Stephen King's IT (2017) Ver 2.0 - This movie floats very well

NOTE TO THE READER:
When I wrote my early draft of this review, I did so in a hurry. As such, not only were there too many spelling and grammar errors, but I had unintentionally given the impression that I had an understanding of the works of Stephen King without actually having read them. My review had intended to be strictly about the movie regardless of it's faithfulness to source material or lack thereof. I have taken it upon myself to revise this review with a better focus on my take on the film. Please enjoy. 

REVIEW:

The best kind of horror films, at least in my opinion, are the ones that are the most metaphorical. Scary stories that also act as a kind of exploration into aspects of reality that can be truly scary, and giving them a physical manifestation to explore, and ultimately confront. One of the best examples of this notion is the IT miniseries from 1990, based upon the book of the same title by Stephen King. While it's not the scariest horror film I've seen, it is a great story that has one of the best, and arguably, scariest metaphors for a story. The horrors of growing up. While I do appreciate the miniseries for Tim Curry's memorable performance, I always felt that this story could benefit from an update. That there was room for improvement. It could be a totally and truly scary experience and still be a story with strong merit. Well, I am happy to say that this brand new film delivers all that in spades. So much so that I am even considering seeing it in theaters again.

The story follows a group of outcast pre-teen kids known as "The Losers' Club" in the small town of Derry, Maine. The kids are all dealing with their own issues such as the towns psychotic bully, a troubled family, and in some cases, straight up abuse. Our main protagonist is a young boy named Bill, played by Jaeden Lieberher, who lost his younger brother, Georgie, when he was playing in the rain with his paper boat made for him by Bill. He was then taken away by someone in the sewers promising that he would "float" down there. Overtime, Bill and the rest of The Losers' Club, discover a dark and terrible secret buried under the town. Turns out that the town has dealt with a number of unfortunate events since the day it was founded. Mostly involving missing persons, especially children. It all links back to a terrifying entity that confronts the children as their worst fears, though it mostly appears as a dancing clown named Pennywise, played to incredibly terrifying perfection by Bill Skarsgård. Now, the children must take matters into their own hands and face down Pennywise before another life is lost to his reign of terror.

This movie is really good. Not only is it a horror movie that is genuinely scary, but it's a horror movie that understands and appreciates what horror is really about. As I stated before, this story is really a metaphor for overcoming fear, the power of friendship, and the horrors of growing up. Pennywise, in addition to being a scary murderous monster, is also an allegory for the fears of growing up and mortality, as evidenced by IT appearing to the children as their worst fears in an effort to feed off their fear and take their lives. In order to best face off against this monster, the children must not only face their fears, but also must come to terms with their own mortality. Which is something that can be very hard to do for some of us, even as adults.

As I mentioned before, the original mini series featured an incredibly memorable performance by Tim Curry as Pennywise. Bill Skarsgård, who plays the new Pennywise, not only manages to be equally terrifying, but also manages to make the role his own. The main thing that concerned Bill Skarsgård when he was approached with the role, was mainly that he didn't want to overshadow Tim Curry's performance. It's worth noting that in this films early production, Tim Curry had actually been approached to reprise the role, but he turned it down - which, I think was the best course of action. Bill Skarsgård brings an air of terrifying insanity to the role that makes it clear he's not trying to copy or emulate Curry in any way. Make no mistake: This is Bill's show.

The young members of the cast are incredible. They all have great chemistry, they all deliver there performances with conviction, and they are all likable. Each and every one of the kids manages to bring something interesting and entertaining to the table. This is driven by the excellent and well crafted script, which allows the kids to have some great dialogue. One minute they're debating whether or not they should go down the scary tunnel, the next minute they're making jokes about said scary tunnel.

The film was directed by Andy Muschietti, who previously made another interesting horror film called Mama - a horror film that really, really could have been great, were it not for the obvious abundance of studio interference dragging it down. Andy Muschietti is not only a talented horror director, he's just a talented director overall. One of the hardest things to do for any director, no matter how experienced they are, is to make a movie starring mostly kids (or even just one kid, as the main character). Andy manages to pull the best performances possible out of his young cast.

This film is exactly the kind of improvement on this story that I have been waiting for. It has a better understanding of the nature of the story, it delivers great characters, it has much more entertainment and scare value, and best of all, IT treats its audience with respect. If this same director comes back for the second part of this story, (oh yeah, minor spoiler, there's going to be a second part), you will most certainly find me in the theater. I hope that it will be just as good, if not even better, than this first part.

If you're a fan of movies based upon Stephen King's stories, or a fan of good horror films, or are even just plain interested to see what the hype is all about, and if you think you can handle it, please go see this movie. It is a masterpiece.

"Oh yes, you'll float too."

A friendly warning: This film depicts graphic violence, strong language, and scary images.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am TheNorm, telling you when Hollywood get's things wrong, and when they get things right. Thank you all for reading.