IT is a story from the fertile mind of the prolific and renowned writer Stephen King. King wrote published the novel in 1986. I turned 10 years old that year. It wasn’t my first encounter with a Stephen King tale. As a kid, I grew up on a rural farm. We didn’t really have a library or at least I was never taken to one. The one at school – we never used it. Thus, I had what few children’s book my mom could scrounge second hand and whatever was in my grandmother’s collection, which include lots of cheap and tawdry Harlequin novels, Stephen King, Bram Stoker Dracula, and Danielle Steele. Needless to say a thirsty and imaginative mind skipped the cheap and tawdry and went straight for the Stephen King. IT wouldn’t be considered appropriate for a 10 year old. If you have read it then you know why. However, let me not deviate because we are here to talk about the theatrical version of IT, which was not the first version of IT.
IT landed on the small screen, ABC to be exact in the Fall of 1990. It featured the magnificent Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue), John Ritter (Three’s Company, Problem Child, Buffy), Harry Anderson (Night Court, Dave’s World), Tim Reid (WKRP in Cinncinatti, Sister Sister), Annette O’Toole (48 Hours, Smallville), Dennis Christopher (Chariots of Fire, Django Unchained), Richard Masur (Risky Business, The Thing), and Richard Thomas (The Waltons, The Americans). The mini-series was contained within 2 parts. While there are many that would complain about the dated nature of the mini-series. I still like it. It was some scary TV watching for those times. You can get away with a lot more on network TV and cable, especially, these days. The acting isn’t Oscar level, but I feel it’s competent. I think there may be some that would say that the acting was hokey but if you analyze the styling of acting on TV around that time period, I think you wouldn’t judge it so harshly. The mini series would be difficult for a newer generation given their exposure to progress of TV shows in terms of writing, acting, and visual quality. It’s a nostalgia piece, and Tim Curry is the definite stand out in the series with his menacing presence.
The new IT movie has the benefits of a big budget and lots of modern technical wizardry to deliver some serious blood curdling imagery. IT was definitely set up to have a sequel. This first film covers the perilous journey of a band of kids terrorized not only at school and home but by a monstrous, pointy-toothed ambidextrous shape-shifting clown.
I am not going to lay out the story, but I am going to dive into what I think makes this movie successful and what hinders it.
- Excellent Production (script selection, coordinating writing, and editing)
- Visually Alluring
- Competent Cinematography
- Atmospheric Score
- Non-score musical selections added to the time frame of the film; nostalgic without
- Good casting and acting, especially by the younger cast members; They had great
- All the Easter Eggs. 😉
- Over reliance on Jump Scares
- Did not succeed at building tension from beginning to end. This lack of tension detracted from the effectiveness of Pennywise. It felt like a roller coaster ride versus a scary fun house. In other words, very short buildups then a dive and the ride is over way to quick. It’s cheap thrills.
- I don’t feel it succeeded in making Derry a character in the movie. That place is evil.
tobor x tobor 