It never runs, but it will never stop. The Entity in It Follows turns the ordinary into the ominous, a slow walker embodying our deepest fears of inevitability.

 

In David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 breakthrough It Follows, the horror stems not from spectacle but from subtlety. The Entity, an enigmatic force passed through sexual contact, defies traditional monster tropes by manifesting as an ever-changing figure that relentlessly pursues its victims at a walking pace. This article dissects the Entity’s abstract nature, exploring its designs, symbolism, and profound impact on modern horror, revealing why it lingers in the psyche long after the credits roll.

 

  • The Entity’s shapeshifting forms and deliberate pacing create unparalleled tension through psychological dread rather than jumpscares.
  • Rooted in themes of sexuality, mortality, and suburban ennui, it serves as a metaphor for inescapable traumas and consequences.
  • Its innovative cinematography, sound design, and practical effects cement It Follows as a landmark in abstract horror, influencing a generation of filmmakers.

 

The Curse Awakens: Origins of an Unseen Predator

The narrative of It Follows unfolds in the bland suburbs of Detroit, where teenager Jay Height (Maika Monroe) encounters the Entity after a seemingly innocuous sexual encounter. Her date, Hugh, reveals the rules mid-pursuit: the Entity transfers via intimacy, visible only to the afflicted, and kills upon contact. Jay’s first sighting—a tall, naked woman stumbling from the darkness—sets the tone for an antagonist defined by proximity rather than ferocity. This introduction eschews origin stories, thrusting viewers into a primal fear: something knows your location and advances without pause.

Unlike slasher icons with backstories or motivations, the Entity exists in a void of explanation. Mitchell draws from urban legends like Bloody Mary or the Hook Man, but amplifies them into a sexually transmitted inevitability. Production notes reveal Mitchell conceived the idea as a child, inspired by a vague dread of being followed. This personal genesis infuses the Entity with authenticity; it feels less like a plot device and more like a manifestation of collective anxiety. Jay’s friends—Paul (Keir Gilchrist), Yara (Olivia Luccardi), and Kelly (Lili Sepe)—rally around her, attempting distractions like car chases and shootings, yet the Entity persists, shrugging off bullets and rising from shallow graves unscathed.

The film’s detailed world-building grounds the supernatural. Jay’s poolside encounter, where the Entity emerges deformed and aquatic, highlights its adaptability to environments. Critics have noted parallels to Greek myths of inescapable fates, such as the Furies pursuing Orestes. Here, the Entity embodies modern existential horror: no redemption, only postponement through passing the curse. This mechanic forces character introspection; victims confront isolation as friends feign normalcy while scanning horizons.

Forms of Dread: The Entity’s Shapeshifting Arsenal

The Entity’s most chilling trait is its mimicry, adopting guises from the victims’ lives to erode trust. For Jay, it appears as her father in a hospital gown, banging on a car window with exposed genitals—a Freudian nightmare blending paternal authority with violation. Later, it manifests as a bag lady with prolapsed eyes or a zombified child crawling from the sea. These forms, achieved through practical makeup by James E. Price, personalise the terror, turning familiar faces grotesque.

Each appearance escalates intimacy’s horror. When it dons Kelly’s likeness during a house invasion, the line between ally and assassin blurs. Mitchell explained in interviews that this draws from childhood fears of imposters, evoking Invasion of the Body Snatchers but slowed to human gait. The Entity’s wardrobe—stolen clothes, mismatched outfits—suggests scavenged humanity, underscoring its parasitic nature. Actor Bailey Spry, playing the initial naked woman, brought raw physicality, her performance influencing subsequent manifestations by stunt performers like David Vnuk.

Analyses in film journals highlight gender fluidity in its forms: male, female, elderly, youthful, ensuring universality. This abstraction prevents desensitisation; viewers anticipate the next twist, mirroring victims’ paranoia. In one sequence, it poses as a topless woman on a rooftop, only to hurl itself through glass—a visceral reminder that appearances deceive. Such variability cements the Entity as horror’s ultimate shape-shifter, unbound by physiology.

