Film Review: IT (2017)

We all float down here . . .

IT (15)

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard

Director: Andy Muschietti

The Plot: Something evil is lurking in the sewers of Derry, Maine - "It" (Skarsgard), a murderous, shapeshifting entity that takes on the form of a clown and calls itself Pennywise. After hibernating for 27 years, It emerges for a year to stalk and kill children, feeding on their fears to take on the form they will find the most terrifying. After It kills his younger brother George, 12 year-old Bill Denbrough (Lieberher) and his group of friends that call themselves "The Losers Club" are targeted by Pennywise. The kids decide to fight back against It, but will they be able to overcome their deepest fears?

(Before I begin, if you've read my previous review of The Dark Tower you'll know that I'm a huge fan of Stephen King, so I hold my hands up now and admit that I'm not exactly an impartial reviewer here. Anyway, on with the show.)

Review: Many people have not-so-fond memories of the previous adaptation of Stephen King's phenomenal novel It: the 1990 made-for-TV series features an iconic performance by Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who has been credited with making generations of people frightened of clowns as a result. However, to watch it now the series feels very dated, and despite it's sprawling four-hour runtime as it portrays the novel in its entirety, it omits or glosses over many important scenes. If you haven't read the novel, it's split between two time periods as The Losers Club battle It both as children and then 27 years later as adults, and the narrative switches back and forth quite seamlessly between the two.

For this new adaptation, the writers and director have wisely decided to focus the film solely on the events that happen when the characters are children, taking all of the material and molding it into a cohesive story that works as both a stand-alone tale and also as a setup for a second part. I'm pleased to say that the results are terrific, giving a satisfying adaptation for King fans and also just a really good horror film.

(At time of writing, a second film has not been confirmed, however the title "IT: Chapter One" appears on the closing credits and, with the positive critic's reviews and opening box office results of over $100million in the USA, it's very likely that Chapter 2 will be made. Based on this film, that's a very good thing.)

While the film is very faithful to the source material, one or two changes have been made. The first thing of note is the time line: King published the novel in 1986, and so in it, the kids events took place in 1958 and then, 27 years later, the adults events take place in 1985, pretty much modern-day for readers at the time. For this film, the kids events have been moved forward in time to 1988; I don't see this as a bad change at all, as the time period is still nostalgic enough for modern audiences like myself and it also sets up the potential Chapter 2 to take place in 2015, essentially modern-day. The other notable change is to poor Georgie Denbrough: in the novel, Pennywise severs his arm and the child bleeds out in the rain, a neighbour finding his body after hearing his screams - Bill thus spends the rest of the story knowing George is dead and dealing with that grief. In this film, Pennywise not only takes George's arm but his body as well, and so to Bill, George has only gone missing, the first of many child disappearances that plague the town. Again, this is a change that I was okay with and actually think works well - it sets up Bill's biggest fear to overcome as acknowledging that George is really dead and not just missing, and also allows for a very effective scene where Bill's father, angry with grief, yells at him to accept his brother's death.

Whilst undeniably a horror film, IT plays out as more of a psychological horror rather than bombarding you with jump-scares. There are some moments designed to make you jump, and these work well, but the film is more about getting inside your head than making you jump out of your skin, and this is a really good approach to take as it mirrors Pennywise himself, a being that delights in manipulating its victims by picking through their brains for their worst fears. Aside from the horror, what the film really nails is the sense of childhood. Something that King has always been remarkably good at, not just in It but in many of his novels, is writing kids and presenting that nostalgic image of youth that many of us have fond memories of. The strong themes of friendship, first loves, and the banter/squabbles that come with a group of close friends have been brought across from his pages to the screen incredibly well here, thanks both to the sharp script and to the likeable group of actors playing the kids. Their connection is the emotional core of the film and its done incredibly well.

Bill Skarsgard has the unenviable job of living up to the memories people have of Tim Curry. I'm pleased to say that he's excellent as Pennywise: given a new, decidedly scarier appearance (but still carrying those red balloons), he attacks the role with a very physical performance and is genuinely creepy, his voice alternating between almost sing-song sweet and malice. While he features prominently, he isn't overused and every time he appears it's an event. There's a nice nod to the 1990 series when Richie (whose biggest fear, ironically, is of clowns) enters a room full of them in the house on Neibolt Street - one of the clowns prominently in the shot is wearing Pennywise's original outfit.

The kids are all excellent and, in what I felt was a good move, are played by largely unknown child actors. The only one really recognisable is Finn Wolfhard, if you've seen the amazing Netflix series Stranger Things, but you'll have also seen Jaeden Lieberher before if you've watched 2016's excellent Midnight Special. They're all given a chance to shine and we get to know each of the characters individually, what makes them tick and why they each fear the thing that scares them the most. This is impressive given the fact that, despite having a lengthy runtime of 135 minutes, the film still has so much to try and include. They all work really well together and there's a lot of laughs that comes from their banter - yes that's right, there's a great deal of humour in IT as well. I was impressed with all of the actors, but particularly with Wolfhard as the loud-mouthed Richie and Sophia Lillis as Beverly, who deals with some particularly heavy scenes involving her father and its clear to see where her fear of becoming a woman comes from.

 

The film looks terrific, capturing both that small-town feel of Derry and of the eighties time-period. There's some excellent cinematography going on here, from the iconic look of Georgie in his bright yellow rain slicker in the pouring rain to the dank sewer tunnels the kids have to go down in their pursuit of Pennywise. When they finally arrive at his underground lair, the shot of the towering mound of personal items from the children he's killed over the centuries rising up to a great height, complete with the bodies of the children he's killed that year floating around it, is breathtaking and reinforces the horror of what the kids are witnessing. Sound and music is also used to great effect, both in setting the scene and creating tension and scares as Pennywise's voice comes at you from all angles. Really good stuff.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A terrifying, emotional adaptation of (part of) King's much-loved novel, this is the version of It that fans have been waiting for. Completely nailing both the horror aspect and the themes of childhood, this is a terrific, well-acted horror film that aims to get under your skin rather than constantly make you jump out of your seat. Directed with confidence by Andy Muschietti, this is a both a great set up for the concluding chapter of the story and an excellent stand-alone tale. Brilliant.