Review of It (2017) by Late R — 20 Oct 2018

One thing IT really gets right is that late 80's /early 90's vibe and general feeling of nostalgia. It's really very nice to look at and the young cast is outstandingly talented, playing their well-written characters with typical teen dialogue (these kids really f***ing swear... a lot) to perfection, which really helps this film stay afloat. In fact, everything great here is to do with the human drama and characters - the friendship within the gang and the serious issues addressed within each member's individual story-arcs, leaving the audience with important messages, are both fantastically done.

Still, this is supposed to be a horror flick and as such, it doesn't fare so well. It's not scary at all and relies on cheap jump scares, for the most part, that you'll see coming from a mile away. As for Pennywise himself, he doesn't exactly make you tremble with fear, even bordering on hammy and comedic (although, I think that was intentional), but more importantly, what the hell is he? How does he do what he does? Are they going to explain anything? Apparently not.

So basically, as a horror movie, it's disappointing and over-hyped. However, it works really well as an inspirational, coming-of-age drama/thriller and it would have been so much better had they expanded on that part and done away with the whole Pennywise, supernatural element. But then, of course, IT would be a completely different film.