It (2017) review

In 1986, author Stephen King released what has arguably become one of his most famous stories, It. The story of a group of young outcasts who band together to fend off a terrifying creature that feeds off their fears became a major best-seller upon release. Four years later, it was adapted into a two-part miniseries which aired on ABC and starred Tim Curry in the role of the main antagonist’s primary form, Pennywise the Dancing Clown. However, due to some of the changes that were made to condense a book that is over 1,000 pages long, namely by toning down some of its darker moments to make it more suitable for television, the miniseries admittedly hasn’t aged very well. And thus, here we are now with a new adaptation of It, released 27 years after the previous adaptation (and yes, folks, if you’re a fan of the novel, then you’ll know that this number is an important one in the context of the story). Director Andrés Muschietti takes the helm this time around for what is shaping up to be the first part of a duology. Because unlike the miniseries and novel, which both intercut between events that take place 27 years apart from each other, this film focuses solely on the main protagonists when they are kids, whereas an impending second installment will shift focus to them as adults. And unlike the miniseries, specifically, this film is a dark, R-rated horror flick that’s able to delve further into the most disturbing elements of the novel. Ultimately, though, the horror elements of this new It isn't the only thing that helps make it one of the greatest horror films in recent memory. 

 

In the quiet town of Derry, Maine, seven kids begin to bond during the summer of 1989. This includes stutterer Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher), overweight Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), parental abuse victim Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), loudmouth Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), germaphobe Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff), hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), and homeschooled Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs). Together, they form ‘the Losers’ Club’ as they all go through the perils of growing up, including the uncertainty of first love and the daily struggle of dealing with bullies. Unfortunately, for the lot of them, part of that peril also involves a terrifying creature known as ‘It’, who frequently manifests as an evil clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). As the group soon learns, ‘It’ has existed for several years, always causing chaos in Derry every 27 years by hunting children. The situation ends up getting even more personal for the group when Bill’s younger brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) ends up being one of It’s many victims. Thus, when they realize that they’re the only ones who can stop the creature, the Losers’ Club bands together to combat ‘It’, as they learn that they stand a stronger chance against the monster when they stick together.

While I usually try to avoid making comparisons between different adaptations of a source material, I must say that this film immediately establishes itself as the superior take on It right out the gate. Compared to some of the cheaper-looking elements from the miniseries, this film is incredibly well-shot and boasts an excellent visual/production design, which helps to produce a chilling and suspenseful atmosphere throughout. I mean, there’s only one real instance in this film where the cinematography isn’t very good, and that’s during a fight scene near the end (don’t worry, this isn’t spoiling anything) where it gets a bit too shaky, which in turn is paired with some rather hasty editing. Ultimately, though, that’s just one brief instance in a larger film that’s so well-polished on a technical level. And as for this being a horror film, It does deliver when it comes to having plenty of hair-raising scares. Many of these scares come from the fact that, as noted earlier, the film has far more creative reign to delve into some of the darker elements of the novel compared to the miniseries, which couldn’t really cover any of that stuff being a miniseries that aired on a nationwide network. Sure, it doesn’t include everything from the novel (i.e. the infamous orgy scene which, let’s be honest, was rightfully left out in this adaptation) but, suffice it to say, there are quite a lot of disturbing moments in this story; heck, some of them don’t even involve Pennywise. For the record, though, that’s not to say that Pennywise isn’t properly utilized in this; it’s just that he’s more of an additional layer to this film’s overall creep factor.

But, of course, the key to this whole film is its ability to make us sympathize with the members of the ‘Losers’ Club’ in their endeavors against ‘It’. As such, the main protagonists are arguably the film’s greatest strength. These seven leads, predominantly consisting of newcomers save for lead Jaeden Lieberher (who’s been in several big films recently like Midnight Special) and Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, are all fantastic in their respective roles. Their camaraderie is terrific which, in turn, strengthens the Losers’ Club’s unity in the narrative while also giving us some bits of temporary reprieve from all the horrific moments that occur (e.g. Richie’s constant smart-ass remarks). Now, admittedly, because there are seven members in this group, some of them are focused on more than others. This is namely the case with Bill, given the whole plotline about his brother, Beverly, the lone girl of the group, and Ben, with the latter two sharing a sweet ‘young romance’ subplot. However, the film does still manage to establish all seven of the main characters and what they’re afraid of, which is then utilized by Pennywise to scare them. And on that note, what of Bill Skarsgård in the role of the Dancing Clown? Because after all, while several elements of the 1990 miniseries have aged poorly, Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise is still considered to be the best part about it. Ultimately, though, I’d say that Skarsgård has managed to top Curry in terms of performance. Sure, Skarsgård’s Pennywise isn’t exactly humorous like Curry’s Pennywise was, but that just makes him creepier whereas Curry’s version was a tad more charismatic… well, as charismatic as a demonic clown can be, for the record.

