Movie Reviews

‘Followers’ review: Found footage with modern sensibilities

Things worse than ghosts.

March 20, 2023

Followers is not the first movie to integrate social media into found footage. It does demonstrate how easily the subgenre can evolve in order to stay relevant, however. A disgraced social media influencer named Jonty (Harry Jarvis, The Knight Before Christmas) moves into a new house after starting university. When he and his housemates learn their new home is haunted, they turn it into internet fame. Unfortunately, their new celebrity comes with deadly consequences.

Writer-director Marcus Harben brings classic horror tropes into the modern world. Strange figures appear on computer screens while the sudden ringing of cell phones shock audiences. They are scares that have been used before, but it adds to the 21st century feel the plot is going for. The best use may have been the mysterious sounds that are described by one of the characters as “90s rave music”.

The four main characters would fit perfectly into any slasher from the 1980s. Jonty is the unlikable lead while Pete (Daniel Cahill, Anna and the Apocalypse) is the hot-headed strong guy, Amber (Erin Austen, The Royals) is the resident sexpot, and Zauna (Loreece Harrison, Pennyworth) is the nerd trying to keep everyone calm. Each has been updated for today’s world – Amber’s nude scene is the result of leaked pics, for example. It is a neat touch to classic horror storytelling.

Followers moves along at a nice clip for the first hour or so. There are some potentially interesting subplots that are not explored deep enough, but the story is interesting enough to remain engaging. This includes some nice, if predictable, scares, and an exploration of character motivations. There is even a bit of a mystery as to whether the place really is haunted.

Regrettably, the film loses almost all of its steam in the third act. It takes a more comedic slant starting with a groovy ghostly appearance at a Halloween party. Talk of “bloody magic” and “ghost makers” probably looked good on paper, but it sounds more corny than scary. The twist ending also sees one character arguably get what they deserve, but another has their story taken from them, which goes completely goes against one of the themes of Followers. This may have been intentional, but it gives the final scene a hollow feeling.