30 - TRUSTMovie: It Follows (2014)This is, to my mind, the best and most effective horror movie ever
30 - TRUSTMovie: It Follows (2014)This is, to my mind, the best and most effective horror movie ever made.Horror ceases to be effective horror for me if I can’t understand the actions of the protagonists. I can sympathise, oh no, how bad it must feel for you to be chased by etc. etc. but unless I can empathise with how they got into that situation, I’m just an audience member. It’s only vicariously scary. I’m not going to leave the cinema, concerned for my own safety.It Follows is effective horror because it immediately establishes the cast as loving and trusting each other. Our protagonist comes back from a terrible date. She is pale, she is shaken, and she doesn’t want to talk about it. She only wants to create a ritual where she is safe. These are the actions of a newly traumatised person. Her friends never dismiss her pain as imaginary, never press her for an explanation - they immediately say, with their actions, “something terrible has happened to you, and we will do anything you need to make sure you feel safe, and you can tell us what you need to tell us whenever you’re ready.” If my friend came home from a date in that state, I would do the same. So many horrors set up their cast as suspicious, mocking, unaccepting, and untrusting of each other. Someone (usually a woman) has a terrifying experience and they’re derided. Are you sure what you saw? Surely not, right? That’s impossible! We don’t believe you, and even if you are shaken, we’re quite sure the trigger isn’t real, and that’s what counts, not your very real reaction! This isn’t the behaviour of friends, and doesn’t mirror my instinct towards the people I love. I follow the It Follows characters every step of the way as they seek only to reassure and protect their friend from devastating trauma.Of course, the premise of It Follows is beautifully scary if you’re scared of home invasion, being followed or are in any way paranoid, but it was the relationship between the characters that sold it. It makes me weep with fright every time! A very rare gift!!!SHOP / KO-FI / PATREON / INSTAGRAM -- source link
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