John Armellino
ERH 206
Major Knepper
2/23/15
“It Follows Trailer Analysis”
The trailer that I am doing my analysis on is for the film It Follows. The film, written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, is a recently released one. It is a horror film that does not seem to rely on gore or jump scares (at least not many) to disturb its audience. Instead this film plays on the viewers’ paranoia. The film has an overwhelming sense of the uncanny. Seemingly innocent things and places become menacing. The threat is always right around the corner, and we, nor the main characters, have any idea when or where it will strike. It could be anyone, and so the whole world becomes a hunting ground, and the main character the unwitting prey. This film plays on cultural fears about innocence lost, sexual assault, and a sense of impending doom, of futility. The atmosphere of helplessness is heavy, and the audience is made to watch a nightmare unfold that could seemingly happen to anyone.
The plot focuses on Jay, a nineteen year-old girl who goes on a date and has what starts as an innocent, simple sexual encounter with a “cute guy.” Obviously things take a turn for the worst faster than you can hit the escape button. Jay is knocked out and tied up by the boy, who dutifully informs her of the nightmare that is now following her. He has passed onto her, through sex, a curse. Until she can pass it on to someone else, Jay will be followed by “it,” a malevolent entity that always knows where she is, and is always, slowly and steadily, walking toward her exact location. She can run, but she literally cannot hide. What will “it” do if (or when) it catches up to her? That is left to our imagination. The enigmatic entity can change its appearance to look like anyone. “It could look like someone you know, or it could be a stranger in a crowd.” The creature is always just out of focus when seen. It is always a blur, always a mystery. Like the sinking feeling of paranoia one gets when they feel they are being watched, “it” is always a dreadful, crushing presence.
This is where the factor of the uncanny comes in. “It” can look like anyone, meaning it could be anyone. There is no escaping it, because it does not “think,” “feel,” or “give up.” It just keeps walking. There is no fighting it, just passing it on. Jay will be forced to make someone else a victim, or suffer the fate of whatever “it” has planned for her. One can see this plot as an allegory for sexual assault, STDs, and the cycle of abusive violence found in many homes. “It” may not be the problem, but rather a symptom of it, a curse born of our own malignant imaginations, fueled by our fears and brought to life to punish humanity. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
From what I can see in the trailer, It Follows does a terrific job of creating a world of pure dread. The empty streets, the crowds, everything seems hostile. The main character’s sense of impending doom is felt through the build up of a synthesized soundtrack, which grows more and more tense as the trailer goes on. The eighties style synth music feels artificial, unnatural, like a dream turned nightmare. Like Poe in many of his works, the time period and location are never mentioned or readily apparent to us. We get the feeling that this could happen anywhere, at anytime, to anyone. That may be the true horror of It Follows.

Link to the trailer here: