Review of It (2017) by Ben S — 13 Oct 2017

When tragedy suddenly befalls Bill Denbrough's (Jaedan Lieberher) family. It is up to him and his friends Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), Mike (Chosen Jacobs), Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), Bev (Sophia Lillis), Stan (Wyatt Oleff), and Richie (Finn Wolfhard) to band together to stop the evil that has entered their hometown of Derry, Maine.

IT had an incredibly successful theatrical run breaking all sorts of records for horror movies at the box office. At the center of this, of course, is a very committed and frightening performance from our monster Pennywise by the talented Bill Skarsgard. But even more importantly, is the dynamic between the kids as they come together to fight this monster.

When Bill was officially announced as the pick to play the monstrous Pennywise the clown there were many questioning murmurs from fans of the Stephen King classic. However, Bill silences the doubters with his very intense performance in this film. He goes with a much higher pitch and sporadic performance than what we have seen previously when Tim Curry portrayed our favorite killer clown in the early 90's. Bill brings his own stamp to the character and he puts the work in. He stays committed to this version of Pennywise he creates and the final outcome is a terrifying one.

But at the center of this story is the group of childhood friends. The chemistry of these young actors is remarkable. And it is why this film works on so many levels for viewers. IT is much more than a horror story about a killer clown. It depicts all the horrors out there in the world that children have to navigate around. Whether it is bullying or parental abuse these kids find comfort and solace in their friends.

This is where the film does so well translating from book to screen. The adults all seem to be in a haze and cannot see the evil that is clearly in their town. So the kids are truly on their own to defeat the every day evils they face, as well as, the monstrous evil of Pennywise.

The film does take some liberties from the book. And some of these work while others, don't work as well. There is a theme of floating. And the way they take this in the film doesn't really work all that well with me. And there are a few times in the movie that they kind of write themselves into a corner and either contradict themselves or, for the sake of scares, just don't completely translate well. An example of this would be Ben's first scare. The first few scares are specific to the individual as Pennywise personifies that person's specific fears. But with Ben's first scare in the library it doesn't really play off of any deep seated fears of his just something he saw in that moment. Which seemed kind of thrown in. In the director Andy Muschietti's defense. They do a great job of having the kids come together and, literally, overcome their fears together. And, for the most part, the scares work pretty well. And interestingly enough, some of the scariest and most tense parts are when the children are dealing with the every day evils in their life and not even always revolving around Pennywise.

Andy also calls upon Benjamin Wallfisch for the score and he brings a big and looming score that amplifies the intensity to a lot of the scares. Wallfisch helps amplify the tone of brutal intensity that Andy is going with in this film.

So even if a few aspects of the book weren't completely translated to the big screen Pennywise's fresh take by Bill and brilliant chemistry with all the young actors in this film help make IT not only a wild and fun horror film but also a sweet and endearing story of friendship and growing up. Hopefully Andy can recreate the same magic with part 2.