This film review provides a summary of the 2015 horror film "It Follows" in 7 paragraphs. It begins by describing the opening scene of a teenage girl fleeing from an unseen force. It then praises the originality of the premise, comparing it favorably to other "pass-the-curse" horror films. The review highlights key elements like the slow-moving antagonist and sexually transmitted nature of the curse. It analyzes the film's themes of morality and consequence. Throughout, the review emphasizes the film's atmosphere of suspense and lack of cheap scares. In closing, it draws comparisons to other iconic horror films and declares this to be "a blind date to make your blood run cold."

1. Tender, remarkably ingenious and
scalp-pricklingly scary, It Follows
begins, in classic Halloween fashion,
with a teen girl in the suburbs
fleeing in utter panic from her front
door. She's being chased, very
slowly, by something we can't see.
In fact, no one can see it, except for
her and others like her – the victims
of a sexually transmitted hex that’s
sent a shape-shifting succubus
implacably into their lives.
The premise, written thus, sounds
pretty hokey. It's not at all. The
movie's a brilliantly fresh spin on a
classic model – the pass-on-the-
curse conceit which horror fans will
know from MR James's shivery
short story Casting the Runes, and
its numerous cinematic offspring,
from Jacques Tourneur's Night of
the Demon (1957) to the Japanese
cult hit Ringu (2000) and its
American remake, The Ring (2002).
It Follows – which deserves even
more marks for that marvellously
suggestive title – does this entire
lineage proud, not just by switching
tacks from runic subterfuge or
videotape circulation to the rather
Cronenbergy gambit of inflicting a
demon on your unfortunate sex
partner. It's altogether smart,
subtextually fascinating, and more
or less a contemporary horror fan's
dream come true.
The genre trappings make it a nifty,
commercially tantalising venture for
its writer-director, David Robert
Mitchell, after his terrific first
feature in 2010, a too-little-seen
reverie of awkward teen yearning
called The Myth of the American
Sleepover. He matches that film’s
subtle sadness and complete
sincerity here, while furthering its
already substantial ambition,
essentially by dropping a terrifyingly
unhurried and many-faced stalker
right into the middle of it.
Rule of three being a powerful introduction to the review describing its
tone, writing and fear factor which are all crucial to a film of this genre.
The reviewer starts the review by describing the beginning of the film
this suggest the review will comment on the films events in
chronological order rather than a review that simply comments on the
greatest strengths and weaknesses of the film. The description of the
introduction as ‘classic Halloween fashion’ referencing a fan favourite
and well known franchise will excite and intrigue readers. Informing the
readers the main character is a teenage girl is a stereotypical vulnerable
character of the genre and is often portrayed as the victim. The ‘chase’
element of the film is mentioned as this is a feature that contributes to
the films pacing being the antagonists attributes the fact that it’s a
curse that’s sexually transmitted tells the reader about underlying
themes within the film.
The second paragraph starts by decomposing any assumption that the
premise is ‘hokey’ and addresses the fact it seems so. The assumption
that the premise could be bad is stamped out excluding this thought
from people’s minds stopping them from worrying about it. It also
comments on the fact that the general idea has been done before being
a ‘pass-on-the-curse’ horror but says it has a fresh spin on it which
suggest an original version of this model. Then the reviewer compares
he film to existing well known films that horror fans will know,
specifically the ring.
The third paragraph starts with the title of the film reminding the
reading and explaining how it relates to the story ‘it’ being the curse
and antagonist and describing the nature of it. The reviewer explaining
the titles relevance may give the reader more appreciation for the film.
The review goes on to talk about the films style and uses ‘Cronenbergy
gambit’ which is informal language which gives the review a more
personal feel talking more casually means appealing to wider audience.
The nature of the antagonist is described and then explained that you
pass on the curse though sex, so the use of ‘unfortunate sex partner’ is
clever and ironic because this could potentially be taken the wrong way.
Stating that because of the defining conventions of the horror genre,
this is a good interesting product for the writer and director because he
has a lot to work with. Referencing the directors first feature and going
onto say they what elements of that filmare shown through ‘It Follows’
specifically mentioning its ‘subtle sadness’ and ‘complete sincerity’. The
use of alliteration draws attention to the particular line of text and
makes the reader address the description. Subtle sadness implies a
undertone that’s constant but not forced which is appealing
characteristic of a horror in my opinion so this is selling the filmwell.
Also complete sincerity suggest the film doesn’t try and be something
it’s not, for example all elements of the film contributing to the same
tone.
Film Review: Film Review Anlysis:

