‘It’ Review: Legit frights get bolstered by a stellar cast of misfit kids

Andy Muschietti’s It is going to be psychologically damaging to anyone who has been historically frightened by child-eating clowns.  It’s also going to be a thrilling trip to the theater for anyone that has enjoyed any combination of Goonies, Stranger Things, E.T., A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Super 8, since the film is completely unafraid to draw on all of those influences. But what makes the film work more than anything else is its surprisingly rich and compelling visual storytelling in combination with some of the best child casting cinema has given us in recent years, which both work together to make a film that is equal parts terrifying, humorous, and full of heart…And full of creepy-ass, orange-eyed, red-balloon-carrying cannibalistic clowns, amongst other monstrosities from your most traumatizing childhood nightmares.

First, a few disclaimers: I did not read Stephen King’s book, It; I picked up the beast-sized book when I was in middle school and started the first few pages, but then determined that it’s 1,300 pages or so would require more time than I was willing to give it (I wound up giving this time to Flowers in the Attic). So, I watched the tv miniseries instead, and while it was a way easier feat than getting through the book, having to see an actual visual of Pennywise the Dancing Clown made it quite apparent that I never needed to see it ever again. Or any clown, for that matter. Ever.

A second disclaimer: I’m not a horror aficionado. I actually tend to steer clear of modern horror because they seem more intent on grossing audiences out than truly producing genuine scares, which I’ll admit is a much harder thing to do.  And I’ll be damned if a movie is going o ruin my appetite. In any case, the person you have in front of you to deliver this review is the same person who makes sure the deadbolt is locked every night (like, a few times), often checks closets when she comes home late at night by herself, and is often easily scared half to death if a co-worker comes up to her desk a bit to quickly to ask a question.

Having said that, I’m happy to report that It delivers enough legitimate jolts of fear and a constant sense of the creepy-crawlies to renew my confidence in the horror genre. For the unfamiliar, It  – in a nutshell – is the story of seven pre-adolescent kids in Derry, Maine who have all suffered to some degree at the hands of local school bullies. Aside from the common bully, the kids also have something that ails them individually on an emotional and/or psychological level, whether it be grieving the disappearance of a brother, or enduring the abuse of a father, the children are already haunted by their own traumas, which makes them seemingly perfect victims for It: the shape-shifting clown demon who feeds on children and their fears every 27 years in the cursed town of Derry.

The film spares no time introducing It; older brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) is sick in bed but is making a paper boat for his younger brother, Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott), so that he can sail it down the street. After putting on what would become a rather iconic yellow raincoat, Georgie sets the boat to sail and the boat goes down the sewer. And as he reaches down to try to retrieve it, he meets Pennywise the Dancing Clown (aka It). What happens next…. isn’t good. Just gonna leave that there.

After this incident, we get further immersed  with Bill and his gang of bullied “Losers”; Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things), a foul-mouthed wisecracker who doesn’t miss an opportunity to make light of any situation; Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), a germophobic hypochondriac with a knack for talking like a paranoid yet spirited little adult; Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), an obese, intelligent, bookwormy, and sensitive soul who bears the most knowledge about Derry’s cursed history; Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff), a straight-arrow, logical, and reluctant member of the Losers who would take It on; Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs), a guarded yet forthright African American boy who is primarily picked on because of his race by main bully Henry Bowers’ (an unhinged Nicholas Hamilton); and Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), a girl who is continuously (and falsely) slut-shamed by the entire school, and who shares a home with an abusive father. As these kids realize that they are all being terrorized by visions containing It, and also find that Derry seems to suffer conspicuously high rates of child disappearances every 27 years, they band together to try to defeat the fear-fed monster that is haunting them and threatening to kill them.

While there’s enough kudos to go around to director Muschietti, the screenwriters (Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman) and all of the below-the-line folks involved in creating the seemingly idyllic small town of Derry, the heart and soul of the film lies in the performances of its predominantly child cast. Every single kid delivers the goods for their individual characters, and you can’t help but root for all of them as they stand up to their darkest fears, both real and imagined.  As a matter of fact, the effortless chemistry of the group is what grounds the film in an innocence and camaraderie that makes the imminent danger of It all the more dire and horrifying. And while I was completely impressed across the board, the real standout for me was Sophia Lillis, who portrayed Beverly with the perfect amounts of tomboyish charm, humor, vulnerability, and fearlessness that every time she was on the screen, it was damn near magical. Finn Wolfhard as Richie also does a commendable job of shaking loose his Stranger Things character to take on one who is much more edgy and mischievous, which is a tough feat given all of the similarities this film bears to the popular Netflix show that made him famous. Additionally, I also have to give a shout-out to Bill Skarsgard – the freakishly handsome, young actor who plays Pennywise in the film. Because he is CREEPY AF. And if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that this was being played by some 40-something year old actor who had enough fucked up life experience to draw upon to play a villain this slithery, manipulative, and demonic. But this kid is only 20, and between his depiction of Pennywise and the truly incredible work of the make-up and VFX departments, he turns in a performance of the popular character that probably couldn’t have been done much better.

image: New Line Cinema

As I stated before, while watching the film, you will no doubt find call-backs to several kid-centric films, tv shows, and horror films. The bikes and the easy adolescent dialogue will definitely take you back to E.T. and Stranger Things; the whole “charming kids banding together to take on a violent adversary” component may make you think of Goonies; and having a murderous monster who specifically terrorizes kids may make you think back to the original A Nightmare on Elm Street. Ordinarily, it would be really easy to knock the film down for borrowing so heavily from these sources, but if you’re a fan of those films, and especially if you grew up in the 80’s watching and admiring these films, this tactic will most likely not bother you at all, especially since it’s so skillfully pulled off. After all, when you marry the innocence of something like E.T. with the bowel-loosening effects of a homicidal clown, that clown is going to seem pretty effing scary when placed in that charming, small town universe. And it is.

So, is the film really scary? Once again, you’re talking to someone who would probably jump four feet in the air if you came up behind her and tickled her ear with a feather. So there’s that. But having said that, yes, the film truly freaked me out in certain parts to the point of nervously covering my mouth, squirming in my seat, or outright jumping out of said seat. And I wasn’t alone. After one particularly jarring moment, the entire theater actually applauded how well they’d been made to crap their collective pants. I’m sure that more seasoned horror fans will find some of the monsters only marginally scary, and that would be a fair criticism because there were times when I was definitely less spooked than others. But on the whole, there are enough frights to satisfy horror fans, and definitely enough for those that are accustomed to skipping films in the horror genre altogether.

I would say the only place where the film maybe falls short is in explaining how Pennywise came to be, and why he seems to come out of hibernation every 27 years. The motivations of this demon are unclear, but having said that, I’m not sure it really needs to be explained. The fear factor is fueled in part by not knowing the why behind Pennywise’s existence, and it’s possible this is never explained in the book, either. But most monster movies have an origin story for how they came to be, so that was an expectation that didn’t get met (for better or worse).

All in all, It does a commendable job of taking King’s incredibly thick novel and bringing it – at least the first half of it – to vibrant, disturbing life. The assured direction, thoughtful script, fantastic editing, make-up, and VFX are all bolstered by a fantastic child cast that are compelling to watch at every turn. So, if you don’t go for the horror, definitely stay for the coming-of-age stories of this charming band of ghoul-fighting misfits. In the meantime, I’m inviting people to sleep over for a couple of days while I get the thought of creepy-ass clowns out of my head. Dinner will be provided.