Review of It (2017) by Bluedeadpool — 09 Sep 2017

I came into IT having read the book twice and watching (and hating) the original TV mini-series. As a fan of Stephen King’s novel and the disappointment from the mini-series, I was hoping that a cinematic attempt at portraying the beloved Pennywise would definitely work. It is safe to say that not only did they achieve that, but they also made one of the best horror films to be released in the last decade.

It was terrifyingly good. The CGI, while cartoony and rushed at times, looked believable still and I believe that the cartoon-style was intentional to show the psychological effect on the kids, rather than the forms IT takes being literal. Andres Muschietti did an excellent job at directing this film, especially on such a tight budget of $30 million. For context, Deadpool constantly claimed how low its budget was and how many limits it had, and they had a budget of $50 million. With a lower and tighter budget, IT exceeded all expectations and has since broken *many* records.

The flow of the film is a major con for most critics, but I actually liked the switch-up of a coming-of-age story to a horror film in such low space of each other, and I liked it because it kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time, because you’d never know when the horror ended or started. What I absolutely love about this film and Muschietti’s directing is the subtlety.

SPOILER TERRITORY.

I can’t believe the amount of subtle horror in this film.

When they were helping Ben in the alleyway, Pennywise’s face was spray painted on the wall for the last few seconds of the scene, and it really brought forward the mood of the film. There were tons more; like the clown moving its head when Richie walked past, the librarian death staring Ben in the library, etc. All of these subtle horrors make the film so much more rewarding if you watch it on multiple occasions. I know I’m going to go watch it a second time and then I might update my review now that I can focus on the film rather than be mesmerized.

The ending was very different to the novel, as in the novel obviously the controversial scene occurs, but they did not include Pennywise turning into its true form, and the Losers’ Club seeing it as a spider. Whether or not I got that mixed up with when they *spoiler alert* come back as adults, I don’t know. I’ll need to reread.

I liked the gore, it really wanted that R rating. Georgie screaming before being dragged into the storm drain was really brutal and shocking. It set the tone from the very beginning and I loved every second of it. For the long runtime of 2 hours 15 minutes, it flew past.

However, because of the constant switch-up between genres the story NEVER has time to breathe. The experience is so intense, and maybe a few scenes where we get to know more of the kids families would let the story have a bit of breath before bringing back Pennywise; speaking of which, that was my ONLY issue with Skarsgard’s Pennywise; he had too much screentime in my opinion, and I feel that made his presence less creepy at times as we knew he was going to be there. His other forms were tremendous, and the inclusion of the Leper was superb, however Pennywise was too common and we were spoilt.

I’d love to rate IT – Chapter One a 9/10 based on all the points I have explained. I cannot wait for Chapter 2 and hope to see where they take the story.