REVIEW: IT FOLLOWS Isn't Exactly The "IT" Thing.

II've seen a many horror movies. It is my favorite genre. Probably because, as I have noted in the past, it is the most challenging to get right. It Follows proves just how challenging that journey into horror film-making can be.

Starting off with a quiet bang, a teenage girl in bright red hooker heels (something I yearned to be a continuous satirical move from the director) darts out of a suburban brick home and into the streets. We get the sense something is in fact following her as she peers back in question--"Did I just see that?" A stunning shot later reveals her brutally mangled body on the beach sand. In fact most of the shots by director David Robert Mitchell are just that--stunning. His talent for mood and atmosphere truly are a stand-out. Small details like never showing the depressed mothers face give us background detail of the heroines life without overplaying it. But this is not necessarily a good thing because it truly outshines the story as it moves from intriguing location to location with little explanation.

The clever story manifests in an unexplained entity passing from one person to the next via fornication. We follow the beautiful Maika Monroe in a brilliant scream queen performance as the "It" is passed to her in a tense scene where she is locked into a wheelchair in a dilapidated structure. Through-out the movie she struggles with the decision of which beau to pass it to (one of which is short-lived great United States Of Tara's Keir Gilchrist--who is excellent here as well). We then follow a group of close friends who experience her mental breakdown as they try to "Final Destination-esque" rid her of the It. I don't know about you but as wonderful as my close-knit friends are... I am pretty sure they would not be willing to chance their life by allowing me to pass the spectre to them. And so goes the first thing in horror that is a tedious threat--the suspension of disbelief.

As cool as that premise sounds, It Follows grows increasingly hard to believe the outlandishness of the plot. In question are also some of the "It's"(the first being the most frightening--an old woman in a nursing home gown), as they appear in different forms--including her friends. What could have been a tie-in of drama greatness--questioning who is who? is tragically abandoned. The suspense is perfectly jarred by Disasterpeace (owing more than a bit to John Carpenter's classic score in Halloween) but the director Mitchell doesn't build pace correctly and several tense moments fall flat like a swimming pool scene of electrical devices waiting at the side are left up to our own imagination to generate the fright factor--we can only visually connect with what's going on.

Not to down It Follows entirely, which will surely gain an extreme cult following over the years are rightly so for its House of the Devil feel (a far better fright-film--check it out) for recreation of bygone horror films from the 1970's and 1980's--when horror truly reined. I guess there are just a few of us out there that get it. We yearn for the days when fun cardboard horror flicks could become classics again. I admire these directors like Mitchell and Ti West (House of the Devil) for not giving up on a genre that leaves us wondering--when is the next big cult classic? As much as I wanted it to be,  It Follows isn't exactly it. It is neither satire like Scream and barely leaves room for philosophical interpretation.

GRADE: B-

REVIEW: A Deliciously Bloodsoaked LIZZIE BORDEN Comes Back For Another Wack

New series "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles" follows up the hit Lifetime movie "Lizzie Borden Took An Ax" with decadent aplomb. A true story that lays legend on the playgrounds as a jumprope chant still to this day. The infamous story of Lizzie Borden (1892) who was acquitted of the sadistic murder of both her parents. What was great about the original film was that it handled the crux of the story--murder and trial, with hard-boiled confidence that runs straight through the bloodline of the new show like a shot of heroine. Chronicles most impressively manages not to release itself from the tension and curiosity previously set-up where the movie left off. Apparently, "Lifetime" thought there was much more to offer and they are proving themselves right.

The great Christina Ricci continues to stun in an about-face performance. Her approach (as well as the writers) leaves little room for mystery and this bold, brutal choice is what makes it. Throughout her career, Ricci has unfairly dodged Oscar gold, most notably as serial killer Aileen Wuornos' (Charlize Theron--in one of the most amazing performances ever given on screen) troubled girlfriend Selby Wall in Monster. Here, though, Ricci forces us to remember how truly Grade-A of an actress she is while being cheeky enough to risk that status with a "Lifetime" show. I like Lifetime. After all the network single-handedly brought "The Golden Girls" to a whole new generation, but it has wrestled with a campy Soap Opera movie image for years. To challenge this, both Lizzie vehicles driven by Ricci is a double wack in the right direction. 

Whereas Ricci's "Lizzie" is manipulative, promiscuous, brash, and broken, her sister Emma (an understated Clea DuVall, Argo) is fragile, mousey, strange, and broken. This makes for a perfect counter-part--leaving the audience to wonder why the sisters are so different yet brought so close together. What actually happened in the Borden House and what is only a fabrication of the legend of Lizzie's mind? DuVall is simply fantastic and nails the reclusive Emily Dickinson feel like a pro.

The gritty modern soundtrack deserves considerable notation for being a daring contradiction, and it not only works but it works well. Watching characters dawn beautifully accurate costumes as horse drawn buggies travel across beautiful 1800 style sets to the sound of Tree Adams music is a jarring delight. It challenges us to agree with the flavor of Lizzie's blood-soaked pop-culture-sickle... and we not only do... we crave it.

Written By: Kai Elijah Hamilton