REVIEW: “IT”
Warner Bros. Pictures - Youtube
September 22, 2017
“IT” is the 30th mainstream film adaptation of a work of horror fiction by Stephen King. We’ve seen good (1980’s “The Shining”), bad (2013’s “Carrie”), and indifferent (2007’s “1408”). I wasn’t expecting much of “IT” until I read the reviews, and then perhaps I expected too much. Let’s be clear that it’s not perfect by any means. Its flamboyant Hollywood vibe is slightly off-putting for somebody who seeks unconventionality in horror films. However, it most definitely falls into the former category—it is a good movie, if not a great one.
In the fictional town of Derry, Maine, adults are said to disappear unexpectedly at six times the national rate, but for kids, this rate is much higher. This is due to the terror wrought by the titular character, a supernatural entity who appears every 27 years in the form of whatever each kid is most afraid of. In the film, he appears as a leper, a creepy tall woman with a distorted face, and most notably Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
The middle schoolers who are under attack are a group of seven misfits who call themselves the Losers Club. They inhabit a dark world, as they are physically tormented by bullies on a regular basis, even during the summer when school is out. One of them is also sexually abused by her father, and another had a brother whom the titular character murdered only months before.
The film’s narrative often reminds us of “Stand by Me” (1986), another Stephen King adaptation, although not based on one of his works in the horror genre. Despite the living nightmare with which the kids are faced, they are brought together as friends by the adventure that it creates. The dramatic focus on their camaraderie sets “IT” apart from other horror movies: we can actually identify with the characters and their experience, so the movie feels even scarier.
Bill Skarsgård does an excellent job as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the titular character’s most common iteration. His performance is creepy and unsettling, and increasingly so throughout the film. While the actress who portrays the one female “loser” (named Beverly Marsh) seems a bit too old for her role, she compensates for this with a stellar performance, accompanying the equally spirited performances from the rest of the Losers Club.
Rather than using costumes and makeup, all iterations of the titular character have been created using computer-generated imagery (CGI). While this is a controversial move, I feel strongly that it worked in the film’s favor. It elevates the fantastical element of the film, wherein the kids can see these entities but the adults can’t.
Another aspect of “IT” that works in its favor is that it forsakes the cheesiness of the original 1990 miniseries. (Note the irony that the original was released 27 years ago, and the kids are terrorized every 27 years.) Naturally, being an R-rated film, we see more violence than ABC was permitted to show in their adaptation. We are also treated to creative profanities and clueless sex talk among the young teens, which makes for superb comic relief.
“IT” runs 2 hours, 15 minutes, but it’s highly engrossing. The story reels you in and doesn’t dare spit you out until the very end, and even at that point, we are left wanting more. Thankfully, as a title card at the end informs us, this is only chapter one. A second installment is in the works, depicting the latter half of Stephen King’s 1,138-page book, in which the original ensemble encounters the titular terror 27 years later. Walking out of the theater, I was so stoked to see the second film that I was in fact disappointed to realize that I have to wait another few years.
