“Fear is a funny thing. It can cause us to shrink into ourselves and turn cold and selfish. But when we find the courage to face our fears, we become better people.” This is an appropriate thought to ponder as we consider the underlying message of the movie, “It.”
This past weekend, movie goers across the nation eagerly attended the remake of the previous movie
based on Steven King’s novel, “It.” For some who had seen the original, this was a 27 year wait. According to Warner Bros, “It” had the largest opening weekend for a horror movie ever, bringing in approximately $123 million.
“It” tells the story of a group of small-town Maine schoolchildren, the Losers’ Club, that fight an ancient, shape-shifting evil clown that terrorizes the town of Derry every 27 years.
The acting and special effects were entertaining throughout the entire film. The acting was believable and enhanced the terror aspects. It’s cast is made of almost entirely newcomers; however I didn’t mind. I witnessed seven children in Derry, Maine be terrorized by the monster of a clown, only to face their own personal demons in the process. The Bill Skarsgård’s performance as Pennywise the clown is a great success. Skarsgård depicts Pennywise as the terrorizing clown that King was going for in his novel. It was an incredible performace. I only wish that Director Andy Muschietti would have eased up on the CGI and let Skarsgård do the talking.
When compared to the original 1990’s TV mini-series directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, I believe that
the 2017 “It” displays more of the realistic aspects that Stephen King was depicting in his novel.
Overall, “It” has a terrific blend of horrors, humor and heart. The new adaptation of the Stephen King novel provides some very charming characters, frightening sequences and a surprisingly heartfelt feel that holds up against the original adaptation as well as many horror flicks to date.
I rate “It” four out of five stars.