Review of It (2017) by Db C — 08 Sep 2017

"It" is absolutely worth-a-watch! this film establishes Pennywise the Clown (or "It") as an unforgettable horror film icon, while effectively being a traditional coming of age story with highly identifiable, yet not overly cliche characters. A small town in Maine haunted by a demon that can distort perception and reality, causing it's victims to fully hallucinate whatever person, thing, accident, or even memory is most terrifying to them. Residing in the sewers and only surfacing to feed every few generations, an all too young band of middle school rejects self-dubbed "The Loser's Club," take it upon themselves to confront this ancient evil and all of it's psychological terrors.

"It effectively balances light-hearted and nostalgic coming of age comedy with nail-biting and unnerving horror sequences. The horror sequences are a cinematic treat, as the title character psychologically torments the loser's club by taking on a variety of forms. This idea of a highly intelligent monster with superhuman speed and power, that also feeds on fear and flesh is uniquely terrifying and impossible to forget. The film is almost entirely carried by its child actors, whom all have great camera presence and diversity in ability, effectively cycling between horror and comedic styles. They are aided by a script that is well-paced and realistically written for such a cliche and supernatural source material. Bill Skarsgard absolutely steals the show as Pennywise and is in this humble critic's opinion, the best part of the film.

The film does contain bland cliches, a few under-developed characters, and a less inventive third act than the prior two. By the third act Pennywise has had so much time on camera, he feels less terrifying to the viewer at the film's climax due to over-exposure. However these flaws do not stand out, and the film is deserving of it's 140-minute run time. If you're in the mood for a diverse film that will warm your heart and chill your spine, as well as amuse, intrigue, terrify, and thrill, go see "It!".