IT
R
135 Minutes
Director: Andy Muschietti
Writers: Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, Stephen King
Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Bill Skarsgård
CAST
Jaeden Lieberher...Bill Denbrough
Jeremy Ray Taylor...Ben Hanscom
Sophia Lillis...Beverly Marsh
Finn Wolfhard...Richie Tozier
Chosen Jacobs...Mike Hanlon
Jack Dylan Grazer...Eddie Kaspbrak
Wyatt Oleff...Stanley Uris
Bill Skarsgård...Pennywise
I heard a lot of chatter on this movie months before the release date. I didn't watch any of the trailers, but I knew it was scary. Which left me puzzled. How could a film about information technology be scary? Then I figured it was a movie version of the SNL sketch, 'Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy'. Nothing is scarier than watching a two-hour Jimmy Fallon film. But alas, that was not the case. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie about a psychopathic clown who terrorizes children.
I love how IT takes place in 1989. It really takes me back. Fine Young Cannibals were topping the charts. HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS was disappointing theater goers everywhere. Culturally, we reached peak blandness. Nonetheless, I still have fond memories of that magical summer before I started kindergarten. More than anything, IT is a love letter to a bygone era. Twas a much simpler time in America, when fanny packs were considered acceptable attire.
I can't overemphasize how historically accurate this film is. The clothes, movies, cars, and music are spot on. The bad things aren't whitewashed either. Back then, people used the 'other f-word' with reckless abandon. And bullies had free reign to torture kids, without interference from adults.
Good horror movies are rare, and a good Stephen King film is even rarer. First, the group of 13-year old friends is realistic. This is really how kids would interact with one another, kind of like SUPER 8. Secondly, the clown is actually creepy, and so are the adults. Like when the girl flirts with the pharmacist to steal cigarettes, the pharmacist actually flirts back. And her father, to put it delicately, had some serious boundary issues. And lastly, the acting is passable, which is no minor miracle with this many child actors.
I recommend you see IT. Isn't that a confusing statement, especially if those words were spoken aloud to another person. Uttering the sentence could start an Abbott and Costello routine. So instead of recommending IT, you should say 'I recommend you see the clown movie'. People will know what you mean. It's not like they're going to think you're talking about KILLJOY, or KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE.
Final Verdict: 90 out of 100