It Follows / YMMV - TV Tropes

Aluminum Christmas Trees: Notable as a bit of late 20th-century flavor is how the working television has been placed on top of the old, dead, bigger TV. This was the case in Real Life in some people's homes.
Angst? What Angst?: None of the group seem particularly upset after Greg is killed (aside from Jay's horror and anguish when she witnesses it happen), and he is barely mentioned afterwards, aside from Jay and Paul discussing the matter (where Paul even tries to make the situation about himself, asking Jay why she chose Greg in the most scorned tone possible), followed by Jay glancing out of the window at a police car parked outside Greg's house. Nor is there ever word of a funeral. This could be justified, though, as the audience never gets to see the others find out about the incident on-screen.
Awesome Music: The entire musical score by Richard Vreeland (AKA Disasterpeace) is a throwback to the horror films of the 80s, and not only is it terrifying, but it is also beautiful.
Critical Dissonance: It holds a remarkable 95% on Rotten Tomatoes... from critics. From audiences, it has a much less impressive 66%. Downplayed in that there's still more positive reviews than negative ones.
Cult Classic: For horror fans that did enjoy it, it's viewed as an underrated classic as a movie that takes a bizarre concept and invents something new and unique in the otherwise oversaturated horror genre.
Esoteric Happy Ending: While the ending has all the hallmarks of being a Downer Ending, the tone at the end is possibly more positive or at least more bittersweet than that, as Jay and Paul are together and both seem much more serene than they have for the entire movie.
Funny Moments:
- "I have an idea!"
- Jeff sees a woman power-walking toward Jay, points at her dramatically, and gravely declares "Do you see that girl there?!" Everyone responds in the affirmative as the power-walker gives them a weird look and continues on her way.
Hype Backlash: Some people who have heard the many rave reviews of this movie have watched it and wondered what all the fuss is about, especially if they assumed it would be a conventional horror film instead of a slow, psychological one.
Inferred Holocaust: Jay, Greg, and Paul (especially the former two) have multiple opportunities where they seem like they're about to pass on It — Jay, to the guys on the boat; Greg, to the girls at school; Paul, to the prostitutes. It's never made clear if they do or not, but at least in Jay and Greg's cases, it would explain why It is confirmed to leave them alone for a little while before coming back to them. But there's also no indication, if they did pass it on, if they bothered to even try and explain to pass It on.
Narm:
- "It" grabbing Jay's hair in full view of her friends. The problem is, none of her friends can see it, so we're treated to a shot of her hair flying straight up in the air as if by magic. It only gets better when Paul wallops the still-invisible "It" with a beach chair, only to go flying backwards as he's struck.
- The whole pissing aspect can easily draw laughs if it doesn't draw shivers.
- The way that the curse is passed on: having sex.
- The horror of Anne's situation in the opening is cheapened somewhat by the fact that she chose to run away in some very high heels. Even if it can be justified by saying she put on the first shoes she found, one can't help but think it would work much better if she had on no shoes at all.
- On the beach, when Jay starts firing the pistol at It, Greg takes cover behind... a lawn chair.
Narm Charm: Yes, in theory, the idea of a horror movie monster being essentially a walking, thinking STD is silly, but in practice, the film is still pretty scary. The Paranoia Fuel doesn't hurt.
One-Scene Wonder: The scariest part of the movie by many is thought to be the Entity's invasion of Jay's house, where it first takes the tall form. Said form is played by Mike Lanier, in his only acting role, as he passed away in 2018.
Paranoia Fuel: Never has a lone person walking been so unsettling.
Squick:
- When "It" appears in the kitchen, it takes the form of a traumatised-looking woman who is urinating down her legs and onto the floor.
- How "It" kills is graphically shown when it rapes Greg to death. To make matters even worse, "It" does this while taking the form of Greg's mother.
The Woobie: Greg. He responds to the call for help immediately. He takes everyone to his beach house. He teaches Jay to shoot. He volunteers to take on "It" from Jay. What does he get for his trouble? He gets shot at, his car gets wrecked and then he dies from being raped to death by a creature that looks like his mother.

YMMV / It Follows

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