Now before I start this review I have to make it clear that I have neither read Stephen King’s book nor seen the 90’s miniseries version of It with Tim Curry. I’ve seen clips and reviews of the miniseries and I know vaguely about what happens in the book, but I’ve never sat down to go through either version all the way through. I say this to let you know that when I say It is a great horror film, I’m saying it as someone who doesn’t have any nostalgia for other versions of It and is viewing this strictly on its own merits.The film takes place in 1989 in the town of Derry, Maine, a town where there’s an unusually high rate of disappearances and deaths, particularly amongst children, with the film focusing on a gang of children, calling themselves the Loser’s Club, who have all had encounters with a malevolent force that for simplicity I’ll be referring to as Pennywise throughout this review. As the film goes on, the kids decide that they need to fight Pennywise to ensure that no-one else is killed as a result of Pennywise’s actions. Now the main thing that I have to say is that the film didn’t really scare me. That’s nothing against the film, I’m just someone who is hard to scare. The only film in the last few years that genuinely scared me was The Witch. What did affect me about It was the atmosphere. This is an incredibly creepy film and the atmosphere that is built up throughout the film is intense. Pennywise plays on the fears of each of the children and it’s through these fears that we get to know the characters. Granted some of the fears feed into the characters better than others, but all of them are believable and fit into the tone that this film is creating. The other main element of the film that works well is the world-building for the town of Derry. The way the town is framed gives it a sense of history from the first shot, along with the actual history we find out about the town, but it’s with the attitudes of the adults where the true world-building of Derry comes into play. Throughout the film, we see that the adults in Derry overlook the horrors that are happening in the town, unwilling to accept what is happening to ensure that their lives go on as normal, forgetting when one child goes missing when the next one goes missing. These are really effective scenes at showing how the actions of Pennywise are just as horrific indirectly as directly.
The performances meanwhile add to the overall tone of the film, especially from the child actors. Jaeden Lieberher as Bill does a great job at showing how the loss of his brother has impacted him and how he has not accepted that his brother is dead, it’s powerful stuff and Lieberher does it expertly. Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben meanwhile gives a more warm performance, showing the difficulties he faces due to his ‘new kid’ status and being overweight, with the relationship he has with Beverly being really sweet. Speaking of Beverly, probably the best performance from the young cast is Sophia Lillis. Lillis has to do a lot of work showing how Beverly is treated through very subtle body language. Everything we need to know about the character is presented through this and the chemistry she shares with the other actors is excellent, helping to show how Beverly has been helped by her time with the Losers, although what happens to Beverly in the final act of the film is disappointing considering how strong the character was beforehand. We also get good comedic relief from Finn Wolfhard as Ritchie, reminding me a bit of Jay from The Inbetweeners, whilst Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie is great at showing the paranoia of the character, with his growth being one of the more compelling parts of the film. However, the other two members of the Losers, Chosen Jacobs as Mike and Wyatt Oleff as Stan are not as developed outside of the fears we see, the actors give good performances but their characters feel a bit flat. Outside of the Losers, there’s a great, intimidating performance from Nicholas Hamilton as bully Henry Bowers, who has a bit more depth than other bully characters in Stephen King adaptations, whilst Jackson Robert Scott gives a great, creepy performance as Bill’s brother Georgie. The scene stealer in the film though is, as was expected, Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. Skarsgard gives a really creepy performance as Pennywise, the voice, the smile, everything we see of the character feels unsettling from the moment we see him, but there’s also a bit of charm that Skarsgard brings that lets you understand why children would be willing to trust him, along with giving the film a good bit of dark comedy.
On a technical level, It is very impressive. I’ve already mentioned the world-building for Derry, with this being helped by the amazing production design, giving Derry a history that can be seen in every single shot of the film, along with effectively evoking the feel of the late 80s. The music meanwhile adds to the creepy tone of the film, especially a version of Oranges and Lemons that plays when we see Pennywise. Speaking of Pennywise, the make-up and costume work for Pennywise is excellent, the make-up highlighting certain elements of the face to make the character creepier, whilst the old-fashioned and filthy design of the costume gives the character a sense of history, letting you know that the character is a lot older than he appears. The CG used to enhance Skarsgard’s performance though is a bit of a mixed bag. At some points, it works wonders, giving the character an unnatural quality that helps make him all the creepier. At other points, it just looks silly and takes away from the strong work that Skarsgard is doing, it all depends on the scene.
Overall, It is a very effective horror film and one of the stronger adaptations of a Stephen King story. Whilst some of the characters aren’t as developed as they needed to be, and some of the effects detract from the scares in the film, this is more than made up for by excellent performances, especially from Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor and Bill Skarsgard, and a powerful atmosphere, which gives the whole film a sense of dread that works wonders in creating a powerful horror film. Whilst this film wasn’t originally one I was looking forward to, I am now eagerly anticipating It: Chapter 2.
My Rating: 4/5
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