It (2017)

As I alluded to in my review of the 1990 version, the original take on Stephen King's It made a big impression on my generation. It's one of the first scary movies folks my age saw as children, thanks to no rating (since it was a television miniseries) and the era of VHS was alive and kicking. Thus the reactions to a remake fell into one of two camps:

1. Awesome! I can't wait to see what kind of changes they make.
2. But the original is a classic! How can they remake this well? Boo remakes.

I found myself somewhere in the middle since I have no nostalgic attachment to the original and saw potential for improvement, but also wasn't automatically onboard. So which camp was right? Today we find out.

The movie follows a group of young teenagers that have just started their summer vacation. While most kids their age are concerned with having as much as fun as possible, the group's leader Bill is on a desperate quest to find his brother Georgie who went missing eight months ago. Much to their dismay, they quickly discover that the entity responsible for Georgie's disappearence is also to blame for a string of missing kids...and now he's hunting them.

In my review of the 1990 version, I expressed a hope that the new film would focus on the kid portion of the massive book instead of trying to cram in the "kids all grown up" storyline. And thankfully that's exactly what they did here. It's a self-contained story about the kids facing off against Pennywise as he shows up to exploit their greatest fears and for the most part it works.

So let's break down some pros and cons

Pro: A Strong Screenplay

While the core concept of a murder clown that becomes your greatest fear is a license to print horror fan money, a two hour film centered around it doesn't work unless the audience is invested in the characters, in this case the team of "Losers." As such It's sceenplay devotes a lot of time to fleshing out the kids fears and sense of isolation.

The two leads get the most attention. The aforementioned Bill has stutter and is dealing with trauma of losing his brother and Beverly has been branded a slut for no particular reason and appears to dread her approaching womanhood (more on this later). The rest of the team includes a hypochondriac, a motormouth, a chubby nerd, a jewish boy nervous about his bar mitzvah and the town's only black kid (who's home schooled). 

While this collection of characters is fun and provides a bunch of different angles for Pennywise, the film also makes it clear that this group is already living in fear before the demonic clown shows up. Some live in fear in their daily lives while each of them has endured abuse from their school aged peers (both physical and psychological). Thus banding together and fighting Pennywise holds symbolic value.

The kids dialogue is perhaps a bit curse heavy, as if to give the original a giant "hey you couldn't do this before!' middle finger, but considering how frequently its used in tension cutting jokes I couldn't complain.

Con: Beverly's Struggle

There are element of Beverly's personal struggle and character that work really well. I like how she's clearly more emotionally mature than the twelve and thirteen year old boys she's hanging around with and the movie is honest about how a group of adolescent boys would react to a girl joining their ranks (cue substantial male gaze and romantic idealization).

But Beverly's abusive household feels like rape culture reinforcement. Nothing is explicitly shown, but the rampant slut shaming, and Bev's father asking "are you still my girl?" paints a clear picture of sexual abuse that feels out of line with the other kids everyday fears. 

There might be something to say here, considering the only comparable experience is from our only black lead Mike (possibly indicating that life is inherently harder for women and minorities), but the movie seems to use this angle mostly because it's creepy and it gives Bev a reason to feel unsafe in her home, especially now that she's hitting puberty. I'm not sure what the right "fear" is for Bev but it could've been different.

Pro: The Cast

If it weren't for the Stranger Things gang, which one of these kids is in already, this would be the most likable group of movie kids in adult oriented material in a decade. Probably the hardest thing in a movie like this is to fit into your trope or stereotype without becoming irritating. And yet, the kids here are remain endearing throughout the film. The hypochondriac is actually funny and not whiny, the motor-mouth's jokes land, and the lead character's stutter is presented but not overplayed.

But ultimately we're here for Pennywise and holy crap does Bill Skarsgård deliver. It's hard to describe the different between his and Curry's performance but Skarsgård does an excellent job at giving his Pennywise a unique voice and a dynamic presence. One moment his voice is soft and sounds like a cartoon character went through gravel and the next he's looming and screeching like a monster. In terms of Curry vs. Skarsgård I think one of my fellow movie goers said it best, "I spent the last 16 years getting over my fear of clowns...and now its back." They're both great in their own ways.

Pro: The Scares

It is one of the harder movies to make creepy, because so much of the action takes place during the day. Director Andy Muschietti's solution appears to be a great combination of jump scares, isolation, gross out moments, effects, and putting the audience in the character's perspective. Even before Pennywise's latest incarnation shows up we're already creeped out by the situation (almost all of which involve being alone). Sometimes we're alone in a basement. Other times we're walking home alone. Simply knowing what Pennywise is capable of and that these are children by themselves makes the situation dreadful enough before their greatest fear shows up. But once it does *insert manly screams here*

I also like this version of Pennywise. While Pennywise does physically, his primary power is warping the reality of his victims in ways only the kids can see it. It's a great thematic element, i.e. parents/adults being incapable of seeing or understanding your biggest fears, but it also means that Pennywise can continue toying with his victims or push them into his domain.

Verdict: Scary and Substantial 

Despite a couple of questionable character related decisions, It successfully mergers the coming-of-age narrative and scary set pieces the movie needs. Worth the watch. Check it out. You know unless murder clowns aren't your thing.