PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE MOVIE. "I'll feed on your fear while I feast on your flesh!"
In 1986, the master horror author released a book that went on to become one of the prolific writers most beloved works, especially after it was made into a two part miniseries in 1990. IT is probably directly responsible for the reason why 40% of adults are scared of clowns, thanks to an iconic performance by Tim Curry.
Fast forward 30 years and thanks to a tsunami of 80s nostalgia New Line Cinema decided to adapt the book and produce something less toned down and closer to King's original prose. The first trailer for this new movie broke records and the internet, being viewed close to 190 million times in the first 24 hours. On a related note, the Duffer brothers who created Netflix show Stranger Things, originally pitched to direct the IT remake but were unsuccessful. So they went off and created Stranger Things as a way to pay homage to Stephen King and 80s Spielberg.
Horror movies seem to be going through something of a renaissance in recent years with movies like The Conjuring, Get Out, Lights Out, Don't Breathe and this year's Annabelle: Creation all having critical and box office success. These movies were low budget, but incredibly well made, favouring atmosphere, tension and good story over excessive gore. This new adaptation of Stephen King's book seems to follow this trend even before it plays it's ace in the hole, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, this time played by Bill Skarsgard.
Will this movie be a financial success? Will it live up to all the hype? Will a new generation of young people grow up scarred and scared of clowns?
The story/plotA group of 7 schoolkids, who ironically dubbed by themselves The Losers Club, start the summer holidays in the town of Derry Maine only to become aware of the tragic history of disappearances that happen in the town. They eventually find themselves drawn into opposition against an evil entity that calls itself Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
Overall opinionFull disclosure: not only am I big fan of Stephen King, his books and many of the adaptations of his works (Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Stand by Me, The Running Man) but I LOVE creepy clowns (see below for my Halloween costume from 2014).
I remember watching the 1990 miniseries when it debuted on tv (I was 13 at the time) and loving it. I especially loved that virtually every one of my friends was freaked out or flat out terrified of Tim Curry's Pennywise. Why do I mention this? Because, my review may be a little biased. With that being said, I FREAKING LOVED THIS MOVIE.
I only watched the first two trailers as I didn't want anything spoiled for me. The second trailer in particular made this movie one of my most anticipated going into the tail end of 2017. And it is glorious. It is not just a great horror movie, it is a great movie, which didn't have any of it's best bits spoiled by the trailers.
The film manages to balance a coming-of-age movie (similar to Stand By Me) with scares reminiscent of classic horror movies from the past (but manages to avoid or reinvent troupes that we have come to expect from the genre) and also throws in lots of humour too. I was surprised at how funny parts of the movie was. It was unexpected, but very welcome.
The child actors are all great and totally believable as a group who would naturally band together; they have great chemistry.
Updating this part of the story from the 50s to the 80s was a smart move (80s nostalgia is so en vogue right now). And then there is Pennywise. If you weren't scared of clowns before this movie you may finish it never wanting to see a clown again. However the movie gives more layers and dimension to the character so his appearances always feel fresh, different and unexpected. He is not under or overused, but even when he is not on-screen you still feel his presence everywhere.
All in all, the movie is probably the best horror movie we will get this year and will definitely be in my top 10 best films of 2017.
The PerformancesFinn Wolfhard - Richie"The one from Stranger Things" and the kid with the coolest name in Hollywood. Some people may say that he is typecasting himself with these "80s set kid vs monsters" roles, however he plays a completely different character here and is amazing. One of the stand outs in a stellar cast.
Jaeden Lieberher - BillThe leader(?) of The Losers Club whose brother Georgie has an early encounter with Pennywise. A lot of the movie rests of his young shoulders and he does not disappoint. He delivers a great performance made all the more difficult by the addition of a stutter to the character, which makes him likeable, sympathetic and heroic all at the same time.
Sophia Lillis - BevThe only girl in The Loser Club, she pretty much steals every scene she is in. She is very much the MVP of the child cast.
Jeremy Ray Taylor - BenThe overweight kid of The Loser Club and the new kid in town. There is a nice running joke between him and Sophia which is hilarious, especially for those of us who grew up in the 80s.
Chosen Jacobs - MikeThe black kid in The Losers Club and unfortunately he isn't given as much screen time as the others. However he is great whenever he is woven into the story.
Jack Dylan Grazer - EddieThe hypochondriac of The Losers Club and as fast talking as Mouth from Goonies. Another funny and engaging performance in the group and definitely a standout performance.
Wyatt Oleff - StanA Jewish kid who is just about to have is Bar Mitzvah. Similar to Chosen Jacobs in the sense that he doesn't have as much screen time as some of the other kids, but when called upon, he really steps up and matches those around him. Also, the little character moment he does with his bike is just brilliant and very subtle.
Bill Skarsgard - Pennywise the Dancing ClownMost people know his more famous father and brother better. And Tim Curry left some big (clown) shoes to fill: Even people who have never seen the 1990 miniseries know who Pennywise is and what Tim Curry's version looked life. So Skarsgard had to pull out all the stops to create a new, but equally creepy and scary character that was over-the-top. And, boy, did he succeed. From the vintage clown costume to the seemingly unnatural passive stare he has to the extremely disturbing voice, this version of Pennywise is definitely it's own thing and will be viewed as a different portrayal of the same character, rather than be directly compared to what came before.
OTHER STUFFThe ScaresThe point of a horror movie is to scare people and this movie uses a number of techniques, other than jump scares, to achieve this goal. And it does them well. Fortunately, none of the best bits have been ruined by the trailers and this is the first time is years I have heard an entire audience collectively scream as several different points in the movie.
The CGICGI is used very well to compliment and enhance Skarsgard performance, but is not overdone to take away from the overall feeling of dread.
The CinematographyBeautifully shot, using the most of the real world location where the movie was shot, they managed to give everything a little unsettling vibe at the same time.
The PacingIncredibly well paced. Although it's a shade over 2 hours long, I was never bored or wondering how much time was left. The balancing between character moments, advancing the story, having scares, fun little moments between the characters and some laugh-out-loud moments was incredibly well done.
Final verdict"You'll float too"IT (2017) is an amazing movie and definitely lives up to all the hype of the marketing campaign. You can definitely put this movie alongside movies like Misery and The Shining as examples of good Stephen King adaptations (and there are many bad adaptations of his work over the years). If you like horror movies then you will love this movie. If you want to scare a friend who is terrified of clowns, this is the movie for you. I cannot wait for the sequel that deals with the second part of King's book with the characters all grown up.
Score - 9.2/10My Movie rating system
10- Citizen "F*%king" Kane (A+)
9- Bloody Great (A)
8- Really rather good (A-)
7- Pretty decent (B+)
6- Definitely above average (B)
5- Middle of the road average (C)
4- Mediocre (D)
3- Meh (E)
2- Crap (F)
1- Why the hell did I waste my my time and money on this abomination (unrated)