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| The Losers' Club |
My Review:
If you live in Stephen King's universe, then don't go out alone into the heavy rain. Pennywise the Dancing Clown maybe be hiding just around the corner. This is how the latest adaptation of Stephen King famous novel, origin of the scariest clown in popular culture, begins. Set in the late 80s in the small town of Derry, Maine, IT depicts the terrors and struggles that several adolescents (the Losers' Club) experience against the evil shape-shifting clown, Pennywise.
Though it markets itself as a horror film, in essence it is so much more. In between the many jump scares emerges a poignant adolescent drama about the harrow realities that hide underneath the seemingly idealistic facade of small town America. Struggling to fit in. Abusive or controlling parents. Racism, bigotry, and incessant misunderstanding. All elements omnipresent in the world Stephen King wants to represent. And though this adaptation is set in 1989 (roughly 30 years ago), the film doesn't make spend much time or effort to ground itself into the period, but rather opts for a more general feeling of "the past." If it was set in the 50s, nothing would really change. A good call on the part of the filmmakers, since it serves to emphasize the universality of the message. Instead, the excellent chemistry between the main cast is what remains in the foreground of the story, in focus. Their passions, their fears, their challenges.
For all the frightening scenes present in the film (and they are frightening!), IT is ultimately a much better drama than it is a horror film; and that's a problem. I truly don't understand why the filmmakers choose to rely so much on cliche and overused horror tropes when they're in possession of one of the scariest characters ever created. The slow and dragging zooms; the sudden change of musical cues; you know what I'm talking about it. In a film like this, where so much depends on mood and atmosphere (not unlike classic Japanese horror), such cliche tropes do nothing more than drag you out of an immersive experience.
Nevertheless, I believe most people will enjoy this film, even if you're an overly nitpicking cinephile like myself. The current box office results are a testament to that. I recommend it.
Score: 8/10
Title: ITWriter(s): Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman
Based on: "It" a novel by Stephen King
Director: Andy Muschietti
Main Cast:
Bill Skarsgård
Finn Wolfhard
Sophia Lillis
Jaeden Lieberher
Release Date: 8 September 2017
Running Time: 135 minutes
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