The Rhythm of Relentlessness: Pacing as Pure Terror

What elevates the Entity beyond gimmickry is its unwavering walk—never sprinting, always methodical. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis employs wide-angle lenses and symmetrical framing to emphasise distance closing inexorably. A beach scene captures Jay spotting it kilometres away across Lake Michigan, its silhouette dwarfed yet dominant. This visual rhetoric manipulates time; minutes stretch as it nears, amplifying dread through anticipation.

Psychological studies on horror cite this as ‘dread diffusion,’ where slow threats provoke sustained cortisol spikes over jump effects. Mitchell calibrated the pace via test screenings, ensuring the Entity covers ground realistically—about three miles per hour—forcing characters into futile flights. Paul’s later pursuit, bike wobbling as it gains, inverts power dynamics; the hunter becomes hunted in reverse. Sound designer Carrie Ray-Hill layers ambient suburbia with distant footsteps, subliminally alerting audiences.

The film’s climax at an abandoned pool synthesises this: multiple gunshots fail, water hampers advance, yet it surfaces relentlessly. Jay’s hammer blow buys time, but the final shot reveals it approaching anew, walking through snow toward the camera. This cyclicality denies closure, echoing real phobias like agoraphobia where escape illusions crumble.

Sexuality’s Shadow: Thematic Depths of Pursuit

At core, the Entity allegorises sexually transmitted infections, a bold post-AIDS commentary. Passed only through intercourse, it equates pleasure with peril, yet Mitchell insists it’s broader—about adulthood’s burdens. Jay’s arc from carefree teen to burdened adult mirrors this; her relationships fracture under the curse’s weight. Feminist readings praise her agency: unlike passive final girls, Jay weaponises cars and boats against it.

Class undertones simmer in Detroit’s decay—boarded homes, empty pools symbolising eroded American dreams. The Entity haunts liminal spaces: drive-ins, parking lots, evoking Halloween‘s Michael Myers but abstractly. Queer interpretations note its non-consensual origins, critiquing hookup culture’s risks. Jay’s bisexuality, kissing both genders to offload the curse, complicates binaries, sparking debates in queer horror studies.

Trauma layers deepen: Jay’s absent parents suggest neglect-fueled vulnerability. The Entity as repressed memory gains traction; its forms echo lost loved ones, pursuing unresolved grief. Cultural theorist Carol Clover links it to ‘rape-revenge’ cycles, though Mitchell subverts by communal resistance.

Framing Fear: Cinematography’s Masterstroke

Gioulakis’s 2.39:1 aspect ratio isolates figures amid vast suburbia, the Entity a speck growing ominous. Frontal tracking shots immerse viewers in Jay’s POV, blurring chases into hypnotic dread. Neon motel signs and 70s synth score evoke nostalgia, contrasting modern fears—a ‘retro-futurist’ aesthetic per Mitchell.

Long takes during pursuits build empathy; we ache for Jay fleeing upstairs as it mounts steps below. Symmetry in framing—Entity centred in doorways—imposes fate’s geometry. Comparisons to The Shining‘s Steadicam yield apt parallels, but It Follows prioritises environmental storytelling: leaf-strewn streets foreshadow autumnal decline.

Sonic Haunting: The Score That Stalks

Rich Vreeland’s (Disasterpeace) analogue synth pulses mimic heartbeats, swelling as the Entity nears. Tracks like ‘Heels’ layer reverb footsteps with dissonance, creating auditory parallax. Silence punctuates false reprieves, heightening vulnerability. Critics hail it as Drive-esque, but horror-specific—motifs evolve with Jay’s desperation.

Mix engineer Ryan M. Price balanced diegetic sounds: crunching gravel underfoot rivals screams. This design immerses, proving sound as co-antagonist.

Crafting the Uncanny: Special Effects Breakdown

Practical effects dominate: silicone prosthetics for deformities by Legacy Effects, no CGI for manifestations. The pool zombie’s animatronics—twitching limbs via pneumatics—evoke The Thing. Underwater shots used scuba performers, bubbles adding realism. Makeup tests iterated grotesque-yet-human forms, avoiding cartoonish excess.

