The Latest Stephen King Adaptation "IT" Is Disturbingly Amazing!

 
    One of my most anticipated movies of the year has finally arrived! When I heard that they were doing a movie based on the popular novel "IT" by Stephen King, I was stoked beyond belief. I have vague memories of the TV miniseries from the 90s starring Tim Curry as The Dancing Clown himself, Pennywise, and to be honest that's all I really remember. Curry's performance terrified a generation and introduced the world to one of King's most iconic characters. This new adaptation is NOT a remake. I know that term is and will be thrown around during the movie's run, but to call it a remake would legitimize the TV series as the pinnacle version, which it most certainly is not. Though scary, the miniseries lacked the freedom to really delve into the world King created and is honestly farther from the book by way of adaptation that this new movie. So, first and foremost just know that this movie is not a remake, but a straight-up adaptation...and it is better than I could have ever hoped!

   I read the novel this summer in anticipation of the film and man was it a doozy. Clocking in at just under 1200 pages, King's novel is an experience in and of itself. At its core it is a coming of age story about friendship, unity, and love, in the midst of a terror spree brought on by a child-eating entity that often appears as a clown. When it comes to book-to-film adaptations, 9.9 times out of 10 the book is always better than the film. The novel is dense with detailed imagery and moments that are not found in the movie and that is to be expected. The changes and omissions that were made to fit the big screen version I was completely fine with because the movie still captures the spirit of the story, the essence of the characters, while delivering some creepy and terrifying imagery that will surely stick in the minds of viewers. Personally, I'm not scared of clowns in the slightest. I think they can be creepy at times, but this mass hysterical fear that a lot of people have of clowns is lost on me. If you are one who has these fears, I bid you good luck when watching this movie, because what they do with Pennywise the clown is outright disturbing. As a fan of the novel, I went into this movie excited and I left the movie feeling happily disturbed and creepily satisfied.


   I'll admit I was expecting to be scared out of my mind from this movie, but I wasn't...and I'm glad. Too many horror movies these days tend to spend more time on the scares and less on the story. That being said, people get scared by different things. Annabelle: Creation, I think, is a movie that hits those strides for me when it comes to the things that scare me. That being said, IT is a superior film in every way in comparison. I'll just start with the story itself. The movie follows The Losers Club, a group of bullied kids, during the summer of 1989. When club leader Bill's (Jaeden Lieberher) bother Georgie goes missing (via a creepy clown), Bill is determined to get to the bottom of his brother's disappearance. His friends Stanley (Wyatt Oleff), Richie (Finn Wolfhard), and Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) all support him in his endeavor. Newcomers Beverly (Sophia Lillis), Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), and Mike (Chosen Jacobs) join the club when they all realize that at one point or another they have all encountered the evil entity Pennywise in some form or fashion. As they discover that this killer clown is behind the disappearance of multiple children (including Georgie), they must band together to face their fears if they are to prevail against the evil dancing clown. The narrative of the novel is dense, and there are a lot of moments from the novel that seem glossed over in the movie, but for reasons that are completely understandable. The movie walks that line between horror and drama really well. You get to know these characters and care about them, making the scary parts that much more terrifying.

 
   This movie is also really funny. There is so much heart to the story that it beautifully captures the innocence of childhood wonder and the scary aspects of growing up in the midst of traumatic experiences. There is a Loser for every audience member to connect with, and by doing so you are able to fully invest in the experience. A lot of that has to do with the child actors who absolutely crush it. Casting wise, they couldn't have picked a better bunch of kids. It's as if the casting director ripped them straight out of the novel. Each one of them shine in various aspects, but the stand-outs for sure were Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, and Jack Dylan Grazer. Sophia plays one of the more trauma-riddled characters in Bev and she was captivating at every turn. Finn, most people know from Stranger Things, is an up-and-coming star, and as the wise-cracking Richie he is perfect. A lot of the comedic levity comes from Richie's one-liners and they are on point every time. Of all the Losers, my favorite was Jack's interpretation of Eddie. In the book Richie and Eddie were my favorite Losers, and it's no surprise here that they were my favorite in the movie as well. Eddie has a ton of fast-paced dialogue and Jack delivers a performance that was shockingly good and everything I had expected from the character. The kids all around were perfectly cast and deliver outstanding performances from top to bottom.

   Alright, I've blabbered on long enough, time to get to the clown himself. Pennywise as a character is an interesting amalgamation of imagery, fear, terror, and other-worldly-ness. The way director Andy Muschietti uses him is as brilliant as King's use in the novel. With the kids we really don't get a lot in the way of structural character arc. Where we get to know them is through their fears and interactions with Pennywise. So, when he pops up, it's not only to elicit a scare, but it's important to the overall story. Tim Curry as I mentioned before was iconic in his interpretation. Bill Skarsgård's performance as The Dancing Clown in this movie will be ingrained in the minds of audiences forever. It truly is one of  the most exciting, artistic, creepy, unnerving, disturbing performances of recent recollection and I am so stoked to have been able to witness it. Skarsgård's collaboration with Muschietti has given us an iconic movie villain not to be forgotten. The choices that Skarsgård makes in just his facial expressions and his body language is so off-putting that he is completely lost in the character. Pennywise is frightening and playful all at the same time. He feeds off of the fears of the children and seeing him playing with his would-be food is skin-crawlingly delicious. I loved every single moment of screen time you get with Pennywise. The jump scares are earned and not over-done. The execution of the character was spot-on if you ask me. This is a performance not to be missed or forgotten.

   As a film, IT is one of the best horror movies to date. It's not scary for the sake of being scary. It's almost a drama but with extremely scary moments. The way it is crafted, from the cinematography to the score (which is amazing) to the casting and acting and direction, everything about this movie is better than anticipated. Personally, whatever bias you might think I have from being a fan of the material after reading this review - speaking only to the craft of the film - IT is one of the better horror movies of the last decade as well as one of the best overall films I've seen as of late. It captures the spirit and essence of the source material beautifully, earning the R-rating honestly and not overtly. This movie is violent, gruesome, gory, and disturbing all while being warm, funny, and full of heart. I LOVE this movie. If I knew nothing going in I think I would still feel the same way because it is such a well-crafted film. My only gripe, if there was one, was that there were a couple of characters that they just didn't do enough with. One of them was one of the Losers. But ultimately I cannot recommend this movie enough. Go see it. Then go see it again.