Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

It follows

(2014)

A horror movie that breaks new ground is always a welcome treat to me, standing out from the cookie-cutter gore-fests that are so popular. Recently there was Get Out, a truly frightening film. This is another. And though it opens with a pretty gruesome corpse, the rest of it is remarkably bloodless.

The idea is that there is this entity (never explained, and I didn’t care) that can change itself into looking like any human being. It is passed from person to person by intercourse. (Many people thought it was symbolic of AIDS. I don’t care about stuff like that.) Once it latches onto you, it is totally relentless … and slow. Very slow. It moves only at a slow walking pace. It can look like anyone, but you’ll usually recognize it from its hollow-eyed expression.

The idea of a slow horror may seem silly, but it’s actually much creepier than the fast-moving monsters we’re used to. Relentlessness is the key. You can drive for miles and miles and be safe for a while. But one day, somebody’s gonna come out of the bushes intent on killing you. You can’t kill it, you can only run away. It’s the ultimate stalker, and no restraining order will stop it. I thought this was really well done.