We are coming off of the worst blockbuster summer in nearly 20 years. The season was saturated with superheros and sequels, and original content was nowhere to be found. Hoping to save the troubled summer was IT. IT opened in more movie theatres than any R-Rated movie in history, with a stunning 4,100+ theatre release. I have to say, IT should be a smash hit.
Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, IT is revised to take place in the 1980s. The amount of nostalgia that the film exudes is admirable. It is everything Stranger Things hoped, and so miserably failed to be. The film follows the Loser's Club, a group of misfit children, as they are slowly preyed upon by an evil force that most frequently takes the form of an evil clown.
Many people did not believe that young Bill Skarsgard could possibly top Tim Curry's iconic performance as Pennywise the Clown in the 1990s miniseries. They are absolutely right. That is why the brilliant screenplay writen by Cary Joji Fukunaga made the children, rather than Pennywise , the center of the story. Instead, the film uses a nice blend of practical effects and CGI to create the fear and terror of Pennywise's omnipresence in the children's minds. I usually hate child actors, but I truly believe every role was perfectly cast, the casting department should be applauded for finding these actors. The film takes a role as a coming of age story. I particularly liked this choice by director Andy Muschetti because it truly made the viewer feel the helplessness and fear that the children themselves are currently experiencing. Many have felt that the film was cheapened by several jump scares that took place during the film. However, if you can perfectly execute jump scares and horror tropes, I don't see why that is an issue. Another thing that really showed me a lot was there were several scenes where it was more horrific to be out in the open rather than a closed in space. This is incredibly Hitchcockian in style, and much more difficult to pull off from a filmmaker's perspective. I thought the cinematography and set design was exceptionally beautifully grim and dark. The score written by Benjamin Wallfisch was eerie and haunting and might be the best horror score in some time.
As someone who is not particularly easily frightened, IT managed to scare the hell out of me with the horror. It also didn't help that some scum of the Earth decided to dress up like Pennywise and scare people outside of the theatre. Not only was it terrifying and scary, but the film managed to win my heart with the amazing coming of age tale. IT is the best pure horror movie in recent history, and I highly recommend it.
Grade: (8.7/10)
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