IT Review
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Derry, Maine is a small town with a dark history. Kids have gone missing at higher rates than the national average. In the late 1980s, a group of kids known as The Loser’s Club start having strange premonitions. Each vision is tied to their greatest fear. When they realize a monstrous clown is tied to their visions, they begin to suspect that this creature is behind the disappearance of the children. These kids must ban together and figure out a way to stop this clown before more of Derry’s youth fall victim to its tricks. Can the group defeat him? Or will they be consumed by their fear?
Positives:
I remember the hype behind “IT” upon its initial release. The film was a massive critical and commercial success, still holding the record for being the highest grossing horror movie of all time. Revising it on the big screen before the “Welcome to Derry” release was a blast! The film really holds up, managing to craft a great coming of age story with some disturbing scares. The film begins on a rainy day, where Bill Denborough makes a paper boat for his younger brother Georgie. As Georgie watches his boat drift downstream, he encounters the evil Pennywise waiting in the drain. As Georgie is tempted by Pennywise’s whimsical demeanor, we quickly realize how demented he is. The scene never fails to be both engaging and horrifying. Bill Skarsgård takes a very different approach in portraying Pennywise than Tim Curry. Where Curry’s more human take presented a creepy man in a van vibe, Skarsgård leans into the creature that lurks in the shadows waiting to strike its next victim. This is true for the other tense sequences, where Pennywise plays into the fear of each child. Each encounter the children have with him is uniquely constructed, feeling equally terrifying in its own way. This connects us to each member of The Loser’s Club, helping us understand their role in the group.
Director Andy Muschietti handles his young cast very well. The story gives us just enough about each character to help us understand their place in the story. We learn about their struggles and why they feel connected to the others in the group. Each young actor displays great chemistry with one another, helped by a strong screenplay and script. Pennywise is also established nicely, getting small details of his history as the story progresses. We never learn too much about him though which keeps his mystique in check. He becomes more sinister as his shapeshifting continues to disturb the children. I like the throwback setting in small town Maine. It helps the story feel contained, where the lore of Pennywise seems buried within the town’s history. The sound is strong in the film, whether it be playing the jolting sound effects or engulfing us in the score that sets the tone. “IT” is certainly one of the stronger Stephen King adaptations in recent years, giving us a strong group of characters to root for while getting some great scares ripped straight from the pages.
Negatives:
“IT” largely follows the source material while knowing where to tinker with the plot to make it adaptable to film. The main area that feels rushed would be the quickly assembled backstory of each character. But Muschietti does as good a job as he could have when putting this all into one film. The book is notoriously long, so creating strong characters in the amount of time he does is a job well done. There are certain scenes where Pennywise is running towards the camera that look cheap. The background is clearly a green screen and the CGI surrounding the clown looks muddled. Some of the dialogue with Richie and Eddie could have been refined too. They swear a bit too much and they seemed to behave eccentrically just for the sake of comedic relief. Luckily, they have other characters that are more grounded to balance them out.
Conclusion:
“IT” deserves the praise it has received over the years. The story does a good job at bringing the first half of King’s book to fruition. Each member of The Loser’s Club is fleshed out nicely, having a distinct personality and fitting into the group dynamic well. Their fears are highlighted by the demented Pennywise, played nicely by Bill Skarsgård. He leans into the creature side of the character, where his mannerisms and design make the audience uneasy whenever he is on screen. The film makes the most of its runtime, building to a strong finale that leads nicely into the next film. This is one of the strongest Stephen King adaptations yet, so adding this to spooky movie season is a must!
