistic circumstances shuffling back and forth between countries would drain your funds relatively quickly. Heck, flying back and forth from LA to NYC would drain your funds fairly quickly.

Okay, I think I've found the fundamental reason the movie didn't work for me.

The motive and abilities of It are ambigious and unclear. Some find that incredibly scary. And I sort of get why. But I just find it frustrating and annoying. I just can't be frightened by something that doesn't do things the most effective way possible, and that changes its approach seemingly at random. Maybe I'm just weird.

I still think the flying away thing works fairly well. Just have sex with someone there, and voila, it's off your back for at least a year or so. And let's be honest, It's not supersubtle. Just barricade your door and It won't be able to kill you at night. And it should be fairly easy to avoid it in daytime, considering if it sneaks up behind you it just plays with your hair a bit.

 

[MeatMachine]

I liked the concept, but the execution wasn't so good. While some of the "easy solutions" to avoid it altogether were addressed by the directer himself during an interview, it didn't make up for the largely unlikable cast or inconsistencies of Its behavior.

Spoiler

When it sneaks up behind her at the beach and started playing with her hair. Or when she left the house and it was standing on the roof.

Spoiler

...or how It "will make itself appear as ANYONE - 'whatever helps it get closer to you," and "It's slow, not stupid." So why in the hell did it mostly appear as an old woman with dementia, a naked fat guy on a roof, and a freakishly disproportionate tall dude when it very easily could've disguised Itself as one of her friends, or... you know... a reasonably inconspicuous stranger?

 

[kris40k]

I have not seen it, but two of my close friends, whose taste in movies I trust, went and saw it. The laughed through most of the movie and said it was one of the worst horror movies they have seen in a long time. After their recommendation, I skipped it, but read the synopsis on IMDB since I kept hearing people talk about it as if it was awesome. If the IMDB entry is accurate, the characters are bad, the monster is bad, the movie is bad, and everyone involved with the creation of it should feel bad. But what do I know, I skipped it.

 

[BadNewDingus]

It was freaky at the start. The music is actually pretty good for the movie. Other than that, it all went downhill for me when they were firing a gun at the thing. I understand that most horror movies need that sort of thing(a way to defeat the monster), but it just took all the creepiness away.

 

[Asita]

Who said anything about stealing a car? Think of it like a hitchhiker. Doesn't drive, catches a ride, and presumably only when the distance becomes impractical to traverse. The car was perhaps a bad example, but there's no logical reason why it shouldn't be capable of shambling onto a bus or a plane if that is the more effective route to where it knows its target is.


Regarding the flight tickets: Less viable the more distance you try to put between you and "It". International trips would require an active passport - which we don't know that the characters have - and even in the most optimistic circumstances shuffling back and forth between countries would drain your funds relatively quickly. Heck, flying back and forth from LA to NYC would drain your funds fairly quickly.

But wouldn't Shambles Mcshuffalong have to buy plane tickets, get a passport, etc. then, too? (haven't seen the movie, but it doesn't sound like a spooky that would do well with the TSA)

Considering that nobody but those cursed by it can see it? Unlikely.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

It was okay. Definitely evocative of 80's horror films. I recall reading that the original Halloween inspired it.

I've seen better horror films (yes, even recently), but horror in general is a pretty thin field. There's a lot of dross.

The 96% on Rotten Tomatoes does seem overly generous, but you need to remember that RT is not a "quality" measurement ala metacritic, it's simply an aggregate of how many people fell on the "like" side of a binary choice between like and dislike. A brilliant but polarizing film might come in at 70%, whereas a generic, safe crowd pleaser might hit in the 90's.

 

[Silvanus]

I've seen better horror films (yes, even recently) [...]

I demand recommendations! I love the horror genre, and am frequently frustrated by the even higher ratio of shit-to-good in horror than the other genres.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I demand recommendations! I love the genre, and am frequently frustrated by the even higher ratio of shit-to-good in horror than the other genres.

Okay! Can't promise you'll like em all, but these were the ones that didn't make me vomit with apathy:

Spoiler: Babadook

Spoiler: The Conjuring

Spoiler: Honeymoon

Not traditional horror, but positively horrifying:

Spoiler: Compliance

Then are decent but also kind of "meh" films like You're Next and Oculus, which I didn't hate but didn't love either. I half suspect Karen Gillan's prettiness of getting me through the latter.

Finally, if you want a horror comedy, this is perhaps the best of the bunch:

Spoiler: What We Do In The Shadows

 

[RJ 17]

I still think the flying away thing works fairly well. Just have sex with someone there, and voila, it's off your back for at least a year or so. And let's be honest, It's not supersubtle. Just barricade your door and It won't be able to kill you at night. And it should be fairly easy to avoid it in daytime, considering if it sneaks up behind you it just plays with your hair a bit.

Had you skimmed through the AMA Asita linked to you, you'd have known that this was directly refuted.

Allow me to save you the trouble:

danthaman15 4 points 4 months ago
I want to ask you a million questions about the creature, but I feel like that is against the spirit of the film. But I'll ask one. It's the one that EVERYONE brings up that I talk to the film about. What about crossing the ocean? I read in an interview that you said that wouldn't matter, but I'm wondering what it would do. Would it just cross the ocean floor? Swim? Hike a ride on a boat? Go into Jesus mode and walk on water?

-DavidRobertMitchell 16 points 4 months ago
It could certainly cross the ocean.
I imagine that it could get on a boat or a plane. Or it could move through the water, if it chose to.

So yeah, straight from the horse's mouth: if you hop on a plane, it'll just get on one to Follow you.

In fact, that's probably one of the worst things you could do, really. You get on a plain and get a false sense of security, thinking that you've bought yourself a month or two of freedom. But now you're in a foreign country with no money (since you're a high school student that apparently managed to get a loan so you could take an international flight). Two days later It gets you because It managed to get on a plane and track you down again.

Another fun fact from the AMA:
It is not limited to just walking. It can travel by any means It chooses, especially if the way It moves will hurt/affect Its target. For instance, if your dead grandmother used to ride her bike all around town, It could appear as your grandmother riding towards you on a bike.