It Follows (2014) – Terror That Never Stops Walking

Not all nightmares scream—some just walk toward you

It Follows (2014), directed by David Robert Mitchell, is a haunting and original horror film that redefines dread through a uniquely simple concept: what if death came after you slowly—but never, ever stopped? With its dreamlike atmosphere and chilling minimalism, the film taps into a primal fear that lingers long after the credits roll.

Set in a seemingly timeless Detroit suburb, the story follows Jay (Maika Monroe), a young woman who becomes the target of a supernatural entity after a strange sexual encounter. This entity can take the form of anyone—friend, stranger, loved one—and it relentlessly walks toward its victim. Only those who have been “passed” the curse through sex can see it. If it catches you, you die. If it kills you, it goes back to the last person in the chain.

From this disturbing premise, It Follows builds a horror experience that is more psychological than graphic. There are no cheap jump scares here—just a constant sense of being watched, of something coming, always coming. The pacing is deliberate, almost hypnotic, echoing the nature of the curse itself. You can run, you can hide—but it walks.

Maika Monroe is perfectly cast, bringing a mixture of vulnerability and resilience to Jay. Her performance grounds the surreal premise in emotional realism. The cinematography—full of wide, static shots and slow 360-degree pans—creates a paranoia-inducing effect, forcing the viewer to constantly scan the background. Is that person walking toward us? Should we be afraid?

What truly sets It Follows apart is its ambiguity. It doesn’t offer full explanations or rules. Is the entity a metaphor for sexually transmitted guilt, trauma, or mortality? Possibly all of them. It’s this interpretive space, coupled with a chilling retro-electronic score by Disasterpeace, that elevates the film into arthouse territory without sacrificing its genre roots.

It Follows is a masterclass in building unease from simplicity. In a horror landscape full of overcomplicated monsters and convoluted plots, this film strips everything down to one terrifying idea: what if you were always being followed, and it would never stop?