2. Giving this revenant, or whatever the
hell it is, the Michael-Myers-in-
Halloween constriction of only
walking at all times constitutes both
a neat Carpenter homage and a
clammy-palmed atmospheric
masterstroke. It’s just one of the
rules Mitchell sets himself and sticks
to. He never cheats, never stretches
the premise for cheap shocks.
They’re utterly earned, and had the
Cannes critics’ week audience
jumping – in my case swearing, on at
least one occasion - with helpless
fright.
Going in, you don’t want to know too
much about this, in plot and
character terms: it’s possible the trap
set for these experimenting
youngsters might grip less if you
were already in on it. Still, it’s worth
counting all the many ways sex
functions in the film – as weapon,
succour, self-defence,
straightforward release – and how
they map on metaphorically to the
ways it’s always used.
Mitchell wields his deadly external
threat, not just as an even bigger
incentive to cop off than standard
teenage hormones, but as the
strange opposite, too – as an
invitation to pause, to stop in your
tracks, and think about morality and
consequence. It can’t always be a
terrific experience, being used for sex
as a compliant virgin, say. But
Mitchell supplies the creepiest
ulterior motives since Scarlett
Johansson hit the Glasgow club scene
in Under the Skin. We get a predator
that’s visible and not, recognisable
and foreign-bodied, as single-minded
as the Terminator and as fetidly
human as that rotting old lady in The
Shining. This, the ‘It’ of It Follows,
springs from the same It teenagers
are generally craving and constantly
thinking about. It’s something nasty
in the woodshed. It’s a blind date to
make your blood run cold.
Film Review: Film Review Anlysis:
Another reference to Halloween and John carpenter using the word
‘homage’ saying that aspects of ‘It Follows’ has a lot of similar element
such as soundtrack, cinematography, and setting. ‘Clammy-palmed
atmospheric masterstroke’ illustrates the films feel of suspense like you
as an audience member are on edge and feel invested in the characters
situation. Adding that this film does not use cheap jump scares is a
major benefit since Hollywood horror films are usually filled with cheap
cliché tactics to scare the audience without building any real fear, the
fact the filmsticks to the premise and ‘never cheats’ suggest the
director set out to make a good quality film with a clear purpose and
not just to make people jump or be scared with a poor story. Also
having this scare factor is more difficult without using cheap tactics,
having Cannes critic jumping does the filmjustice as usually critics are
highly critical of horror films more so than your average drama.
At this point in the review a brief idea of the story has already been told
to us, the reviewer has commented on various strong points of the film,
but says you don’t want to know much about the film beforehand. This
is a good thing to include because it is likely to be a better viewing
experience if you don’t know what’s going to happen next, its alight
talking about the films themes but major plot details may ruin it for you.
Telling the reader of different themes is acceptable because they are
more subtly shown to us though all aspects of filmmaking rather than
solely through dialogue.
Finally, the last paragraph talks about how the director uses aspects of
the story to convey different things specifically mentioning stopping in
your tracks and thinking about your actions in terms of consequence
and morals. The themes of the filmare serious and the unsettling idea is
compared to ‘under the skin’ which I would consider as an abstract film
that also has very dominant themes of sex.
In closing the antagonist is further described in its nature and
characteristics, being compared to legendary horror classics such as the
shining. Finishing with a statement defining the filmas a blind date to
make your blood run cold which is a clever metaphor. Suggesting going
into this filmyou don’t know what to expect and are left with a
disturbed feeling. Ending the review with a short sentence is effective
because it wraps up the thoughts on the film and after everything said
throughout both criticisms and praise the reviewer has chosen to end
on a positive, which may make up the readers mind about whether or
not to watch the film especially if what being scared is what they are
looking for. Also not just talking about the scare factor and being a
interesting story and premise makes it a lot more appealing than your
average to poor ‘jumpy’ horror flick.

