IT Review

IT is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel and also technically a remake of the old 1990 miniseries of the same name. The story follows a group of kids dubbed as the “Losers Club”, who have to face off against a murderous demonic clown that appears in their small town.

Let me start by saying IT was a masterpiece. No joke, I think this might have topped Get Out for being the best horror film of the year so far. What I think really pushes it over the edge is its character work. The writers knew what they were doing to really flesh out each of these kids. Granted there were lots of them so not every kid got a lot of backstory, but what was clever was that each scene with each kid centered on the what and why regarding their biggest fears. This made each sequence more interesting to watch because Pennywise the Dancing Clown feeds on children’s biggest fears in order to ultimately kill them. This made each scene with him and the kids incredibly intense and really had me on the edge of my seat throughout most of it. The kids also talked and acted like normal kids would without their parents around, which led to some really funny and naturally entertaining dialogue. A standout for me was the one kid from Stranger Things, which this movie reminded me a lot of with its similar story beats and time period. Other than the great on screen chemistry between the kids, every other scene was always something really frightening or chilling to watch. IT never had a dull moment and is a glorious fast paced thrill ride all the way through.

Bill Skarsgård did an amazing job with the character of Pennywise. Hands down, his scenes were obviously the best parts of the movie, even though all the other kids had incredible performances as well. The voice and look were really well put together. The glowing, skewed eyes combined with the sharp teeth and drooling mouth made him look just a bit more creepy even when he’s just simply standing in the frame. The CGI was also used brilliantly here. The way they edited around the clown’s movements made for some really visually entertaining scenes. It avoided looking too much like a cartoon and was more seamless if anything. The balloons and other weird images always led to some really trippy moments, which I loved because whatever happened was always so unexpectedly horrific. The ending isn’t really a real ending, however, but I am extremely excited to see what they do next with the second half of the story with the kids returning as adults to complete the adaptation.

In conclusion, this is a horror film that not only focuses on just a monster killing people, but on the deep emotional issues that each of its characters is trying to overcome and the relationship that bonds them together after the adventure is seemingly over. I implore you not to miss out on this one.