It Follows – Second Sight Films

Director: David Robert Mitchell
Screenplay: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi and Lili Sepe
Country: United States
Running Time: 100 min
Year: 2014

Over the past decade, a new sub-genre in horror has emerged that’s incredibly polarising. Elevated horror. Films like The VVitch, The Babadook, Midsommar and Hereditary have taken the horror world by storm, by choosing to focus more on thematic horror and subtext over traditional gore and jumpscares. But when I think of this sub-genre, the one film that always comes to mind is It Follows. 

Directed by David Robert Mitchell in his second feature, It Follows is a film that feels like the poster child of what elevated horror was in the 2010s. In It Follows, we follow a series of characters and an evil that persists around them, but only one of them can see it at a time. Why’s that, you might be asking? Well, the evil entity is only visible if people engage in sexual activity with somebody who could already see it. In other words, it’s a sexually transmitted disease. Mitchell takes the concept of a traditional monster/serial killer movie and grounds in in this sense of realism and the film is rich with themes revolving around trauma, sex, anxiety and the loss of innocence. 

Without the need of persistent cheap jumpscares or blood spewing everywhere, Mitchell unleashes some of the scariest sequences to come out of modern horror. Whether it’s a tall man walking towards our lead character Jay in one particularly standout scene or the unnerving sense that the entity is in the background of every shot, there’s never a moment where you feel like you can bring your guard down. While his follow-up feature, Under the Silver Lake strayed away from the horror roots of It Follows, the film retained the unnerving, surreal aura that makes It Follows such a persistent genre film.

It Follows is a labour of love in all departments, which is apparent by the many interviews included on this disc with key cast and crew members. The film is littered with references or callbacks to the films that inspired it, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window or John Carpenter’s Halloween. The long take that opens the film in particular is a highlight, which feels like we’re in an alternate take on Halloween’s Haddonfield. The cinematography, by Mike Gioulakis is one of the key factors in why the film successfully gets under the viewer’s skin. There’s this sense of unsettling leering that’s always present and it’s no surprise that Gioulakis would attract the attention of directors like Jordan Peele and M. Night Shyamalan in the following years. 

It Follows earns its title as one of the great horror films of the 2010s. It’s stylish, scary, unnerving and nine years later, still stands up as the defining elevated horror feature. Whether you want a film that delivers on terrifying visuals or something for your brain to chew on, Mitchell’s cult classic offers both and towers above its later imitators.

Film:

It Follows releases on 11th September via Second Sight Films. There’s a limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo pack, as well as standard releases on both formats. I viewed the 4K UHD disc and was blown away by the image quality. The levels of detail visible and the image quality upgrade compared to the old Icon Blu-ray is night and day. The HDR implementation brings a whole atmosphere to the film, while still retaining the intended feel that the director and crew aimed for. The new Dolby Atmos mix is stellar too, and it’s an upgrade over the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that’s also included on this release. Overall, on a A/V level, this is another essential release from Second Sight Films. In terms of extras, the following features are included: 

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 

Audio commentary by Joshua Grimm – Exclusive to this release, this audio commentary with professor Joshua Grimm, writer of the book It Follows (Devil’s Advocates) is a solid listen. He’s an encyclopaedia of knowledge when it comes to horror films and the work of David Robert Mitchell and this is probably the most informative feature on the entire release. 

Audio commentary by writer and journalist Danny Leigh and professor Mark Jancovich – An archival audio commentary included on previous Blu-ray releases, this track is still an alright listen. Leigh and Jancovich are knowledgeable, but I did find it to be a tad dry. They make comparisons to John Carpenter’s Halloween, the decision to not feature technology in the film and Mitchell’s ability to trust the audience. 

Chasing Ghosts: A new 19 minute interview with actor Keir Gilchrist, who plays Paul in the film. He discusses his early work, such as James Wan’s Dead Silence, as well as how much of a horror fan he was, starting with an early viewing of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. It’s clear how passionate about the genre Keir is and the experiences he had with the cast and crew seem to have really stuck with him. A solid interview.

Following: A new 12 minute interview with actor Olivia Luccardi. She talks about the audition process and the collaboration process between the crew and director David Robert Mitchell. There’s also a mention of how It Follows was referenced in Scream (2022), which made me smile. Another fun interview.

It’s in the House: A new 22 minute interview with producer David Kaplan. He mentions how he got attached to the project, as well as the themes of the film such as ageing and suburbia. He also touches on the changes to the original ending and how composer Disasterpeace/Rich Vreeland and actor Maika Monroe came on board. An insightful interview.

Composing a Masterpiece: A 13 minute interview with composer Rich Vreeland, also known as Disasterpeace. It’s a fun interview, and Vreeland talks about how director David Robert Mitchell persisted in getting him to compose the score after playing the video game Fez and loving Vreeland’s work there. Vreeland also talks about his lack of experience with horror, outside of Goblin and their collaborations with Dario Argento. A great interview. 

A Girl’s World: A new 24 minute interview with production designer Michael Perry who mentions his career in commercials, his experience with reading the script for the first time. Perry and David Robert Mitchell bonded over their love of films and I really dug Perry’s real attitude in the interview. He’s a delight to listen to. 

It Follows – The Architecture of Loneliness: Exclusive to this Second Sight release, Joseph Wallace’s video essay on It Follows discusses the feelings of nostalgia and trauma that surround the film, as well as how the past can come back to haunt the characters. It’s a brilliant video essay that I’d highly recommend.

I wasn’t provided with the essays or art cards, unfortunately but I assume they’re up to the same stellar standards as prior Second Sight releases.

If the stellar audio and video weren’t enough, Second Sight Films also put out all the stops to deliver an excellent collection of supplemental material that will please fans of It Follows. If you enjoy the film, I can say with absolute certainty that this is an essential purchase. Second Sight’s release of It Follows is yet another must-own disc in a year packed with them already from the company. Martin, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Changeling and May were already contenders for best physical releases of the year and now, It Follows safely joins that list.

Disc/Package:

Where to watch It Follows