NEW YORK (AP) — Two weeks after opening in just four theaters, the indie horror movie “It Follows” is getting a wide release this weekend.
The film has been getting positive reviews for its originality, paranoia-inducing scenes and lack of a typical villain.
“The movie starts out with my character, Jay, and her boyfriend having this sexual encounter. She soon realizes that he has passed something on to her, this thing, whatever we want to call it, that’s haunting her, and the only way to get rid of it is to pass it on,” actress Maika Monroe, 21, said in a recent interview.
Director David Robert Mitchell came up with the film’s premise from recurring nightmares he had as a child, she said.
“It was this consistent dream that he had of this thing following him, and sometimes it would come as a family member or someone that he recognized that he’s never seen,” she said. “And it just stuck with him, and there’s something so terrifying about a consistency that it never will go away.”
Monroe said she’s aware that when horror movies aren’t done right, they’re ridiculous.
“The only way to make it believable or draw the audience in for a film like this is making it as real as possible, so that was my goal.”
Monroe said she wore headphones to try to stay in the mindset where, “‘OK, you need to cry. That emotion is right there,’ but it’s really hard,” she laughed. “It’s very draining. By the end of the day you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I just cried everything out.'”
Would she be interested in doing a sequel?
“I would definitely be interested. I would love to work with David again,” she said. “He’s one of the most incredible directors and definitely going places.”
Her upcoming films include “The 5th Wave,” also starring Chloe Grace Moretz, based on the best-selling young adult book by Rick Yancey.
She’ll soon begin work on “The Tribes of Palos Verdes” with Matt Dillon and Jennifer Garner, about a girl from a dysfunctional family who turns to surfing as a way to escape.
Monroe said the role is very close to her real life because she was a professional kiteboarder before switching paths to acting.
“This industry is insane and can drive you mad if you’re not careful. For me that (escape) is kiteboarding.”
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Alicia Rancilio covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow her online at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar
