If you know me on any personal level, you most likely know how much I love Stephen King’s IT. My shower curtain has Tim Curry as Pennywise. I am currently wearing a shirt saying “We all float down here”. I have Pennywise cereal, figurines, Funkos, and had long considered getting a Pennywise tattoo. It’s fair to say that I am a fan.
I went to see this with my buddy, Dom, in the theaters. I apparently also saw it a second time with Tom and Kayleigh, so I really enjoyed it, even if I only remember seeing it once, haha. I remember walking away pleased. We didn’t want a shot-for-shot remake, and thankfully, they didn’t give that to us. It’s perfectly natural to want to compare this with the original. I did that as well, but the original version had a 3-hour runtime. IT Chapter One (I know the film is just called IT, but I prefer to designate this as Chapter One) and Chapter Two combine for a 5-hour runtime. Having more time doesn’t always translate to better with Stephen King stories. The Kubrick Shining is superior to the ABC miniseries. The original version of The Stand was superior to the recent remake. Both had significant additional time. It’s about what you do with that additional time that matters.
I never read the book entirely, but was fairly knowledgeable of it, back in the day. I was worried about Bill Skarsgard’s portrayal of Pennywise since Tim Curry did such a magnificent job. I may still have a picture I took at the theater. The picture that they used to tell us which theater had IT had a nice picture of Tim Curry’s Pennywise. You know that is pretty funny. I have 2 theories about this. First, someone saw this version and preferred Tim Curry and did it out of spite. Second, someone did a quick search online for Pennywise and didn’t notice the difference or was simply unaware of there being two, and printed out the incorrect one. This will be a question that will haunt me for years.
The cast is good, as far as I’m concerned. Bill Skarsgard was also in Castle Rock season 1 and I have enjoyed what I have seen of him. Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things plays the role of Richie. Owen Teague who played Harold Lauder in The Stand 2020 is Patrick Hockstetter. Steven Williams played Creighton Duke in Jason Goes To Hell and is Leroy Hanlan in this one. Not a lot of huge names, but in ten years, some of these kids may very well be mainstream.
I’m not going to overanalyze this. That may happen in a different year. But I want to just kick back and enjoy this. I will take notes and make observations along the way. That’s the goal. Oh yeah, I almost forgot my Pennywise glass.
Start Film
I didn’t even realize that New Line Cinema did this. I’m appreciating Bill’s Gremlins poster on the wall. It is 1988 after all. Also, props to Jaeden Martell for his stuttering. I think that is a bit of a challenge to make it sound authentic. Georgie in the basement reminds me of when I used to go down to my grandparent’s basement. I always found that place creepy as a child. I remember being so excited to just watch Georgie with his little boat, and then he banged his head on the barricade and it was just great timing. Just a small moment of levity before the inevitable.
While I prefer Tim Curry as Pennywise, I thought Bill did a lot of cool things to immediately differentiate himself. The weird accent, the humorous manner in which he spoke. And I loved the arm getting bitten off and then Pennywise’s arm dragging Georgie back to him.
We meet Mike Hanlon and he is living with his uncle Leroy. His uncle raises sheep and also executes them. I liked that they gave Mike something more to work with in this version. They allowed Richie to just be vulgar and hilarious. Also, it is so weird to see Owen Teague in this role and as Harold. Two incredibly different roles within a few years of each other. I think that guy has the potential to be a big name.
Henry Bowers licks his hand and then wipes Bill’s face with the aforementioned hand….yet he called Bill and his friends faggots. Just saying, those two things don’t mesh well. Hahaha, Ben listening to New Kids on the Block. I also like that Ben is chubbier in this version. I will always have a soft spot for the fat kid in movies.
Bill has done a really masterful job recreating the sewers. Mike seeing crazy shit was fun. So many Stephen King films deal with incredibly aggressive bullies such as Carrie and Christine. Were kids really that bad? They just drove down an alley to hit Mike. That seems a bit unreasonable. Stanley’s father is a rabbi and has a creepy painting on his wall. Who would have that in a Rabbi’s office? I would, but I’m not a Rabbi…yet. Actually, can I find that picture on Amazon? I didn’t find it on Amazon, but I found it on Etsy and eBay. If you search for Judith the Flute Lady, you can find some items.
I love how they did the scene with Eddie’s mom, and Richie just gets his lines in perfectly. In regard to Ben, it would be super shitty to have to move to a new school that late in the school year. Derry has a very interesting history., with explosions at Easter Egg hunts and missing kids. Ben has more balls than I do following the trail of eggs. My curiosity isn’t that great. And we all know that curiosity killed the Kent. Creepy ass headless mother fucker, hell no.
Henry and his crew capture Ben, Once again, what kind of guy wants to carve his name on another male’s body? I think Henry has some unique emotions. Props to Ben for hauling ass. “Do you use the same bathroom as your mom?” “Yeah.” “Then you probably have crabs.” That is a good fucking line. The boys found Betty Ripsom’s shoe. Eddie makes a good point, maybe he doesn’t want to find the missing kids. Stanley is a total pussy.
Hockstetter, you’re alone and you’re doing your best impersonation of Keith David in The Thing with your flame skills. Man, Patrick, you had a bad time. “Glad I got to meet you before you died.” Richie says to Ben after Eddie goes on and on about AIDS. Okay, Eddie is winning me over. Haha, Eddie owns two fanny packs. Aww, The Right Stuff reference. Jesus, just keep feeding me the Memberberries.
What TV show is on in Bev’s home? I enjoyed it. Bev’s dad may be creepier than Pennywise with his sniffing of Bev. Bev, you are going to clog the drain cutting your hair like that. 5 boys hanging out in their underwear, is that a thing? All 5 of those boys would have had wood as soon as Bev shows up and takes off her clothes. Okay, they acknowledge this quintessentially with them all staring at her later while listening to “Bust A Move” by Young MC.
The wonderment as a child visiting your friend’s bedroom for the very first time. I do enjoy the history lesson of Derry’s past. That alone could be its own film or like anthology series on HULU. I love all the various scary entities that Pennywise takes the form of. Often simple, but done in such a menacing or intimidating way. Bev finds the postcard/love poem from Ben, but she doesn’t realize who it is from. I love that even when the film isn’t doing a scary scene, it maintains momentum. That is a lot of blood. Bev freaking out about the blood and her dad comes in and doesn’t see anything. It’s such a well-done scene.
Georgie repeatedly saying “You’ll float too” was fun. Another thing I appreciate is how each kid has their own personal demons that they’re dealing with. I think they attempted to tackle that in the original version, but here, they really take their time crafting these scenarios and moments. Bev has the boys over to see the bathroom as she sees it. She wanted validation. I like that the boys volunteer to help her clean it, but Richie is stuck outside alone. Ben is sad to see how Bev and Bill are with each other. You have to feel for him. Bev recites the poem a bit and has that moment where she realizes Bill didn’t write it.
Ohhh, Mike is homeschooled and that is why he isn’t friends with these guys and gal yet. Henry Bowers, Belch, and Victor are trying to force Mike to eat raw meat. Seriously, what the fuck do these kids do all day? I wish they had made a fake documentary about a day in the life of Henry Bowers. Jesus, the rock war set to Anthrax is perfect. But god damnit. “Go blow your dad, you mullet-wearing asshole.” How many times can you feasibly get hit in the head by rocks? Also, Richie fucking with the horn player, fantastic.
Ben has pieced together that shit goes bad every 27 years. Richie is afraid of clowns. That makes sense. The scene with the projector is really good too. They theorize that IT lives in the Well House. Haha, I love them all volunteering to stay outside. Richie finds a missing poster of himself. That would creep me out too. Bill, Richie, and Eddie go upstairs, see Betty Ripsom. But then Eddie gest sidetracked. A good divide and conquer. Richie goes into a room with things covered by sheets. I would never go in there. A room full of clowns is satisfying though.
Is Pennywise actually trying to grab them or just terrorize them? I feel like if he wanted to capture them, he could do it with ease, so is Pennywise just doing it for the laughs? Oh man, the 3 doors are labeled Not Scary At All, Scary, and Very Scary. Which one would you choose? I think you have to choose Scary, right? Bev with the poker to the head, very nice. Poor Ben got clawed in the belly. Pennywise retreats and Bill wants to go after him. How does everybody know all these rumors about Bev given her age? Like, do parents gossip about how much of a whore an early teenage girl is? I’m not a parent, so that is a legitimate question. Eddie’s mom has the station wagon, naturally.
Bev is the smart one saying that they only had the advantage when they were all together. So they all go their separate ways.
Henry wants to shoot a cat and his dad is an officer. He isn’t happy so he takes his gun and fires it at the ground near Henry to show Henry’s friends how much of a coward he really is. I really want to know what the girl wrote on Eddie’s cast. Henry got a nice gift in his mailbox, a knife. The kid’s show on TV implores Henry to kill his dad and then to kill them all. That was a nasty little death for his dad.
