Photo Credit: Moviefone
It (2017) is a film that definitely caught me by surprise. It is an adaptation of Stephen King’s famous horror novel by the same name, and is the second adaptation of the story since the original TV mini-series that aired in 1990, from which the new adaptation takes a few cues.
I’d like to make it clear right off the bat that this isn’t the sort of movie that I’d normally spring for. I enjoy tension in storytelling, creepy atmosphere, and even horrific elements in all sorts of media, but generally speaking I avoid horror films. I think that most of them are fairly formulaic in nature, leaning on tropes and imitation to survive, often repeating themselves and lacking in substance to the point that about 95% of horror films that come out just fly right under my radar without me noticing them. I am also an easily startled anxiety-riddled baby. The only reason I saw this movie was because my girlfriend wanted me to see it with her… and I am genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It made me feel like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and dunked in bucket of ice cold water over and over again.
I was invested from the very start, due in part to this film’s downright perfect opening scene. It effectively and efficiently establishes the protagonist, antagonist, premise, tone, setting, time period, and overall expectations of what the film will be in the space of about five minutes. That, and it introduces us to the disturbingly, engrossing portrayal of Pennywise the Dancing Clown by Bill Skarsgård. Every single time he was on screen I simultaneously wanted to cover my eyes (and sometimes I did) but at the same time couldn’t look away. Every scene he was in had me fully invested and at times physically shaking with fear and anticipation as I tried to imagine what he would do next. Apparently the main cast never saw Skarsgård in character and full make-up until they were actually doing a take for a scene, which may explain some of their more realistic terrified reactions in certain scenes.
The film takes place in 1988 in the fictional town of Derry, Maine (a setting very common in King’s work), and revolves around seven kids in “The Loser’s Club” who are terrorized by the demonic creature only referred to as “It”. The audience comes to learn more about both “It” and the kids as their fears are exposed to us through “It” taking the form of what each of them fears the most, and the characterization is minimal but strong across the group.
The general filmmaking on display was very solid. The camera work was all excellent, the sound design was very effective at adding tension, and the special effects and make-up were all fantastic and never did a lack of detail in either take me out of the events unfolding on screen. It’s also a very good looking movie considering its sober budget of 35 million dollars. That may sound like a lot, but considering the amount of CG, the number of unique sets, and the large cast, especially for such a high-profile remake, it took me by surprise that the budget wasn’t higher. The CG and practical effects were all very convincing, and even when I knew a shot was computer-generated, it blended so well with the environment and the practical effects that I hardly cared.
The main cast of characters was, for the most part, very strong. All the child actors did a fantastic job, all feeling much more like actual people than actors playing characters, and the banter between them felt – for the most part – organic and naturally flowing. On occasion the comedic dialogue from some the characters, especially Richie (Finn Wolfhard), would clash with the intended seriousness or horrific tone of a scene.
Courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Unfortunately, the high quality of all the children’s acting also served to highlight the generally poor performances given by most of the adults in the movie. There was nothing I thought was genuinely awful – although Beverly’s father’s performance (Stephen Bogaert) often felt more gross and cartoonish than creepy – but generally speaking the adults were the weakest actors in the film. For the most part all of my issues with the film were little things that could have just been done better than they were.
I personally dislike a reliance on loud noises to startle an audience in horror films, which It has a lot of, but I feel as though it was only somewhat overused, rather than gratuitously overused. Without wishing to spoil, I also felt that the love triangle involving Beverly (Sophia Lillis), Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), and Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) could have been executed better. I’m not sure how closely this aspect of the story follows the novel, though I’m led to believe it was fairly close, and seeing how this film took other liberties with the source material, I wish they had done so a bit more with the romance. Also, while some members of “The Loser’s Club” got more attention than others, Mike (Chosen Jacobs) received the least attention than the rest of the main cast and barely had any major development or screen-time. It’s especially odd considering that Mike is the first character that the audience is introduced to following the opening scene; you would think he’d hold more significance than he did.
MINOR SPOILER AHEAD
Lastly, something that didn’t necessarily bother me but I’m still somewhat iffy about was the very ending. When the final scene has concluded and the title of the movie fades in, slowly after that the text “Ch.1” fades in, implying plans for a continuation. On the one hand, this is keeping with the original story; the kids fight and subdue “It” for the time being, and promise each other that if they didn’t actually kill him then they’d come back to Derry in 27 years when/if he returns to finish the job. But on the other hand, I’m not sure how much more of this story I really want to see told. If the same film crew came back for the sequel, including the director, I’m sure it could turn out well, but I’m just not sure how interested I would be in this story after ditching the kids and likely going more straight-faced with the adults. But now I’m just jumping to conclusions. If the second part is even close to as good as the first, then it will still be pretty good.
YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE SPOILER ZONE
In conclusion, It (2017) surprised me with it’s high-quality production values, engrossing child acting, likeable characters, a fantastic and horrifying villain, and it’s overall quality as a film. I can easily recommend it to any horror enthusiasts, fans of the novel or of the 1990 television series, and to anybody looking for a well executed and overall well-made film.
GREYSON DITZLER | Lured Down to the Sewer with Cheesecake | KXSU Arts and Media Contributor