*Directed by Andy Muschietti
*Starring Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Nicholas Hamilton, Jackson Robert Scott
The Plot: In the town of Derry, Maine, children have been mysteriously disappearing one by one, but little do most citizens know that a strange supernatural clown by the name of Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) is capturing them. It's not until months later after the disappearance and presumed death of a young boy named Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) caused by Pennywise himself that his older brother Billy (Jaeden Lieberher) and his friends decide to uncover the mystery behind this clown's tactics, defeat him once and for all, and not let the fear Pennywise is causing them get in the way of completing such a task.
The best thing about going into this movie was that I was going in blind in the sense that I hadn't read the Stephen King novel nor saw the original 90s TV movie/mini-series. I loved what I was seeing in the trailers and was very intrigued there. I really liked that I didn't know the story going in or what scares this film would bring and that as a fresh reboot they could go a little darker this time around. Safe to say everyone who contributed to this movie really pulled it off because IT is some of the most fun I've had in theaters all year.
Andy Muschietti's direction really captured that 80s movies feel that I've adored in some of my favorite films of all time horror or not. The film does a great job of putting you in that time period with characters who feel like they are part of it, but there's still that fresh horror flare and great tension added that it really called for an incredibly satisfying film going experience in my eyes. There were a lot of great well directed frightening scenes in this movie and maybe some of the scary imagery is in your face at times and maybe I didn't jump in my seat a lot, but the film still called for really great suspense in scenes that involved characters you cared about.
Speaking of characters, the little group of friends you follow in this film, The Losers Club, was infectiously enjoyable on screen. That friendship bond between all of them really was the heart and soul of this movie and the way they have to work to together and attempt to conquer their fear I found to be so riveting. I was on the edge of my seat to see how the fate of these characters would pan out and with great directing and excellent performances by the all the younger actors I couldn't have asked for anything better.
Also, let's not forget the icon of this entire film, the lovable (not really) vicious, zany clown himself Pennywise. Bill Skarsgård was utterly flawless in this role in regards to the different nuances he brought to his character whether it'd be the goofy, exaggerated clown, to a frightening apparition, or the chilling and intimidating supernatural monster.
He did such a marvelous job executing that in his performance and will definitely be one of the many memorable horror performances of all time. If that doesn't turn out to be the universal consensus, in my book he'll be remembered as one of the greatest actors to portray a horror-based character. It was so cool to see through his performance how the character can break these children psychologically and then anticipate how these kids will overthrow his great power.
Another major positive I have to give about this movie is the fact that even though there are scares to be had there's still a fine balance of lighter moments. There were a lot of great humorous scenes with our younger characters in the mix of it and I was happy with that because it could've been easy for this film to be depressing to the point where viewers could dread the experience more than enjoy it. I definitely think it added something and considering there were lighter moments and you cared about the kids in said moments it made those scenes when they were attempting to defeat that evil all the more emotionally liberating. If this bond between the friends wasn't written well and there were just some unsettling scares than this film wouldn't have worked as well.
I think this film succeeded in almost every capacity. All the creepy imagery looked fantastic and it made me feel in the moment in every scene. It had a great 80s movie aesthetic visually from a filmmaking perspective. Although, the one tiny issue I have is that there's just one scene towards the third act that had some noticeable audio dubbing. Without spoiling anything the friends were just having a conversation and just by how a certain actor was moving his mouth the voice seemed louder than it should've been and I think it was because this actor's voice changed during the duration of filming. That's about it though.
IT was an incredibly fun blast of a horror film and is probably my favorite horror film of the year thus far. It delivered on every capacity being a great blend of well-executed horror/terror and pure 80s glory. Go see it (see what I did).
Verdict: A
I highly recommend giving this film your time of day especially if you're a fan of horror and clowns don't bother you. I know there are people out there and possibly some readers of mine who don't enjoy the sight of clowns and if that truly disturbs you, then don't see this movie because, even though there is some fun to be had, it doesn't mess around. When I said it was frightening I wasn't kidding in the slightest. If you can look past that please go to this film! I think Muschietti did a fantastic job getting this story across in this day and age where we're bombarded with lots of mediocre horror films. It's one of my favorites of the year so far!
Look forward to more reviews soon. As always, see some movies and all that good stuff.
Take care. :-)
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