I like to consider myself a fan of horror movies, and an even bigger fan of Stephen King. But after several lackluster movies lately, I was beginning to lose hope that Hollywood could adapt the master of horror’s works. In short, “IT” makes up for that tenfold. Not only is “IT” a great Stephen King adaptation, but I’m convinced it’s one of the most clever horror movies of the past decade.
The plot centers around a group of children who live in the small town of Dary, Maine. It’s a strange town with mysterious disappearances at several times higher than the national average. After the kids experience strange and supernatural occurrences separately, they band together to solve the mystery before anyone else goes missing.
Let’s get the important part out of the way. This is a frightening movie. This is a compliment I do not give lightly. As a movie enthusiast and a lover of spooky things, horror movies are a great compromise. Most of them do not frighten me, but “IT” actually did. The jump scares were plenty, and some of them were a little cheap, but what really made the movie unsettling was the psychological way it played upon childhood fears.
The way the film uses relatable nightmares and the way it brings them to life is really unnerving and even disturbing in some cases. For example, one of the children is scared of a strange painting of a woman holding a flute. I won’t spoil what happens next, but the presentation is pretty frightening. The excellent special effects and truly memorable performance by Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård (“Hemlock Grove” and “Atomic Blonde”) make the movie as realistic as it could have been.
As a fan of the original “IT” miniseries made in the early 1990s, it was important to me that the new Pennywise be as frightening as Tim Curry’s (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Ferngully”) famous portrayal. Skarsgård plays a completely different clown in a good way. Curry’s performance was frightening because of his eerie calmness and methodical ways. Skarsgård’s clown feels completely unpredictable and very quick. This lends itself very well to the new cast of characters and overall feel of the film. As a fan of both, I think the new adaptation eclipses the original.
Carlinville’s Marvel Theatre posted this photo to their Facebook on IT’s opening night.