Filmmaker David Robert Mitchel brings his supernatural horror film, “It Follows” to the 2014 AFI Film Fest as a part of AFI’s midnight screenings. “It Follows” is a Detroit college student Jay, who finds herself being followed relentlessly by a unworldly zombie-like creature intent on chasing and killing Jay. Her only help comes in the form of her sister and friends Yara and Paul.

Jay’s nightmare began after having sex with her new boyfriend, Ryan. She soon discovers that her sexual encounter was an opportunity for her boyfriend to pass on a deadly curse to Jay as if it was a horrific game of hot potato making Jay “it.”

Now Jay has visions of a demonic killer appearing everywhere: at school, on her street, and in her home. All Jay can do is run, bike, and drive away to avoid being caught. She can also sex with another person and pass the curse to the next.

“It Follows” is a creepy chase movie forcing our main character to be constantly on the look for a stranger in the crowd or a shadowy figure at night and run for survival. Anyone she sees can be a killer, which intensifies her paranoia to the point of finding a way to stop the creature, escape forever or be caught and end the chase once and for all.

What makes “It Follows” a good movie is the simple story of solving a supernatural mystery in order to survive and return Jay’s life back to normal. What makes “It Follows” a good horror movie are the simple and straightforward rules.

As with all good horror movies, there are rules. For example, the creature always knows where Jay is and will head in that direction at an undead pace. The creature can take on the appearance of anybody, but it can only be seen by the person who is “it.” Finally, the chase never ends. Sure you can pass on the curse, but if that person dies, you’re “it” again.

The movie stars Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi and Lili Sepe.

Filmmaker David Robert Mitchel employs two cinema devices to heighten the intensity of his film. The first is the use of the sweeping one-shot. The camera slowly pans in 360 degrees showing what is around Jay. What is real and what is not? The effect leaves audiences a more ominous feeling than scary.

The second device is the music. Music is used to create anxiety in the audience. It would not be a surprise if the director used the music as an homage to the 80’s. My problem with the movie is that the music heavily relies on the synthesizer. The music is not reminiscent of synthesized scores of the 70’s and 80’s, it a replica of the heavy synth of the 70’s and 80’s. The music seems out-of-place when played in a modern movie theater.

“It Follows” is a solid horror thriller. The basic premise is an innocent victim receives a curse and must run away from an unstoppable supernatural killer. Although it’s the killer’s job to hunt the cursed, there are simple rules employed to make the killing interested. Then there is the mystery that needs to be solved to end the terror…or does it.