REVIEW: ItBy Quinn OxleySeptember 9, 2017As I lay on my bed, television droning on in the background, I scour IMDb for tidbits on iconic movies I haven’t seen yet. In the sea of posters, I see one of a horrifying clown with claws peeking out from behind the paper; I think to myself, “I will never see that movie.â€
That was seven years ago, and I just saw the remake.
Now, I'm not a horror veteran. I’m relatively new to the genre. But I didn't find It particularly scary. Bill Skarsgard makes an incredible provocative antagonist once he makes his presence known, and I certainly wouldn't want to come across him in a dark alley. The movie’s creators certainly took the character in a compelling, creative direction, and I would love to see more of it. But I won't have any problems sleeping tonight, if that's the measure of a horror movie.
Perhaps it works better as the story of Them than it does as the story of It. Such a project is an incredible burden to place on the shoulders of child actors and the writers concocting their characters, and the effort toward this end does not go unnoticed. These children feel real; chief among them is Sophia Lillis, whose performance is superb. Bill Skarsgard, as mentioned, makes a formidable foe for the Losers Club. Jaeden Lieberher makes a great deer-eyed Bill when he's conversing with his friends, but he flounders a bit when a lot is asked of him. Finn Wolfhard is likely the weak link in the gang, but his character, while foul-mouthed, is hilarious nonetheless.
Despite not “terrifying†in the traditional sense, It is not for the faint of heart. Pennywise is a distraction from the real villains - apathy, bitterness, and selfishness. In my opinion, the most frightening thing about It was Derry’s adults and their despicable self-centeredness; the film deals with serious subjects like Manchusen syndrome by proxy and pedophelia, and these are way more unsettling than the dancing clown himself.
Is it good, though?
Definitely. I can’t wait for chapter two.
Rating: 7/10
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