This article was originally published in October 2019 when everything in the entire world was totally different. We are republishing it following the announcement of the It Follows sequel, They Follow.
Halloween is less than a week away. Scary! It’s hard to imagine celebrating Halloween when the entire world already feels like Halloween, but I have an idea about how to fix this. Remember how we fixed ALS when we did the Ice Bucket Challenge? Or how we fixed human evolution with the Tide Pod Challenge? Or how we raised awareness for mannequins with the Mannequin Challenge? What if — hear me out — we invented a new viral challenge, one that would make everyone feel happy again by reminding us that things could be much worse — that we could instead be relentlessly stalked by undead sex demons hell-bent on yanking our legs into unnatural positions?
I’m talking, of course, about the It Follows Challenge (#ItFollowsChallenge). The It Follows Challenge is not actually a thing … yet. I have been trying to make it a thing for approximately one calendar year, and so far it hasn’t worked, possibly because it is TOO spooky. But I feel strongly that it should work, for the health of the globe, so I am writing this blog. Below, I’ll answer your inevitable questions about the It Follows Challenge, which one person told me seemed “so random.”
… What?
The #ItFollowsChallenge is inspired by David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 feature film It Follows, starring Maika Monroe as a woman who is followed (hence the title) around her suburban town by a mysterious force that takes on a variety of human forms and violently kills people. The only way to get the evil entity off your back is to have sex with somebody, who is then “followed” in your stead. As I have said before, horror movies are now officially preferable to real life, so why not make your life more like a horror movie?
This movie came out five years ago, not even to the day. Like, literally even in a different season than we’re in now? Right?
Yeah.
Is there a sequel coming out?No. Update: Yes. On October 30, 2023, Neon and David Robert Mitchell announced a sequel, They Follow, and that’s why I made up this challenge four years ago.
So does this have to do with anything in particular?
It does not.
So why are we doing it?
I feel like I explained that pretty well.
Okay. How do you do the #ItFollowsChallenge?
Find a friend, or even a fun-looking stranger who looks like they appreciate a nice laugh. Ask that friend or stranger to walk really far away from you (roughly one city block) and then stalk towards you, very slowly and expressionless. In the background you should play the theme music from It Follows. If you can do the whole thing without either of you laughing, you win the challenge. Watch the video above for more information.
But you’re laughing in that video.
Right, I failed. I am not a role model, just a vessel.
How do I make sure that the #ItFollowsChallenge is a major viral success? This is important to me.
I agree. Just tag your video #ItFollowsChallenge and we will make this a major viral success. Thank you.
