A Review of "IT" (2017)

As we eek closer to the spookiest palooza of the year, let's dust off some good ol' fashioned horror movies and take a peek. I recently saw IT: Chapter Two and I want to go over what I think about both it and it's predecessor. IT was such a hit upon release, breaking many R-Rated movie records as well as Horror movie records, that I feel it actually doesn't get quite enough credit it deserves. Well... maybe. I rewatched the first one yesterday prior to skipping off to catch the sequel, and I have some thoughts. Let's dive in and see why IT was such a... HIT. (*Ba dum tss*)

In October 1988, Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) crafts a paper sailboat for Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott), his six-year-old brother. Georgie sails the boat along the rainy streets of small town Derry, Maine (take a shot for a Stephen King story that takes place in Maine), only to have it fall down a storm drain. As he attempts to retrieve it, Georgie sees a clown in the drain, who introduces himself as "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" (Bill Skarsgård). Pennywise entices Georgie to come closer, then bites his arm off and drags him into the sewer. Let me stop right there by saying this... while Skarsgård is a far more terrifying demonic entity, that is also technically his down fall in these situations. No kid would be drawn to a clown that drools, looks cross-eyed and snarls at them. Tim Curry, who played Pennywise in the 1990 TV Miniseries, was a far better clown, something that counts if the victims are children. The debate is there. Ultimately, for me, it's a toss-up on which one's the better Pennywise. They both bring their own pros and cons.

The following summer, Bill and his friends Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), and Stan Uris (Wyatt Oleff) run afoul of older bully Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) and his gang. Bill, still haunted by Georgie's disappearance, calculates that his brother's body may have washed up in a marshy wasteland called the Barrens. He recruits his friends to investigate, believing Georgie may still be alive. Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), one of Bill's new classmates, learns that the town has been plagued by unexplained tragedies and child disappearances for centuries. Targeted by Bowers' gang, Ben flees into the Barrens and meets Bill's group. They find the sneaker of a missing girl named Betty Ripsom, while a member of the Bowers Gang, Patrick Hockstetter (Owen Teague), is killed by Pennywise while searching the sewers for Ben. That was a plus. Glad to see Patrick go so we didn't have to get that awkward handjob scene pulled from the novel. Man... cocaine made Stephen King write a lot of odd things in the 80s. Thanks Mr. King, for freaking the fuck out of me in junior high school.

Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), a girl bullied over rumors of promiscuity, also joins the group; both Bill and Ben develop feelings for her. Later, the group befriends orphan Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) after defending him from Bowers. Mike has it rough because he seems to be the only black guy in Maine... which doesn't surprise me being, you know, "Maine" and all. Each member of the group has encountered terrifying manifestations of the same menacing clown who attacked Georgie: a headless undead boy, a sink that spews blood only children can see, a diseased and rotting leper, a disturbing painting come to life (that was a disturbing scene), Mike's parents burning alive (disturbing to think about), and a frightening phantom of Georgie. Now calling themselves "The Losers Club", they realize they are all being stalked by the same entity, which they refer to as "It". They determine that It assumes the appearance of what they fear most, awakening every 27 years to feed on the children of Derry before returning to hibernation, and moves about by using the sewer lines, which all lead to an old stone well hidden under an abandoned house. After another attack by Pennywise in the garage through the projector, the group ventures to the house to confront It, only to be separated and terrorized. As Pennywise gloats to Bill about Georgie, the Losers regroup and Beverly impales Pennywise through the head, forcing the clown to retreat. The group flees the house and begins to splinter, with only Bill and Beverly resolute in fighting It. A couple of months pass as the group remains fractured and alone, thinking on the fate of Derry as they know it.

Weeks later, after Beverly confronts and incapacitates her sexually abusive father (a scene that makes my skin crawl), she is abducted by Pennywise. The Losers Club reforms and travels back to the abandoned house to rescue her. Bowers, who has murdered his abusive father after being driven insane by It, attacks the group; Mike fights back and pushes Bowers down the well to his apparent death. The Losers descend into the sewers and find It's underground lair, which contains a mountain of decayed circus props and children's belongings, around which the bodies of It's child victims float in mid-air. Beverly, now catatonic after being exposed to bright lights inside It's gaping mouth, is restored to consciousness when Ben kisses her. Bill encounters Georgie, but recognizes that he is It in disguise. As Pennywise, It takes Bill hostage, offering to spare the others and go into hibernation if they let It feed on Bill. The Losers reject this, battling with It while overcoming their various fears. It is eventually defeated and retreats deeper into the sewers, with Bill declaring that It will starve during its hibernation. Finding the remnants of Georgie's raincoat, Bill finally comes to terms with his brother's death and is comforted by his friends. Thankfully again, the movie skips over the prepubescent sex scene of each of the boys running a train on Beverly... which is, yeah, another things that happens in the book... so thanks again Mr. King.

As summer ends, Beverly informs the group of a vision she had while catatonic, where she saw them fighting It again as adults. The Losers swear a blood oath that they will return to Derry as adults if It returns. After the others make their goodbyes and disperse, Beverly and Bill discuss her leaving the next day to live with her aunt in Portland. Before she leaves, Bill reveals his feelings and they kiss.

It is a far more faithful adaptation of the book than its 1990 TV Miniseries counterpart, but still neglects many of the more prominent and, shall we say 'memorable' scenes that the book depicts. It carries a lot of weight in just a short two hour and fifteen minute run time, so it feels a little rushed having to make sure they cover everything about the kids from the novel in that amount of time. As for the kids themselves, I don't think it's a question that Richie and Eddie's banter steals the show, but that's not to rob from the other kids at all. They were all interesting, compelling characters. In a group of this many characters, typically you have one or two duds that you would rather see die than hog more screen time, but in this movie, it is not the case. Henry Bowers, as your average-run-of-the-mill Stephen King bully character, is even interesting to follow with. Still, with everything it had to adapt, the movie did a fine job of maintaining the themes of the story and the carrying over the ideas. Sure, some horror movie tropes sneak in... fake jump scares, long build-ups to such fake scares, and maybe perhaps and over-reliance on jump scares themselves... but I'll still pop It in and give it a watch whenver. The witty characters, the compelling dialogue and the horrifying story all meld together into one fun, albeit jump-scare'y experience.