3. Thisis a social networktabthat letsyou
share the revieworevenaddto or
commentonit. Thisisa goodaspectto
have as it isan online reviewpeople can
share theirviewonthe filmandthisfeature
encouragespeople tointeractattracting
more attentiontothe original telegraph
review.
The writerof the reviewhavingapicture addsa more personal elementtothe review asareader
a face isbeingputto the words,hisname nextto italso addsto thisand the date and time is
importantas itshowsthat it’srelevantandrecenttothe film’s releasedate.
Short sentence detailingthe subjectmatterof the filmand
praisesthe filmby referringtoitas a ‘contemporaryhorrorfans
dream’. Alsocommentingonthe cleverandfittingtitle aswell
as addressingthe underlyingthemesof the filmbeingsexual.
Thencallingitan ‘indie chiller’couldsuggestthe filmisoriginal
as itsindependentand‘chiller’ratherfittingwordplayasthe
genre ishorror or thrillerand‘chill’becausethe girl isthe
image lookscold.
A large title atthe topof the webpage withthe filmtitleandaquote fromthe openingsentence of the reviewwhich
showcasesthe filmsinnocence,attentiontodetail and executionof horrorinitsownoriginal way.Underneaththe
subtitle afive starratingencouragingthe negative review.A screenshotof a tense scene inthe film showingthe main
character witha concernedlookonherface withthe comfortof herfriend.
Representationsofimage:
Film- The image representsthe filmasbeingunnervingasthe girl isbeingcomfortedbyanothergirl whohasa
somewhatfearful andconcernedexpression,the waythe girl isholdingherandthe character positioningthe girl being
behindherleaves aunsettlingtone aseventhoughitisclearthe character is comfortinghertobe grabbedlike thatis
detonatedasfrighteningorshockingastheyare touchingyoubefore yousee orhearthem.
Actors- The main actor has a lotof skinshowing,she has blonde hairandherbodylanguage isthat she isdisturbedas
hershouldersare slightly‘hunched’.She isconveyedasvulnerable becauseof herlackof clothingandthe othergirls
needtocomfort her.The blonde girlsface iscentral inframe the backgroundand othergirlsface ispartiallyoutof focus,
thiscouldresemble that‘it’beingthe antagonistis‘after’herandshe isthe focusbothin the storyand literally.
Representationsofimage:
Setting- The image showslittle of the settingbutfrom
the characters lack of clothesandwethair we can
assume she hasbeenswimmingpossiblyinapool or
the sea withbothconnote as positive activitiesyether
expressionshowscontrasttothisas it isnegative.The
character havingwethairmakessuggesta coldand
‘chilling’moodif youputyourselfinthe settingof the
character and coldnesssignifiesnolife.The pale skinof
the girl and the colour scheme ingeneral isverydull
and there isno blatantlightsource thisfitsinwiththe
chillingtone of darkness.

4. Thisinformationbox providesthe
readerwitha star rating of the film,the
source of the review beingthe
telegraph.The variousactorsinvolved
inthe film, the directorof the filmand
the filmgenre.All thisinformationwill
be importantto the readerall for
differentreasonsthe actorsbeingthe
drivingforce of the filmandthere
performancesdecidinghow well their
characters are portrayed.
The directoris importantbecause often
directorshave specificstylesof filming
and directingingeneral,forexample
oftendirectorshave preferredcolour
schemessuchas WesAndersonor
certaintraitsof the filmsuchas being
quite graphicor gory scenessuchas
QuentinTarantino’sfilms. Inthisfilm
the most iconicaspectof Mitchells
filmingstyle isthe cameramovement
and cinematography.
The synopsisof the filmisbeneficial as
isgivesa brief outline of the film
withoutspoilingtomuch or spoilingany
crucial plotpoints.
The bottom sectionof the box consists
of more informationaboutwhenthe
filmisreleasedhow longthe filmis,
whatcountry itis beingreleasedinand
the rating of the filmsothe target
audience of the filmisclearer.
1st
paragraph:givinga brief introductionpraisingthe filmandsmall descriptions aboutwhatthe filmisabout.
classicHalloweenfashion isapositive descriptionasitisaddressinganexistinghorrorfranchise thatislargely
popularbythe targetaudience tomake a comparisontosuch filmisgoodpraise and a effectiveaytogain the
readersinterestandcommunicate the filmstonesbycomparingittosomethingthe audiencealreadyknows.

5. Layout: screengrabfrom filmshown atthe top above the screengrab a small quote fromreview givingageneral
descriptionof whatthe filmislike andastar rating.
Belowthe image there isa picture andname of the writerof the review andthe date and time published.
Box on righthas informationsuchasthe genre,director,actors,releasedate, andabrief synopsisof the film.
The lefthavinga social mediabarencouragingpeople toshare orconnectwiththe review givingtheirownopinionand
sharingthisreviewmakingitmore popular.
The reviewitselfissevenparagraphstotal mostparagraphsbeingshortthe final beingthe longest.
The feature of addinga videoat
the bottomof the webpage
showcasingthe filmstrailerisa
gooddecisionasnot onlyisit
convenientforthe readerthere is
onlyso mucha personcangather
withoutseeingclipsfromthe film.
Some audience memberswill
neverwatcha recentreleased
filmwithoutwatchingatrailer,on
the otherhand some movie goers
may value the theatrical
experience.Thiscouldmeanthey
wantas little informationas
possible justsimplyaplot
summaryand the genre of the
film.The webpage designtselfis
verybasichavinglittle ton colour
the onlycolourbeingonthe
advertfor a recentreleasedfilm
on the righthand side.Personally
I thinkthisreviewsdesignistwo
basicand colourswouldenhance
the webpage arguably the content
of writingiswhat’simportantbut
I thinkthat makingthe webpage
pleasingwouldonlyhelpthe
reviewspopularity.