Sunday, September 17, 2017

Movie Review: IT (2017)


IT has achieved the highest grossing opening for a horror movie of all time.

That's not for nothing. The movie is scary, engrossing, emotional and everything a good movie needs to be.

Based on the book, written by Stephen King in 1986, IT follows a group of kids as they discover an ancient evil has arisen in their town of Derry, Maine. The kids, collectively a group they name the Loser's Club, based on their different aspects which make them all outsiders and targets of the town bully, each experience their own terrifying visions as they are individually stalked by a terrifying clown named Pennywise.

The movie, which is now accepted as being "Chapter One", focuses solely on the experiences of the kids, while the book also includes a second encounter with the entity known as Pennywise when the group are all adults some thirty years later.

So we have a Part 2 to look forward to for those of you who can't get enough of this horrible clown monster.


So how good is it?

It's very, VERY good. 

Now, if you're looking to be terrified along the lines of a movie like Paranormal Activity, Alien, or something that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, this isn't it. Make no mistake, there's tension, and quite a few genuine scares, but this isn't your usual scream-a-thon. 

It's a mix of jumpscares, horrifying images and much more subtle, unnerving scenes. Beverly's father lightly stroking her hair is every bit as unnerving and terrifying a scene as watching Pennywise's conversation with little Georgie. 

Even horror movies can't be judged just on how many times they make you jump, though. Every aspect of this movie is well done. The score matches every scene perfectly. All the actors have a moment to shine, with none of them coming across as fake or flat. The story is a well-written adaptation, taking many of the memorable scenes from the book and bringing them to life, without too many questions caused by scenes which were cut. 



This movie is very comparable to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. IT is a powerful, well-made piece as much an example of the art of film-making as it is a horror movie and I will be very disappointed if it doesn't earn any major awards. 

If you haven't seen this yet, go. Whether you're a fan of horror or of movies in general. It's worth the cost of admission. 


~ Shaun

2 comments:

  1. That's a rave review Shaun! I really liked it, but I did keep comparing to the book, which will always be King in my book :)
    It's very good though - The Losers, Pennywise and the SFX were all fantastic!

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  2. One of my sons went to see it last week and said it was very good and very disturbing, but not "scary" in the sense of a scary clown movie. Now the rest of us want to see it, too. I noticed that my other son brought home a DVD of the original movie, so maybe I'll watch that while I wait for the opportunity to see the current one.

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