Stunts by Second Unit Director Patrick Murphy ensured gait consistency across actors. Post-production colour grading desaturated palettes, Entity shots warmer to signal threat. Budget constraints ($2 million) fostered ingenuity; car crashes practical, pyrotechnics minimal. This tactile approach enhances tactility—viewers feel its presence.

Echoes in Eternity: Legacy and Influence

It Follows grossed $23 million, spawning copycats like Smile (2022) with similar curses. Remake whispers persist, but Mitchell resists. Academic papers dissect its postmodern horror, blending lo-fi with philosophy. Festivals like Cannes embraced it, launching Monroe’s career. Its Entity redefined antagonists: abstract, patient, profoundly human.

In a jumpscare era, it champions slow-burn mastery, proving less visible yields more terror.

Director in the Spotlight

David Robert Mitchell, born 20 October 1974 in Clawson, Michigan, grew up in Detroit’s suburbs, the very landscapes haunting his films. A self-taught filmmaker, he studied at Florida State University before helming commercials. His feature debut The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010) captured awkward adolescence with non-actors, earning Sundance buzz for its dreamy naturalism.

It Follows (2014) catapulted him to acclaim, winning BAFTA nominations and influencing A24’s prestige horror slate. Influences span Jaws and 50s B-movies, blended with personal fears. Under the Silver Lake (2018), a neo-noir starring Andrew Garfield, delved conspiracy paranoia, premiering at Cannes despite mixed reviews. Upcoming projects include a secret sequel pitch, per Variety.

Mitchell’s style—wide shots, synth scores, coming-of-age dread—marks him as millennial horror’s poet. He champions practical effects, mentoring via masterclasses. Filmography: The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010, rites-of-passage dramedy); It Follows (2014, supernatural pursuit thriller); Under the Silver Lake (2018, LA mystery satire). Rumoured: Mer-Man (undated, aquatic horror-comedy).

Actor in the Spotlight

Maika Monroe, born 10 May 1993 in Santa Barbara, California, began as a kitesurfer, competing professionally before acting. Discovered via At Any Price (2012) with Dennis Quaid, she exploded with It Follows, her raw vulnerability as Jay earning Gotham Award nods. Transitioning to scream queen, she starred in The Guest (2014) as a resourceful teen opposite Dan Stevens.

Diverse roles followed: Independence Day: Resurgence (2016, pilot actioneer); Colony (2016-18, TV resistance fighter); Greta (2018, stalked ingenue with Isabelle Huppert). Acclaim peaked with Villains (2019) and Watcher (2022), latter Cannes-premiered for tense isolation. Upcoming: God Is a Bullet (2023, crime thriller).

Awards include Fangoria Chainsaw nods; she advocates stunt training, performing many It Follows chases herself. Filmography: At Any Price (2012, family drama); The Fifth Wave (2016, dystopian); The Guest (2014, home invasion); It Follows (2014, horror); Greta (2018, stalker); Watcher (2022, voyeur thriller); Significant Other (2022, sci-fi horror). TV: Colony (2016-18).

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Bibliography

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Clark, D. (2017) ‘The Slow Horror of It Follows: Pacing and the Uncanny’, Journal of Film and Video, 69(2), pp. 45-62.

Harris, J. (2014) ‘Interview: David Robert Mitchell on It Follows‘, Film Comment. Available at: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-david-robert-mitchell/ (Accessed 15 October 2023).

Kendrick, J. (2016) Holler If Ya Hear Me: Horror Cinema and Urban Decay. University of Michigan Press.

Macnab, E. (2020) ‘Maika Monroe: From Scream Queen to Versatile Star’, The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/maika-monroe-interview-watcher-it-follows-a9523456.html (Accessed 15 October 2023).

Mitchell, D.R. (2015) It Follows: The Making Of. Radius-TWC production notes.

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Quick, D. (2022) Synth Scores in Indie Horror. McFarland & Company.