It Follows (2014)

David Robert Mitchell's $2 million indie horror grossed $14.7 million worldwide and became a critical landmark, establishing a new benchmark for intelligent, atmospheric genre filmmaking. A24's backing helped cement the distributor's identity as the home of prestige horror and helped launch the indie horror renaissance that produced Hereditary, Midsommar, and The VVitch. Its central metaphor — a sexually transmitted supernatural entity that walks toward you at walking pace, never stopping — is one of the most philosophically resonant horror conceits of the 21st century.