Autumn's here, folks. That means Halloween, and that makes me smile. Cause I like to get spooked, see. Have since I was a kid. Someone asked me recently, someone who doesn't like scary movies (or roller coasters, interestingly enough), why myself, and people in general, like scary movies. Cause the thing is, they really do. Superhero movies aside, nothing gets people into a movie theater more than a horror flick. When I saw "IT" play at the movie theater, the entire place was packed, every seat in the house. Even on a Sunday night. So packed that the group I was with and I had to sit in the very front row. My neck was sore the whole next day, but hey, it was worth it- at least people are still going out and seeing movies the way filmmakers intended them to.
But so yes, it's obvious that people feel the same way that I do, they like them some scares and spooks. If I had to guess why they do, the roller coaster comparison seems pretty appropriate; people like scary movies because they are a thrill to watch, especially when you see them in the theater. While I wouldn't say that "IT" was 100% thrills, it will definitely give horror fans (and especially those who don't watch many scary movies) plenty enough thrills.
"IT" is directed by Andrés Muschietti, and is an adaptation of Stephen King's novel by the same name, the only adaptation (as Stephen King lets us know via a clip of him singing the movie's praises before the movie started rolling in the theater) that King has thought did justice to his own source material. Granted, a lot of the stuff from King's novel are left out (the entire second chunk of the book, some honestly discomforting sex stuff, and a massive cosmic sea turtle- ain't even joking about any of that), but even still, Stevie K. has the right to be proud of what Andrés and his team have accomplished.
"IT" is a movie, through and through. What I mean by that is that "IT" is doing or trying nothing to be experimental or different or overly artistic or too front-of-the-head- "IT" is simply out to entertain you, and it does so exceedingly well. "IT" stars Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lilli, Finn Wolfhard (who fills the movie with so many tension relieving dick jokes that it might be sort of whiplash inducing to see him return to "Stranger Things' " season 2 as Mike, with his 'gee, shucks' attitude), and Bill Skarsgård, who plays Pennywise the clown himself, the actual 'It', whose performance is delightfully horrifying. Just look up the GIF of Pennywise dancing. 'Nuff said.
To be honest, the best parts of "IT" aren't the 'scary' parts- "IT" soars when it focuses on its young cast, their interactions and relationships with one another, and their place in their hometown. Like "Stranger Things", "IT" paints the picture of a believable group of lovable weirdos and outcasts that you can't help but root for. Honestly, at times I was more interested in the kid's plot than the stuff involving Pennywise. That's not to say that the parts that lean heavily into the 'horror' don't work as well. I wouldn't call "IT" terrifying- it's got some solid, eerie sequences, like when Ben (played by Jeremy Ray Taylor) flips through a picture book in the library, only for every page of the book he's reading to depict the same exact picture, one which, as he frantically flips through the book, keeps zooming closer and closer into the picture, until it becomes apparent there is the silhouette of a decapitated head in a tree. Stuff like that scene, or the opening scene where Georgie sees Pennywise staring up at him from the sewer, those are all real darn good. Some of the stuff that I don't love in retrospect is how almost every moment of horror is accompanied by a loud BANG or crash of noise. It's sort of a gripey, pick-it-apart thing to complain about, but even still, it's kind of a cheap way to try to scare someone. Equally, some of the movie's plot is a little uneven, specifically how it cycles in characters (Mike, Stanley) only to have them have little to no importance in the grand scheme of things.
BUT- those are minor points. "IT" is a really well made movie, both in its audio and visuals, and in its telling of a pretty interesting story with well defined characters. Scary movies in particular can get lost in their concepts pretty easily, can lose their human element in favor of their fantastical ones- "IT" could have easily given us a group of who-cares characters, all killed off one-by-one in outrageous fashion, only to leave the audience blinking up dully at the movie screen. But "IT" (or I guess Mr. King, since this was his original story, after all) knows that the horrors and dancing clowns in a story mean absolutely zero if they aren't affecting a character or characters we as the audience actually give a damn about.
Go see "IT" folks. "IT's" the perfect time of year to see a movie like "IT". It is by no means the scariest movie out there by any stretch of the imagination, but "IT's" spooky, silly, a little heart warming, and a fun time to be had.
Gotta give this one: Clowns Are Always Scary/10
