When any movie is successful, talk of sequels is inevitable, and horror is no exception. David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows has remained a standalone tale since its release in 2015, but its star Maika Monroe has been discussing returning to the film that, along with her memorable turn in unabashedly ‘80s blowout The Guest, put her firmly on the radar of the horror community.
The pervasively sinister story follows college student Jay after she has sex with a new boyfriend, only for the encounter to make her the latest target of a murderous supernatural entity. ‘It’ slowly but relentlessly hounds its targets, intuitively divining their location so unless they keep moving it will eventually catch up to and kill them, then move on to the next target in the line, with the only defense being to have sex with someone else and pass on the curse, who must then do the same to escape, and so on.
The film was a modest success – a $23 million box office haul against a $2 million budget – and much digital ink has been spilled interpreting its events and themes. Specifically, allegories about STDs and the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and explorations into societal attitudes towards intimacy.
Of returning for a belated sequel, Monroe had this to say:
“I would absolutely love to work with David again. That would be a dream, but, you know, we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s been a crazy ride. Being a part of It Follows, there’s so many movies that have changed the horror genre, but I know that It Follows is such a massive influence and this change of the genre, which was so cool to be a part of, and so many people really connected with that film. For me, with these projects, all I can do is give the most honest performance and I don’t look at it necessarily as a horror film or thriller or this or that. It’s just me really falling into this character and bringing as much truth as I can so that people can really fall into the story.”
Tom Quinn, the co-president of distributor Radius-TWC, has previously expressed interest in a sequel as well, possibly expanding the mythology by tracing back the chain of cursed people to discover the entity’s origin. However, this was back in 2015, and little has been said in the interim.
The recent resurgence of ‘80s follow-ups is showing us that it’s never too late for a sequel though, so a mere five years should prove no impediment to picking up the It Follows narrative should another installment be greenlit.
