Stephen King movies have haunted viewers for years, but the new adaption of “It” has gotten mixed reviews. Personally, I thought it was not as good as I was expecting with all of the hype claiming it was a horrifying film.
For 2017, I thought the CGI could have been better. In one of the first scenes, a little boy named Georgie follows his paper boat down the street and into a sewer. The clown then appears and tricks him into sticking his arm down the hole, and he proceeds to bite it off. I think it would have been scarier if the audience didn’t see the clown eat the little boy’s arm.
I think the movie should have taken an approach more like the 1975 thriller “Jaws”, in which the shark wasn’t seen much until the end for added suspense. Of course, with “It” the clown has to be seen, but I think it could have been cut down a bit, so the audience has to imagine what was happening instead of, for example, showing the arm being bitten off.
However, the acting was great, and the kids were all phenomenal. It is not their fault the script didn’t have them act more terrified. It seems bizarre the kids did not tell their parents they were being terrorized by a killer clown.
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One aspect of the film that was unrealistic was the portrayal of the kids’ parents, especially Bill and Georgie’s, who were not worried about their kids after many other children in town disappeared.
Surprisingly for kids, they all run around and decide to tackle the clown themselves. As opposed to running away, they run toward the danger. Most 12-year-olds would go into shock after almost being murdered, faster than they would decide to kill the demonic clown.
One thing that makes “It” particularly terrifying is the jump scares; however, the movie relies too heavily on them. But there is a bathroom scene in which blood pours down the walls and out of the sink, which I thought was eerie.
I’m curious to see the second one, because in the original movie, starring Tim Curry as Pennywise the clown, the plot is condensed into one movie, where the kids grow up and come back to defeat the clown once again.
At the end of the newest one, a title reading “Chapter 1” comes up, revealing there will be a second movie. Despite the new one not living up to my expectation, I would still watch the second one when it comes out.
However, Stephen King enjoys the new movie adaption of his book. For the film’s opening weekend, he tweeted, “Come on out to the movies tonight. You’ll float.”
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King has not always been impressed by the movies adapted from his books. In a Rolling Stone article, King told Andy Greene he dislikes Stanley Kubrick’s interpretation of “The Shining” starring Jack Nicholson. That being said, it is important to note that he does actually like the new “It”.
Don’t get me wrong, while I felt there were flaws throughout the movie, I would still suggest watching it because the kids are funny, and it is a unique story compared to the ghosts, haunting horror stories that we are all so familiar with at this point. Rather than paying about $12 to see it in theaters, I would rent “It” when it is released on DVD or available for streaming.