With the largest opening for an R-rated movie ever, “It” certainly has come to play.
In this Stephen King adaptation, a group of kids called “the losers” band together to take down a monster who takes the form of Pennywise, a terrifying clown.
First things first, these kids are wonderful. Each one does an excellent job with their role. You really do fall in love with them, a huge plus in horror movies.
If you don’t love the characters, who cares if they get eaten, right?
The two standouts for me are Richie, played by Finn Wolfhard, and Beverly, played by Sophia Lillis.
You may recognize Wolfhard from the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things”, but this does not detract from the movie much since he plays a completely different character.
Lillis is the real standout, however. As the only girl in the movie, she anchors the boys and gives an amazing performance.
The kids nail the comedy in this movie, especially Wolfhard, who uses very crude humor throughout. The comedy in this movie only creates more attachment to the kids.
Now, the horror.
Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgard, is terrifying. The movie wastes no time on introducing his sinisterness.
From the very first scene, this movie went places I did not expect. Throughout the movie, the horror never lets up. You are constantly on edge, expecting Pennywise to appear around the corner.
There are two incredible scares in this movie that had me trying to disappear into my chair.
I was also very impressed with the way the story was structured.
Without giving anything away, the film puts you through the same journey as the kids, with the mission to take down Pennywise.
“It” is smartly done, which is a huge part of the movie’s success.
But, and there is always a but, I left wanting more.
I did not just want to be scared by this frightening monster. I wanted to be unsettled by him.
I wanted to have trouble sleeping the night I saw it, and I did not. I think this is because with the protagonists being a group of kids, you can only go so dark.
As I said earlier, this movie does go to some places you do not expect, and there are some very dark elements throughout the movie. However, I do wish I had left the theater feeling more unsettled than I did.
Other than that, there is not much I can fault this movie for. “It” does exactly what it came to do, but left me wanting more.
I cannot wait for chapter two.
If you love horror movies, or a great time in a theatre full of people, “It” is worth your time and money.