3 - It Follows by David Robert Mitchell

Do you still check the backseat before driving? Are you worried the call is coming from inside the house? Welcome back to Drawn to Darkness, the podcast where we explore our obsessions with horror and true crime. This week, we dissect It Follows—David Robert Mitchell’s dreamy, dread-drenched indie horror film about a sexually transmitted curse that never stops walking… slowly… toward you. We dive into horror tropes, uncomfortable symbolism, the ethics of passing on the curse, and whether being beautiful makes you safer—or just a more convenient carrier. We break down its ambiguous setting, genre-bending aesthetic (Napoleon Dynamite-meets-80s slasher film?), and the eerie effectiveness of slow, silent menace. We debate a baffling pool plan, and whether you should sleep with strangers to stay alive (spoiler: we vote no), whether aging or assault is the true horror, and get very creeped out by the Tall Man. And just for fun, this episode hearkens back to our 90s teen years, with references to Dawson’s Creek,  90210, Jordan Catalano, and the Backstreet Boys. 

Spoiler alert and trigger warning: 

This episode contains spoilers and mentions of sexual assault and suicide, and the film has gruesome imagery, stalking, sexual assault, and jump scares.

Recommendations If You Liked It Follows:

• Terminator 1 & 2 (another unrelenting hunter)
• Charade (just because the characters watch it)
• Barbarian, 8 Mile, & Don’t Breathe (grim Detroit vibes + housing horror)
• The Ring (unstoppable supernatural curse)
• Let the Right One In (slow-burn horror + pool finale)
• Smile (cursed by trauma)
• Urban Legend, Scream, & Disturbing Behavior (90s teen horror nostalgia)
• Friday the 13th / Halloween (slasher canon)

Palate Cleanser:

Feeling haunted? Rewatch Season 1 of Schitt’s Creek. It’s joyful and full of Alexis energy. Also, shout-out to Toy Story 2—because after forensic files, you need those bloopers.

Homework:

Watch The Fox Hollow Murders. As always, tell your friends, leave a review on iTunes, email your thoughts (or mannequin-related nightmares) to DrawnToDarknessPod@gmail.com.. See you in two weeks on Drawn to Darkness.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for providing our cover art. You can find her on Instagram @nancyazano. 

And Harry Kidd for composing and recording our opening score. His Instagram is @harryjkidd and you can also find him on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/43BiFkkOHykD8n9g4z0Qd7

Want more analysis of It Follows? 

https://henridecorinth.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/on-mitchells-it-follows-2014-literary-allusions/

https://the-artifice.com/it-follows/