Bev’s dad has padlocked the front door and he has lots of questions. I feel it is important to acknowledge how good Stephen Bogaert did as Bev’s fucked up father. I know that you want to a role in a big movie, but taking that role is a bit tough for many, I assume. Really, that’s why Robert Englund is a fucking icon. He owned the role of a piece of shit guy for 8 films. HAHAHA, as I am typing that, they show that Nightmare on Elm Street 5 is playing at the theater. I couldn’t have timed that any better.
It is quite telling that after Bill finds out that Bev has been captured by IT, the first person that he goes to is Richie. Ha, Eddie’s cast says LOSER and then there is a big red V over the S. Stupid things amuse me. Hahaha, Eddie saying gazebos instead of placebos, that’s fucking good. Interestingly enough, my pulmonologist basically told me that the pill I take for asthma does nothing for me.
Mike came to the dance packing heat. I like that!!! Everybody is readying their weapons. Richie breaks a beer bottle as they do in the movies, looks at how sad it is, and tosses it. This movie is unexpectedly funny. Legitimately funnier than most comedies that came out that year. Think about that.
Stan, stop being a coward. Randy Savage wouldn’t be happy. I would be so useless trying to climb down the well on a rope. Of course, I realize that I would be useless in 99% of the films that I watch.
Okay, the place where Bev is, that beautiful shot looking up at all the bodies floating was great. Pennywise dancing brings me joy. Oh shit, Mike just got attacked by Henry. Henry does the smart thing and lifts up the rope. Henry takes a lot of rock hits to the head. Mike speared Henry down the well! And now Stanley is separated from the group. Ben, I hope that your wounds are fully healed before entering the greywater. Stanley gets attacked by Julie, the woman in the painting and then they find her feeding on Stan’s face, god damn. Poor Stan.
Immediately after this, Bill decides that it’s smart to separate from the group. He finds Bev floating in the air. The group of boys manages to pull Bev down. Come on Ben, use your loving touch. Ohhhhh, he gave her a big kiss. It worked. Fat guy kisses are magical, but you already knew that. And it’s real magic, not lame shit like unicorns.
Bill, are you gonna attack your own brother? Oh man, spike to the dome for poor Georgie. Mike took that like a champ. Pennywise can feast on Bill’s flesh and fear. So is the fear just a bunch of empty calories? Richie swinging like he’s Joaquin Phoenix in Signs. Pennywise kinda went out like a bitch here and Eddie didn’t get the spray him with his asthma inhaler. I am sad about that. I always loved that scene.
These kids have been involved in more group hugs these past 2 hours than I have been in my whole life. Is Bev’s dad dead? How do they explain that? Time for everybody to promise to come back if IT ever comes back. WHY the cutting of the palm? I hate that in horror movies. Oh, Bev is going to Portland tomorrow to stay with her aunt. Shit, I asked a question and got a prompt response. Is Bill gonna regret not trying to get in her pants as he gets older? I think so. I’m happy for Bev to get a fresh start away from her father and all the rumors.
End Film
IT Chapter One is really good. Very good. At times, it felt like they made the movie specifically for people my age. As kids, the original IT was always in the conversation for scariest films, along with Pet Sematary. I have to believe a lot of people my age that grew up on the original were definitely curious and paid to see this. And I hope that most walked away feeling happy.
When Dom and I left the theater, I was happy. The immediate thought was to compare it to the original, and that was complicated. What I did know was that they made a good film that felt different enough to be unique. Now that I have seen IT 4 times, there’s no need to make the comparison. It’s not about which was better. The only real debate was Skarsgard’s portrayal of Pennywise compared to Tim Curry. They were both good and unique in their own way, but I prefer Tim Curry.
The pacing of IT was fast. It never gave you much time to soak in a moment and that feels intentional. If this was the end of the story, I would be ranting about the ending, but this was just a setup for Chapter 2, so in that instance, IT all worked very well. Some of the CGI stuff may feel cheesy to some. I get it. Trust me, after watching Chapter 2, I really get it. I think the issue is finding the right look and balance. With a character who can morph the way that Pennywise does, what they did made a lot of sense and looked quite good.
Final Rating – 8.0 – It had plenty of scares, told the basic story with some changes. No people, they were never going to show Bev fucking all the boys. Sorry to disappoint you sick fucks. “But…but it was in the book.” Yup and some things are best left in the book. The sex scene would have never worked. So get over it. This was better than the first half of the original mini-series in many ways. But the budget, technology, and acting were all better along with 40 additional minutes and an R rating. There is no shame in admitting that this was better overall.
All the pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of:
- New Line Cinema (presents)
- RatPac-Dune Entertainment (in association with)
- Vertigo Entertainment
- Lin Pictures
- KatzSmith Productions
Please go find a copy and support the creators.