Imagine walking down your street, looking over your shoulder, and realizing a stranger is walking straight toward you. Creepy, right? Unquestionably, that is the exact nightmare fuel driving the 2015 indie horror masterpiece, It Follows.
Released to massive critical acclaim, the movie turned a tiny $1.3 million budget into a staggering $23.3 million worldwide box office smash. However, long after the credits roll, one massive question still haunts horror fans. Specifically, what on earth happens in the final scene?
If you are scratching your head over those final frames, you are definitely not alone. the It Follows ending explained, breaking down exactly who carries the deadly curse when the screen cuts to black.
Key Takeaways
- The Rules: The “It” entity relentlessly stalks whoever currently holds the sexually transmitted curse.
- The Chain: If the monster kills its current target, it immediately works its way backward to the previous person.
- The Pool Plan: The characters’ attempt to electrocute the monster in a swimming pool ultimately fails.
- The Final Holder: By the end of the film, Paul holds the curse, though he may have passed it to sex workers to buy time.
- The Sequel: A sequel titled They Follow is officially in development, which will finally give us real answers.
It Follows Ending Explained: Who Has the Curse at the End?
To truly understand the ending, we first need to look at the terrifying rules of the game. Basically, the monster operates like a supernatural, sexually transmitted disease. You get it through physical intimacy. Afterward, the creature walks toward you at a steady, unstoppable pace. It can look like a total stranger, or it can take the form of someone you love.
Consequently, you only have two choices. You can run forever, or you can sleep with someone else to pass the curse along. Still, passing it on doesn’t make you safe. If the monster catches and kills the person you gave it to, you are officially back on the menu.
The Disastrous Swimming Pool Showdown
Before we reach the final shot, we have to talk about the climax. Jay (Maika Monroe) and her friends devise an elaborate trap at a local indoor swimming pool. Essentially, they plan to lure the creature into the water and throw plugged in electrical appliances into the pool to fry it.
Does this sound like a terrible idea? Absolutely. In fact, director David Robert Mitchell completely agrees. During an interview, Mitchell laughed about the climax, calling it the stupidest plan ever and comparing it to something Scooby-Doo and the gang might think of.
Why did he write it that way? Logically, teenagers trapped in a supernatural nightmare wouldn’t suddenly become tactical geniuses. Instead, they do the best they can with the mundane objects around them. Ultimately, the plan fails miserably. Jay shoots the monster in the head, causing the pool water to turn dark with blood, but the entity is immortal. It is strictly delayed, not destroyed.
So, Who Actually Has the Curse in the Final Scene?
Following the pool disaster, Jay finally gives in. She sleeps with her longtime friend Paul (Keir Gilchrist), successfully passing the curse to him. But here is where things get incredibly murky.
Shortly after their encounter, we see Paul driving his car through a red light district in Detroit. He looks out the window at a group of sex workers. Suddenly, the film cuts to the next day. Jay and Paul are walking down a quiet suburban street, holding hands. In the far background, a blurry figure is walking deliberately in their direction.
Let’s break down the exact chain of custody.
- Jay had it. (After her neighbor Greg is brutally killed, the curse returned to her).
- Paul gets it. (Jay sleeps with him to save herself).
- The Sex Worker gets it? (It is heavily implied that Paul paid a sex worker to pass the curse along, ensuring he and Jay could live peacefully for a while).
The Grim Reality of Paul’s Choice
If Paul actually passed the curse to a sex worker, he essentially condemned a stranger to death. Furthermore, this creates a grim, ticking clock. Because a sex worker interacts with numerous clients, the curse might get passed down a long, rapid chain. However, sex workers are also incredibly vulnerable. If the monster quickly catches the sex worker or anyone further down the chain the curse will eventually snap right back to Paul.
Therefore, when we see that blurry figure walking behind Jay and Paul in the final shot, it could mean one of two things:
- Scenario A: Paul never went through with sleeping with the sex worker. As a result, the monster is simply walking toward Paul, who is the current target.
- Scenario B: Paul did pass it on. But the monster already killed the sex worker, and it has come back to finish Paul off.
Either way, they are absolutely not safe. They are sitting ducks.
What Does Director David Robert Mitchell Say?
Naturally, horror fans desperately want a definitive answer. Is the figure in the background actually the monster, or just a random neighbor?
Interestingly, David Robert Mitchell purposely left it ambiguous. Speaking about the final scene, Mitchell revealed that the production crew shot several different variations. We had some where he was really far back, and then some where no one would ever miss him, Mitchell explained. Ultimately, they chose a middle ground approach. It allows people to make up their own mind of what it means.
In other words, the ambiguity is the entire point. It Follows operates as a massive metaphor for growing up, losing your innocence, and realizing that death is always walking toward you. Whether the monster catches them today, tomorrow, or decades from now, the threat of mortality never stops following us.
The Wait is Over: They Follow Is Coming
For nearly a decade, fans debated these exact theories on Reddit boards and horror forums. Then, in late 2023, the horror community got the ultimate bombshell.
A direct sequel, officially titled They Follow, is currently in development. Even better, both director David Robert Mitchell and star Maika Monroe are returning to the franchise. While the plot details are strictly under wraps, the title itself suggests a terrifying escalation. Will there be multiple monsters? Did the curse mutate?
Most importantly, this upcoming sequel guarantees that we will finally learn how Jay and Paul survived that ominous walk down the street. Until then, we just have to keep looking over our shoulders.
What Do You Think?
Do you believe Paul actually went through with passing the curse to a stranger, or did he hold onto it out of guilt? Drop your best theories in the comments below! If you loved this deep dive into the It Follows ending explained, be sure to share this article with your favorite horror loving friends. Stay safe, and whatever you do don’t stop walking!
