Them That Follow Quick View I Say No to Snakes Grade: C

Source: IMDB

Them That Follow tells a story about a Southern religious cult, whom handle venomous snakes to their eternal belief in God. One of the members Mara (Alice Englert) has full faith in the religion and God, however she has sinned with premarital sex, which is why she is pregnant. She has been distant from her ex boyfriend Augie (Thomas Mann) for some time, as he is the one that partake in her pregnancy, while also Augie’s is not one hundred percent committed to the religion. While Mara’s life is at risk with her secret, Augie wants to prove to Mara and the church he is committed to God, so he can somehow change Mara’s mind as he hopes he can get back together with Mara and be upon her fathers approval as well. I’ve missed this film while it was back in theaters, as I finally got a chance to check it out. Them That Follow had potential to become a solid fascinating film, but unfortunately due to a slow start in the first half.... This film turned out to be alright. I felt the performances in the film were all solid for the most part. Alice Englert gives a solid performance as Mara, this was a fine protagonist as she became more interesting in the second half. Olivia Coleman playing Augie’s mother played a pretty good performance as well, I gotta say... This chick can ACT! There is a reason why she pulled off the upset in the 2019 Oscars, she’s going to be good for a really long time. Lastly really enjoyed Walton Goggins playing the priest in this film, though the character is a bit whacky with his beliefs, he’s truly dedicated/committed to the religion he follows, a realistic portrayal nothing over the top and ridiculous. So let’s talk about my main concern with this film. As I said earlier it had a slow start.... I found the first half to be a bit dull for my taste. Character development in order to get to destination or to fully complete the point your trying to come across is always rewarding, happens more than 99% of the time... But unfortunately the first half was barely interesting at all, it left me bored. We know that Mara is pregnant as things don’t really escalate to anything exciting, interesting, nor thought revoking as well. If you have an impatient audience member watching this film, likely enough they would turn it off early as nothing impactful is going on in the first half. Another thing that bothered me is in the third act, Mara’s best friend Dilly (Kaitlyn Dever) made some poor decision making that really made no sense. Considering the fact their close friends and the person whom you told the secret to so happened to try to rape you... What the hell was that?! One last thing that bothered me was the fact these members of the cult, hesitated to go to the hospital. I understand their dedication to their beliefs, but if you have someone damn near dying, wouldn’t it be best to go get some help for the poor kid?! I mean God created doctors and hospitals so... Take advantage of your blessings. I was close to giving this an average score, due to the fact the second half was solid. It wins back the audience attention towards the film, as it becomes a bit more interesting and engaging as well. I also enjoyed the scene of a member testing their faith, as their faith has been rewarded due to not being harmed in the process. Which brings a valuable point of thinking this religion is silly as it makes you think.... It maybe presented silly, but could this religion can possibly be effective?! I mean could this religious belief actually be real, if you’re truly committed to God?! Who knows, but I’m glad the film finished off on a high note in the second half, just wish the first half was a bit better to truly deserve an average grade. Overall, Them That Follow was just ok. I prefer you give it a try if it’s on a streaming service, maybe you can get more out of this than I, but for a good half it is rather interesting. -Mitch Smietana