“IT” Review

What is the only thing that can kill a killer clown? Misfit adolescents who go on bike adventures. IT (2017) is a tribute to this flawless formula: it’s emotional, it’s nostalgic, and it’s painfully predictable. IT terrifies its viewer with its incredible visuals (like something out of a childhood nightmare) and then comforts them with formulaic plot. America has eighties fever, as evident in the return of Star Wars, the creation of Stranger Things, and a remake of Ghostbusters. All these installments prove that audience members must rather watch the predictable and comfortable rather than unknown originality.  But this film is better than most remakes, its visuals and amazing acting sets it apart. Lead actors Bill Skarsgard, Sophia Lillis, and Finn Wolfhard all bring a refreshing light to the original characters. Although Andrés Muschietti’s film falls behind on overall development, it makes a decent start for a possible more developed sequel.

The creators of IT had an incredible challenge: to transform Stephen King’s 1,138-page long novel into a 2-hour film. In fact, this has never been done before. The 1990 creation of IT was a miniseries rather than a movie. In order to accommodate, the 2017 creators decided to cut the plot of IT in half, and hope for enough success in order to begin the second chapter of the franchise. However, this decision takes a toll on the film. Stephen King’s novel is an ode to fear and how it transforms, and how it transforms us. The novel follows well developed and lovable characters as they face their childhood fears and then as they remedy their adulthood anxieties. The 1990’s miniseries intertwines the plots of the adults and the children. This makes the characters seem real and human, unlike the remake where the characters are cheap eighties archetypes. Theoretically, if IT never gets its sequel, the film (plot wise) is complete. The heroes won and the clown is “dead,” but the deeper themes that are prevalent in the novel and the miniseries is never touched upon. Which is really unfortunate.

Viewers can expect to laugh more during IT than scream. The film is emotionally conflicting and wide ranging. It’s much less of a horror film than it is an adventure film. Yes, Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise is unsettlingly creepy, but the more he appears the funnier it gets. Pennywise makes many appearances on screen, which is a huge mistake for horror movies. There is no time for suspense to build, and leaves the film to use predictable and unearned jump scares to get a few screams out of the audience. By the time Pennywise jumps out the 4th or 5th time, audience members will probably chuckle at his ridiculous headshaking. However, what is nightmarish about IT (2017) is its ability to recall the hysteria of children when they encounter their fears.

Due to the lack of time for emotional development in the film, IT had to resort to a very intense score to lift a lot of the emotional weight of certain scenes. The very first scenes of the movie are Georgie’s death. There is no time for the characters to establish themselves, and without very loud symphony it’s hard to connect to Bill’s grief. The score often tells the audience how to feel because the movie is wide ranging emotionally. The soundtrack of the film is mostly used to emphasize the setting, since eighties nostalgia is what this film thrives on.

The acting is the saving grace of the film. I had low expectations for the acting in the film, as child actors are usually horrendous, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Richie, fantastically portrays a humorous and gross adolescent. His character’s one-liners and sexual innuendos serve as great comedic breaks. Sophia Lillis plays Beverly Marsh, the intruder girl in the all-boys club archetype, but she plays the part with an unexpected maturity and depth. Lillis had to give the impression of emerging sexuality with several of her costars. However, what was more challenging is that she had to demonstrate a possibly sexually abusive relationship with her character’s father. Lillis is only 15 years old but demonstrated emotional range that many adult actors cannot achieve. If the cast of IT that was less talented, it would be fair to say that the film would have crumbled.

The special effects were cutting edge. It is probably the only thing that distinguishes itself from an actual eighties horror film. The gore throughout the film is not enough to make your stomach turn, but it is overused. IT ends up desensitizing its own audience because the gore comes on too early and too much.

IT is nothing that will stand out. It is a remake, and because it is a remake people will pay to see it. Then, Hollywood makes more remakes until there is really nothing original left. IT is not unentertaining and perhaps it is worth $13 to see, but I would have rather saw something original than a collage of nostalgia.