IT

IT

So here is the long awaited Stephen King adaptation of easily his best book. There's also a miniseries that exists but it is not exactly the best representative of King's talent. But with this film, this is a different thing entirely.

The Story - 9/10

In many respects, the story is very similar to the book but also doesn't have the same problems that it has. For example, in the book it cuts to the kids from when they were adults, to when they were kids then back to when they were adults. It ditches this disjointed nature and follows the main characters as kids. The basic premise is that a killer clown is terrorising a small town in Maine (I mean come on, it's a Stephen King story, it needs to be set in Maine or else there is no order to the world) and a group of middle school children band together to stop it. While also dealing with bullies, moronic grown ups, alcoholism and pedophilia. The story is completely reliant on these characters and it would all fall apart if they were not strong enough, but I'll get to that later. Since I have read the book, I have gotten used to it's disjointed nature. But even I have to admit, keeping it set in one period of time is helpful for getting acquainted with the surroundings and the characters. The only main issue that I have with the film is the pacing. It feels like it follows too much on trying to build up this monster with scary scenes and it's history instead of the characters. That's not to say they don't have enough time dedicated to them and their problems, but they could have done with a bit more for us to love them more. 

The Characters - 9.5/10

As I said before, if the main characters weren't strong enough, the film would fail. Thankfully they are. Each of these kids are memorable and loveable in their own ways. As to be expected though, they are favourites like Bill, Beverly and Ben. The favouritism with Bill and Bev is to be expected though because Bill's character arc is his brother dying which drives the story. Bev's story is shown in more detail because it's the most disturbing one. With all the girls mocking her and especially moments with her father, they are particularly unnerving. But Ben takes an unfair amount of screen time as he replaces Mike as the historian of the town. I know people on the internet have taken a high horse stance and saying that it's bad for racist reasons, but it is also bad for story reasons. Later on, he gets the gang back together because he is the only one who stays in Derry. This kind of move disempowers his character and leaves him to the side. Ben doesn't need this kind of empowerment because we would sympathise with him enough as it is. Also the kid from Stranger Things I didn't find that particularly funny. But as a whole, despite this kind of favouritism, the kids are still loveable and act fantastically.

For the real star of the show, Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. I really loved him, he was the perfect mix of terrifying and humorous. In comparison to the Tim Curry performance, I feel like Skarsgard is a more appropriate Pennywise. Tim Curry went for a more comical approach and it is an absolute riot. This clown was not, he was a monster that everyone was horrified and stressed out by. He is especially a physical kind of monster, despite the fact there are moments where it's obviously CGI. He jumps and dances about to add to the comic aspect of the role but it comes off as frightening.

The Horror - 9/10

As for the scares, it doesn't just come from Pennywise. It comes out of the struggles that the kids have to deal with. With the bullies, (since it's the 80s instead of the 50s) instead of looking like the chorus from Grease like in the miniseries. They look like they want to audition as Patrick Swayze's stunt double. They are particularly threatening and Henry is more fleshed out with a terrible home life and dealing with it in a horrific fashion. The adults are also overbearing towards the children in how they apathetically refuse to help them. Especially with Beverly's dad, that was just disturbing. As for Pennywise, he isn't just a clown. The best way to describe him without revealing his true form (it isn't shown in the film, but it is in the book), he is basically a Boggart from Harry Potter. For each kid he appears as something else like a Leper, a mummy or a zombie. But he doesn't have a riddiculus spell you can just cast. The camera angles as well as the lighting add to the atmosphere of particular scenes and leave you feeling unnerved.

Conclusion

IT is a fantastic horror film and an adaptation that the book deserves. It's scary, funny, has an excellent cast and monster and fantastic scares. Also make sure you watch this film sitting next to jumpy people, it's way more fun that way.

I am giving it a 9.5/10.