HIFF2022: Follow Her is a disturbing thriller that flirts with a clever concept it never fully embraces.

 

 

Pursuing fame and stardom these days can be a demoralizing daily experience. For aspiring actress Jess (Dani Barker), however, navigating the highs and lows of the industry can be an outright killer in the Heartland Film Festival Official Selection, Follow Her. In addition to attending auditions, Jess has a popular side gig wherein she takes odd online jobs and films the ensuing creepy encounters with men without their knowledge or consent. This gains her internet clout and clouds her judgment of right and wrong in what is or isn't orchestrated in her videos.

 

When Jess takes a screenwriting job that seems on the up and up, she gets more than she bargains for. Tom (Luke Cook) is a charming Australian man who enlists Jess's help with finishing a screenplay he's been working on. After an intense instant chemistry forms between the two and leads them to Tom's secluded barn, Jess quickly finds herself in over her head as the truth of who Tom is and his intentions come to the forefront.

 

At times, Follow Her is a disturbing thriller that flirts with a clever concept it never fully embraces. Once Tom gets Jess into the barn, he reveals the screenplay he's been working on. When Jess realizes the script is a hastily written account of their day thus far, Tom suggests a game in which they improvise as the characters and see who emerges as the killer.

 

The sadistic game that forms between the pair transitions the chemistry-laden meet-cute in the first act into a slightly more by-the-numbers sadistic character piece for the majority of the film's remaining runtime. As Tom becomes increasingly unhinged, Cook's performance strains credulity more as no further insight is given into his psyche aside from the, at times, over-the-top performance. 

To Follow Her's credit, the story leads to some intriguing developments in the third act. The film utilizes its confined and isolated atmosphere well and then usurps it with a more open and dangerous surrounding in its final act. Although the later developments in the plot feel slightly beholden to similar work in the thriller film and TV space, it utilizes it's fame-seeking protagonist's pursuit of her dreams well enough. If you don't think too hard about the villain's motivations and the intricacies of what is occurring, the film's final moments may leave a decent impression on you.

 

There's a hefty amount of commentary baked into Follow Her. Most of all, the cavalier behavior of Jess's internet live-streaming project is meant to show the dangers associated with internet encounters and the risk of predatory behavior for which internet classified ads seem to be a haven. Much like the "work in progress screenplay role play" plot device, "the predatory classified ad spy cam" element of Jess's story feels underdeveloped at the end of the day.

 

The overall presentation and varied tension save Follow Her from succumbing to a couple of questionable narrative beats, however. Though the film doesn't explore its more unique narrative conceits fully enough, it does manage to surprise and even unnerve you in some spots and proves to be a worthy addition to Heartland Film Festival's Heartland Horror lineup.