IT

Without having read the lengthy novel, nor having watched the original television movie, I went to see the highly anticipated horror film ‘IT’ last weekend, believing it to be a scary clown movie. My expectations were shattered and I was absolutely blown away by what I witnessed.

There are spoilers ahead, so be warned.

When Pennywise, the creepy clown, sinks his many rows of teeth into the arm of a young boy in the opening sequence of the film, it becomes instantly apparent that he is not just a clown. He is in fact an extremely powerful being that captures children, brings them to the sewers, and consumes them every 27 years. His true form is never quite shown; he is capable of changing his appearance to look especially frightening to whomever his target is at any given time. I believe this film is an excellent horror story, because Pennywise (who eventually is referred to as IT) is basically the living essence of fear. He takes on many forms, and is truly terrifying. At one point, he chooses to take on the form of a woman in an extremely creepy painting. When this happens, it is absolutely horrific. I had never seen such a frightening and unsettling face in any horror movie scene before. This face was not masked by darkness; it was brought into the light, and it was like something from a nightmare.

This film was not reliant on jump scares, gruesome killings, or unnecessarily dark rooms. It truly explored the full potential of a horror movie with a high budget, by bringing in many scary forms of IT. The movie put nightmarish themes on the big screen in a way I have never seen done before. Another reason that I loved this movie was because of the characters. It unexpectedly focused heavily on the individual lives of the main cast of kids, as well as their interactions with each other away from all the horror. Their personalities were genuinely accurate to many kids of that age, and the scenes in which they spoke back and forth with each other were highly entertaining. There is a three-way romantic subplot within the central friend group, as well as many other subplots regarding the relationships of the kids and their parents. The main girl has an abusive father, one boy has a strict religious father, and another has an over-protective and dishonest mother.

The character-building made for an excellent story, and the many terrifying and well-animated forms of IT exceeded the modern standards for horror movie monsters. I greatly enjoyed this film, and I even paid a second visit to the theater to watch it again. Now I have purchased the book, and I will observe the similarities to the film as I read. ‘IT’ was a phenomenal horror movie, and I recommend it to anyone who is a true fan of horror, or simply wants to watch something terrifying.