I’ve previously stated that I’m not that big a fan of horror films. And yet, that’s the beauty of this new adaptation of It. Even someone like me who isn’t really into this genre can get something out of this film, and that’s mainly because of how well-made it is. It has its creepy moments, for sure, and they’re handled excellently thanks to Muschietti’s strong direction and a brilliantly dark atmosphere. And while I still haven’t read the original novel yet, it seems like this is a far more faithful take on it; for one thing, it isn’t afraid to delve into some of the more demented parts of the book. But ultimately, this film’s biggest strength isn’t any of its horror elements, surprisingly. Instead, It succeeds primarily because of its well-written story about a bunch of kids, portrayed excellently by the film’s young leads, who go through a traumatic experience together which effectively parallels the journey of growing up. Thus, in a time where several modern horror films often turn out to be quite mediocre, this stands as one of the genre’s greatest efforts as of late. As such, I’m very much looking forward to the planned second installment of this duology which, as stated before, will take place 27 years after the events of this film with the main characters all grown up. I do hope, though, that it ends up turning out better than the second half of the 1990 miniseries which, as I noted last time in my review of it was, unfortunately, the weaker half of the story. But if they bring back the same crew from this film for the sequel, I’d say we’re in good hands.

Rating: 5/5!

It (1990 Miniseries) Review

Stephen King is easily one of the most famous authors of the past few decades. Since 1967, he has written 54 novels and around 200 short stories that have covered various genres from supernatural horror to science fiction. Collectively, King’s works have sold over 350 million copies worldwide, and many of them have been adapted for film and television. These onscreen adaptations have varied, though, in terms of critical reception. Some have become classics of their genre, like 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption and 1980’s The Shining, even though King himself was not exactly a fan of the latter due to director Stanley Kubrick’s radically different take on the source material. Others have not fared as well with critics, including 1986’s Maximum Overdrive (which King, himself, directed) and this year’s The Dark Tower. But today, we’ll be looking at one of the many TV miniseries that have been based on King’s work; said miniseries is getting a brand-new feature film adaptation which comes out this weekend. I’m of course talking about the story of the sinister clown, It. The new film, directed by Andres Muschietti, is the first of a planned duology adapting King’s 1986 novel of the same name. But, of course, this story first saw an onscreen adaptation in 1990 via a two-part miniseries starring Tim Curry in the lead role of the terrifying creature It’s primary form, Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The miniseries aired on ABC in 1990, with the first part airing on November 18^th and Part 2 on November 20^th. And, overall, the reception towards this miniseries is fascinating to me. Now, obviously, I wasn’t around when this first aired so I didn’t watch it when I was younger. I first heard about it through Doug Walker AKA the Nostalgia Critic’s review of it back in 2010. And that review gave me an idea of the overall reception towards this adaptation of the story; some still find it incredibly scary while others find it to be unintentionally goofy, thanks in part to Tim Curry’s performance. Me? Well, I’m in the latter camp.

When a string of child murders begins to occur in the quiet town of Derry, Maine, local librarian Mike Hanlon (Tim Reid as an adult, Marlon Taylor as a kid) immediately realizes the cause of all this. In response, he calls his old friends to ‘fulfill a promise’ that they made when they were younger; writer Bill Denbrough (Richard Thomas as an adult, Jonathan Brandis as a kid), architect Ben Hanscom (John Ritter as an adult, Brandon Crane as a kid), fashion designer Beverly Marsh (Annette O’Toole as an adult, Emily Perkins as a kid), TV comedian Richie Tozier (Harry Anderson as an adult, Seth Green as a kid), limo driver Eddie Kaspbrak (Dennis Christopher as an adult, Adam Faraizi as a kid), and real estate broker Stanley Uris (Richard Masur as an adult, Ben Heller as a kid). Back in 1960, the seven kids became close friends during that summer, where they embraced their collective ‘nickname’, ‘The Losers Club’. However, part of their bonding was due to them all being tormented by an ancient and mysterious creature known as ‘It’, which frequently takes the form of a vicious clown named Pennywise (Tim Curry). Despite their efforts to vanquish the creature, the kids, unsure if they truly defeated ‘It’, promise each other that they’ll come back to Derry to finish the job if ‘It’ ever returns. Sure enough, ‘It’ does return to Derry 30 years later, which forces the gang to come back to their hometown to confront their fears and finish it off for good before it’s able to kill them and the other children living there.

