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It (2017)
(Warner Bros./New Line Cinema)
By Lucas Allen
Anyone who has a phobia of clowns will certainly be traumatized for life by the new version of Stephen King’s 1986 bestseller “It.” By comparison, the 1990 television miniseries with Tim Curry in one of his most memorable performances as Pennywise looks more like My Little Pony. The 2017 version is not only scary but also funny and emotional, something most modern horror films seem to lack. Turning an 1,100 page novel into a two-part motion picture is no easy task, but director Andy Muschietti proves to be up for the challenge.
An evil spirit awakens every 27 years and haunts the town of Derry, Maine. A young boy named Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) was playing with his toy boat in the rain when he lost it in the sewer. When he tries to reach for it, the clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) appeared to entice him before dragging the little one down into the sewer. Cut to the summer of 1989 where Georgie’s older brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), who suffers from a stutter, hangs out with friends — sidekick Richie (Finn Wolfhard), mama’s boy Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), and nervous Stanley (Wyatt Oleff). However, Bill can’t shake off his little brother’s disappearance and tries to find answers.
When smarty-pants Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), who’s bullied by the sadistic Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) and Beverly (Sophia Lillis), who’s sexually abused by her father (Stephen Bogaert) join them, they work together to understand their town’s history. Pennywise begins to terrorize them, preying on their worst fears. Eventually farmhand Mike (Chosen Jacobs) joins them to battle the evil spirit.
Movie-goers disappointed by last month’s “The Dark Tower” and the severe butchering of King’s universe will breathe a sigh of relief at this adaptation. The filmmakers made the wisest choice of having the first half of the novel be the basis for this film rather than going back and forth between the past and the present like the original. Updating the time from the early 1960s to the late 1980s is a crucial change, especially when it echoes the King-like adventures of “Stranger Things.” Plus for those who grew up in the 80s and 90s, the movie takes you back to an innocent time where hanging out with friends was an adventure in of itself.
King is not always a nice guy when he writes his stories, as the town of Derry is full of horrors, both realistic and supernatural. The adults are portrayed as non-believers or monsters themselves, like the teenage bully or the abusive parent. It makes the various encounters with Pennywise all the more terrifying. The tension mounts in each scene up until the climax, when the kids find just enough courage to confront both the monster and their fears.
The biggest success with the story is the believability of these young actors as the main characters. Throughout the movie, you feel like you’re part of this group having fun and talking trash. Each of them has a different personality and fear making them easy to recognize, and each of the young actors pulled it off very well. They also pulled off some funny parts for much needed levity and some emotional heartbreaking scenes, making the first horror film of the new millennium one that will have you grabbing some hankies.
Let’s not forget the title monster of the film that combines both the Xenomorph from “Alien” with Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” With a new look and a more sinister personality, Skarsgard keeps us on edge at every turn, offering a Pennywise that’s far scarier than the original Curry version. With an emphasis on clown horror plus some cursing and bloody violence, this movie is like an R-rated version of a Goosebumps novel or an episode of “Are You Afraid of the Dark.”
The new “It” achieves on many levels as the scariest, funniest and most emotional horror film in more than 30 years. It’s not only one of the best films of the year, but also one of the best horror remakes and a top contender for the best horror film of the decade. It’ll be very interesting how they can follow that up with the grown-up versions of the main characters that will dive deeper into Pennywise’s history. Hopefully, they shouldn’t botch it up like the miniseries did.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for violence/terror, bloody images, and for language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.75 Stars (Out of Four)
