IT... CHAPTER ONE. (2017) DIRECTED BY ANDY MUSCHIETTI. BASED ON THE 1986 NOVEL BY STEPHEN KING. STARRING BILL SKARSGARD AS PENNYWISE THE DANCING CLOWN.
THE KIDS: JAEDEN LIEBERHER AS BILL; JEREMY RAY TAYLOR AS BEN; SOPHIA LILLIS AS BEVERLY; FINN WOLFHARD AS RICHIE; WYATT OLEFF AS STANLEY; CHOSEN JACOBS AS MIKE; JACK DYLAN GRAZER AS EDDIE; JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT AS GEORGIE; AND NICHOLAS HAMILTON AS HENRY AND OWEN TEAGUE AS PATRICK.
REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
'We all float down here...'
Well well, if this ain't hot off the presses I surely don't know what is. I was lucky enough to get a free ticket to a preview screening of the most eagerly-awaited horror movie re-make of the year, and I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of it.
It's based, as we all know, on the terrifying book by Stephen King, of which there's already been a TV mini-series made, back in 1990. Some of us, maybe even most of us, may have felt fondly about this old mini-series and thought that a big-screen re-working of the theme was unnecessary. This new film is top-notch stuff, however, and as far as I know it's even gotten the Stephen King seal of approval.
I was thrilled to bits, anyway, to get the freebie and settle myself in my seat near the young couple arguing in a tight, tense passive-aggressive fashion before the screening about her drinking. I chowed down on my bag of jelly babies and listened intently. If they'd known that the nosiest writer in Dublin was sitting in front of them with her ears pricked for any gossip, they might have held off on their private discussion until they got home...!
Anyway, this new IT movie is faithful to the book and tells the story of the kids growing up in Derry, Maine (I bet the inhabitants thank their lucky stars every day that Stephen King lives there!) while being terrorised by the titular 'It.'
At first It is merely a nameless horror that torments and tortures the kids before morphing quite definitely and spectacularly into Pennywise the Dancing Clown. This is almost too much to bear for the small band of pre-teen kids who already have quite a few thorny problems of their own.
Poor Bill, the leader of the 'Losers' Club,' has lost his little brother Georgie to the evil clown that lives in the sewers. His loss is so great that he feels he can fight anyone or anything in order to find out what really happened to his baby brother. Georgie's many appearances in the film are truly heartbreaking. He's such a cute little guy in his bright yellow raincoat.
Ben is the friendless 'Fat Kid' whom the school bullies have it in for. The scene where Henry Bowers is carving him a new belly-button is quite graphic. Ben also has a huge unrequited crush on the pretty Beverly, who just sees him as a really good friend.
Beverley's story of sexual abuse by her father is a harrowing one indeed. She's delighted to be accepted into the 'Losers' Club' and she's more than a little sweet on Bill, the leader of the gang.
The actress who plays her is a beautiful girl and a good little actress too. I imagine we'll be seeing more of her in other films in the years to come.
The rest of the kids in the gang have their problems too. Richie's compulsive need to flap his pre-teen gums non-stop and be the entertaining trash-talker of the gang clearly stems from a lack of attention at home, and Eddie's over-protective Mom is determined to make a namby-pamby little hypochondriac out of her only son. Mike's parents died in a horrible fire, and Stanley's father is putting pressure on him to perform word-perfectly at his upcoming Bar-Mitzvah.
Meantime, the shape-shifting omniscient evil that is Pennywise is threatening to destroy all of their lives. Their individual experiences of him in the film are all terrifyingly effective, and their joint experiences when they follow him down into the sewers where he lurks are mind-blowing. The Well House and its surrounds might as well have a sign saying 'Portal to Hell' pinned on it somewhere. It's a really, really scary haunted house, I tells ya.
Bill Skarsgard is superbly creepy and authentic as Pennywise, the clown who appears in Derry to wreak havoc every twenty-seven years like clockwork and, if you weren't shit-scared of clowns before, you probably will be after seeing this movie. Tim Curry was great too, of course, but Bill Skarsgard is top-notch also. The special effects and his make-up are terrific and when he mocks the kids' fear and tears, he's just the epitome of evil. Yes, there is the dreaded CGI, but it's really well done here, so there, haha.
Stand-out moments for me include the bully Patrick's getting more than he bargained for in the tunnel, that awfully freaky painting coming to life and the kids standing up to Pennywise in the sewers. The scenery/greenery throughout the movie, which by the way is set in the 'Eighties, is absolutely gorgeous as well.
The one thing I could have done without was the smutty trash-talk the writers gave the kids to say. 'You got crabs from washing in yo' Momma's bathroom,' stuff like that. Too many sex references altogether of the 'yo' Momma' and 'yo' sister' variety, come to that. The film was good enough that it didn't need these rather lame attempts to be 'edgy.' My my, don't I sound pious when I'm looking down my nose at something...? Aw, ye know I hardly ever do that...!
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
Great review, Sandra! I love good writing. You did a great job explaining why IT is so good without getting into spoilery specifics, which is a herculean task in itself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support I'm sure for Sandra too, really appreciate the positive comments Jcihquin, I'm very proud of my site and Sandra's writing and all writers
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