To this miniseries’ credit, there are a few genuinely suspenseful and creepy moments here and there that come from Pennywise’s efforts to scare the main protagonists. However, when I say ‘here and there’, I really mean ‘here and there’ as I didn’t really find this miniseries to be ‘that’ scary. Maybe it’s just because I’m not really a big fan of the horror genre, but as is admittedly the case with some other older horror films and shows, there are quite a few moments in this miniseries that, while perhaps scary back in 1990, are just unintentionally hilarious nowadays. I mean, I am aware that, being a miniseries that aired on one of the ‘Big 3’ networks, it had to cut out some of the darker elements of the original novel (e.g. the infamous ‘kid orgy’ scene that’s so messed up, not even the new film is going to tackle it). Still, it does feel like this adaptation is severely lacking in terms of its horror elements. It also suffers from some mediocre pacing. Again, it’s a miniseries so, obviously, it was going to be long regardless. And really, this truly is one of the best ways to adapt a book like this given that said book is over 1,000 pages long. It even maintains the same narrative structure of the novel by having the story cut back and forth between 1960 and 1990 whereas, by comparison, the new adaptation will start out by focusing on the kids first before Part 2 shifts focus onto them as adults. However, it does take a while for the story to get going in this version, as it takes its sweet time to introduce all the main characters and then flashback to their youth before showing them all reuniting as adults. And as we’ll soon see, one half of this story is better than the other. Still, for what it’s worth, this adaptation is at least well-made, for the most part, from a technical perspective, especially for something that was made for TV.

As for the miniseries’ ensemble cast, the young actors portraying the main protagonists’ younger selves, which include the late Jonathan Brandis and a young Seth Green, all do a solid job. As to be expected from a story like this, they all have excellent camaraderie with each other, which helps to make ‘the Losers’ Club’ a sympathetic group to follow through this horrific tale. The adult actors, though, are a different story. Whether it was due to the overall direction or not, most of them come off as being a lot more wooden when compared to their younger counterparts. I mean, the camaraderie between some of them is still good, somewhat, but there’s a lot of stilted overacting during their scenes. Thus, the best parts of this miniseries are ultimately the scenes that are set in 1960 when the characters are still kids, most of which make up the first hour and a half of the runtime. And as you might have guessed, this means that this adaptation of It has a solid beginning but a rather weak climax. But at the end of the day, the true star of the show is Tim Curry in the role of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, as he steals the show completely whenever he’s on-screen. And sure, like the miniseries itself, most of his scenes now come off as being funny rather than scary. Still, he’s clearly having a lot of fun in the role, and he does provide the miniseries with some great humorous moments. Simply put, the scene where Richie is in the library and he starts taunting him. Need I say more? (“Do you have Prince Albert in a can? You Do?! Well, you better let the poor guy out! Wa-ha! Wa-ha! Wa-ha!”)

In conclusion, despite what I’ve said in this review, I do understand as to why some may still find this adaptation of It to be scary. While I’m personally not afraid of clowns, I know that quite a few people are, and that’s completely understandable. We did just come off that incident where a bunch of ‘evil clowns’ were seen all over the U.S. which, despite what it may seem, was not at all tied to the new film’s release. And again, there are some genuinely creepy moments in this miniseries. However, they ultimately feel few and far between in what feels like a very diluted adaptation of its source material. Granted, it is a miniseries that aired on ABC, so it clearly couldn’t be a 100% faithful adaptation of the novel (which I haven’t read, by the way). Still, this miniseries suffers from some lackluster pacing and it isn’t always well-acted aside from the younger incarnations of the ‘Losers’ Club’. Ultimately, though, the main reason to watch this miniseries is for Tim Curry as Pennywise; he’s singlehandedly the best part about it. As such, I find that I have mixed feelings about this miniseries, overall. I don’t think that it’s downright terrible but I’m not exactly too big on it either. Thus, I am looking forward to the new adaptation of It even though, as I noted earlier, I’m not a big fan of horror films. From the looks of it, it is shaping up to be the vastly superior take on the story of the Losers’ Club and the dreaded creature that they must vanquish.  

Rating: 2.5/5