It Follows (2014)

Yara reads Dostoevsky to her friends off a tiny e-reader shaped like a seashell, and the rest of It Follows is all old TVs, old cars and no cell phones, so you can never pin down what year it is. That trick works. The plan the friends come up with in the last act does not. It’s so shaky you’ll want to raise your hand and ask questions. The setup is simple: something that slowly walks toward you, passed from person to person. David Robert Mitchell shoots it in wide frames that make you scan every background, and a slow camera spin around a school is scarier than any jump scare. Maika Monroe plays Jay as tired and scared in a way that feels real, and the synth score is a nervous system all by itself. Made on a reported $1.3M budget, it pulled $22 million worldwide. An 8.0 because the dread is top tier and the ending fumbles. $65.84 says the next stranger who walks toward you at a slow, steady pace gets a very long look.

What works: The slow, constant dread is brilliant, the wide shots turn every background into a threat, and the synth score is unforgettable.

What doesn’t: The rules stay fuzzy on purpose, and the final plan the friends cook up makes almost no sense.

Who it’s for: Horror fans old enough for an R rating who prefer creeping dread to jump scares.