10 Genius Suspense Tricks That Made Horror Movies Great
8. Having Extras Constantly Following The Characters - It Follows
It Follows is a paranoia-laced horror film in which protagonist Jay (Maika Monroe) becomes infected with a sexually transmitted curse, causing an entity to relentlessly pursue her with the ability to resemble literally anybody on Earth.
Most of the film's tension stems, then, from the fact that the Entity can be anyone who Jay encounters throughout the story, whether somebody she knows or a total stranger.
And director David Robert Mitchell takes perfect advantage of his tantalising setup by frequently framing Jay with strangers in the background who may or may not be pursuing her.
These figures, typically out of focus, are just present enough to rouse doubt and unease in the viewer's mind, that they could be The Entity, all the way up to the movie's final scene, where a figure can be seen walking distantly behind Jay and Paul (Keir Gilchrist).
Sometimes the simplest tricks are the most effective, in this case training the audience to be suspicious of just about everybody in the frame.