IT Review: The Rebirth of Mainstream Horror

By Jack Waterman

Speaking as someone who isn’t really a coulrophobe, I could never really grasp what it is about clowns that freaks people out so much. Sure, it can be kind of awkward interacting with them, but I tended to view them more as eccentric weirdos than aberrant monstrosities. But having recently seen the 2017 theatrical rendition of Stephen King’s bestselling novel, IT, I believe I have finally discovered why clowns are so feared. And that someone apparently remembers New Kids on the Block.

IT (2017) is directed by Argentinian filmmaker Andy Muschietti, who some might recognize as the director of both the short and feature length versions of Mamá (2008 and 2013, respectively). The film centers around a group of middle school students, known as “The Losers Club”, who are being tormented incessantly by both bullies and their own parents. As if things couldn’t get any worse, they also find themselves being stalked by a morphing, demonic entity known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, otherwise referred to as “IT”.

The Losers Club, preparing to fight Pennywise.

First and foremost, go see this movie. Now. As of the time of writing, IT is still in theaters and has managed to overtake The Exorcist as the highest grossing horror movie ever. IT’s a very good movie. One of this year’s best, in fact. I am aware that there are a lot of people who don’t particularly care for scary movies. And make no mistake, this movie is certainly scary. As previously mentioned, this movie singlehandedly managed to make me afraid of clowns for the first time in my life. Just the way Pennywise looks, with his glowing eyes and his unnaturally proportioned face, was enough to have me looking over my shoulder for about a day after seeing IT. Possibly owing to the stellar makeup and special effects, I felt intimidated by this clown in ways that I really hadn’t with other depictions of “scary” clowns.

Despite this, I would absolutely recommend that the timid among us go see the movie anyway. Why? Because the actors are just too darn fantastic to ignore. Indeed, what truly makes this movie great are not IT’s sequences of nail-biting terror, but the hilarious and endearing characters. Anybody can relate to at least one of the members of the Losers Club, and I found myself rooting for the team every step of the way. The persistent volley of expletives rushing out of the kids’ mouths never failed to make me chuckle, and their steadfast devotion to each other warmed the heart of this dour horror fan. All of the child actors (and most of the adult actors) do a fantastic job with their roles, and I can’t wait to see what projects they’ll end up in next. In a sense, IT is a horror movie for people who don’t like horror movies.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

A big question that’s been asked is whether IT is faithful to the source material. I confess that I have only read a handful of Stephen King’s short stories, so I wouldn’t really consider myself to be the arbiter of all things King. I do think, however, I have a good enough understanding of his writing to determine why films based of off his sordid tales tend to have a spotty reputation. His books can be incredibly dense and full of minute details that don’t always translate well to film. IT is based on a book that is 1,100+ pages, so it obviously wouldn’t be practical to attempt a word for word adaptation. I have it on good authority that IT successfully captures the spirit of the book while picking out the unnecessary bits, distilling the experience down to a comfortable two hours. The only real contention I have with IT is the somewhat sloppy pacing of the third act. The film seems to peak early at the end of the second act, and it takes a significant amount of time to bring the tension back up to this level for the third act. But to be honest, I loved the characters so much that I didn’t even care that much. I was merely happy that I could spend more time with them.

But the most important aspect of IT is probably the monumental effect the movie has had on the horror community. For the first time in years, a horror film has come out that is loved by audiences, hailed by critics, and financially successful. All of a sudden, horror has become (or is at least becoming) mainstream again, and there are already more scary flicks on the horizon. Not to mention, IT raised the box office out of the slump it was in. And if that wasn’t enough, Muschietti is also directing a sequel to the first movie, and I can’t wait to see IT (chapter 2).