IT (2017)

Year of Release: 2017

Genre: Horror

Run Time: 135mns

Age Rating: 15 (UK)

Director: Andrés Muschietti

**SPOILER ALERT**

Synopsis

When Bill Denbrough's (Jaeden Lieberher) young brother Georgie goes missing from their home town of Derry, Maine the adults of the town treat it as just another missing child on an ever growing list of similar cases. Refusing to accept his brother's fate, Bill, along with his gang known as the 'Losers Club', try to uncover the mystery surrounding the recent spate of child disappearances. Soon however almost every member of the gang has a run in with Pennywise, a child eating creature in the guise of a clown, these meetings lead the gang to the conclusion that Pennywise is behind the disappearances. Knowing that adults would not believe the truth, the 'Losers' decide that they must deal with 'IT' themselves, overcoming bullies, parents and their worst fears for a final confrontation with 'IT' they must come together in order to stop the bloodshed that plagues their town.

Review

My usual opinion of horror films is that if I wanted to pay to soil myself I'd fork out the 20p for the use of a public toilet, as opposed to doing it in a room full of strangers. However when I heard that they were making a film out of Stephen King's 'IT' I was drawn to interest immediately as I had heard good things about the 90's miniseries. Having never watched this miniseries myself due to both my lack of existence upon it's original release and a crippling fear of clown like beings, I put the 'IT' [2017] in the back of my mind as one to watch for reasons unknown to even myself. I eventually decided that it was the impending arrival of my long overdue transition into manhood that got me into that theatre seat. This theory however was overruled approximately 3 minutes into the film when any testicles that may have been growing recoiled in terror as I realised that I had 132 minutes left of the film and a countdown clock on my bladder that was measured only in seconds.

The Problem with 80's horror films

Whilst I have nothing against horror as a genre, I feel that it can be one of the weaker genres in terms

of overall quality. I know that many people will disagree and spout about the 'classics' such as 'Nightmare on Elm Street' and that's fair enough, horror as a genre did have quite the golden era in the 80's with memorable campy horror flicks flooding theatres throughout the decade. But, like a French aristocrat in the 1700's these old horror films sorely lack something. The heart's in the right place but it doesn't look quite right as storytelling is only half the experience of cinema and sadly these films sorely lack the visuals to appeal to today's audience. This trope reversed in more recent years with horrors using updated visuals but completely forgetting that they needed writing staff. The combination of both of these aspects is where 'IT' scores it's [skid]marks for me.

The writers for 'IT' admittedly had very strong source material to begin with but even baring that in mind they created one of the best screenplays I have ever witnessed. The film was a truly terrifying spectacle throughout, not because I was worried that something would jump out but because most of the film had a constant dark and uncertain atmosphere only emphasised by Pennywise's unpredictable nature, it was due to this that I spent a great portion of this film trying to retain both dignity and control over my sphincter. This feeling of dread was juxtaposed entirely by the scenes in which the young cast were on the screen together. These moments contained some of the most heartwarming acting I've seen, the friendships seem genuine with quite a few of moments of hilarity provided by Richie (Finn Wolfhard), who's character fires off juvenile jokes like Adam Sandler on speed. Unlike Adam Sandler however these jokes are not forced or out of place and fit the character perfectly, providing a sense of ease before throwing you back into the turbulence of the horror, this contrast amplifying both the horror and calm equally. 

The casting for 'IT' was quite the ball-pit of unknown actors which, when recreating a much beloved material that has a fanbase the size of a small country, is the equivalent of sticking your genitals into a tank of prejudgemental piranhas. Andrés Muschietti however must have decided that he had a manhood to spare because he took the risk to include no real well known names in his cast. However, as they so frequently do, the fanboys had to eat their words and whatever else they'd claimed they would consume if the film turned out well because the cast all gave astounding performances not least Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. It would have been a near Herculean task for even a seasoned actor to fill Pennywise's size 32's, previously occupied by the legendary Tim Curry, however Skarsgård, a man with fewer acting credits to his name than I have GCSEs, managed to give one of the most chilling and memorable performances of a villain in recent memory.

Skarsgård at 6'3" falls towards the top of this
Fear to Limb Length chart.

Skarsgård's performance was constantly brilliant on a mentally scarring level throughout the films runtime with every minute of his screen time seeping with menace. The slow burning threat that is always in the background of 'IT' is what makes this such a strong film and the simple fact is that this threat would not be present without Skarsgård providing his unique take on the character, introducing a new generation of viewers to the joys of coulrophobia. I can't however talk about the cast without mentioning the child actors. Now child actors can normally only fall into 2 categories: shit or cute enough to cover up the fact that they can't act, however the children of 'IT' all gave colourful and believable performances that culminated into the most watchable 2 hours and 15 minutes of film that I have viewed through tears of terror.

Overall 'IT (2017)' is a well shot, atmospheric ode to a classic novel that I would rank with the likes of 'Stand By Me' as it was as rewarding of an experience as it was terrifying. Both lighthearted juvenile fun and dark disturbing imagery brings 'IT' into a league of it's own with the image of Pennywise's dismaying interpretation of a Cossack dance staying with me until my dying breath.

Scoring:

Final Score: 18

Footnote (to answer the questions nobody cares about):

Q- What is the thickness of your ideal writing paper?

A- It's has changed over time, currently it is 80gsm however I did go through a rather embarrassing stage in my teen years in which I would only write on 100gsm paper.

Q- Did you copy and paste Bill Skarsgård's name every time you used it in this review because you couldn't figure out how to get the 'å' symbol?

A- Yes.