IT (2017)
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This article is about 2017 movie. You may be looking for 1990 miniseries with the same name. |
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 "You'll float too, you'll float too! YOU'LL FLOAT TOO!"
— Georgie | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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It (or retroactively known as It: Chapter One), (or stylized as IT), is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The screenplay is written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. The first of a planned duology, the film tells the story of seven children in Derry, Maine, who are terrorized by the eponymous being, only to face their demons. The novel was previously adapted into a 1990 miniseries. The film is also known as It: Part 1 – The Losers' Club.
It is also the highest-grossing horror film of 2017, the highest-grossing R-rated film of 2017, and the 9th highest-grossing film of 2017. It received positive reviews, with critics praising the performances, direction, cinematography, and musical score, and many calling it one of the best Stephen King adaptations.
Plot
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied seven kids in Derry, Maine, are about to face their biggest worse nightmare -- an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town's children. Banding together throughout one horrifying summer, the friends must overcome their fears to battle the murderous, bloodthirsty clown known as Pennywise.
Why IT'll Float (No Pun Intended)
- While It may not be 100% faithful to Stephen King's novel, it stays faithful to the book's spirit.
- Bill Skarsgård (who later portrayed the Marquis de Gramont in John Wick: Chapter 4) makes a fantastic choice for playing the titular character, also known more commonly by its favorite form as Pennywise the Dancing Clown where It was very mature.
- Well-done character and story development.
- The child actors did an excellent job. Mostly Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier and Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie Kaspbrak.
- Very intense and scary moments that managed to keep the charm of 1990 miniseries and the books.
- Such as one terrifying scene in the film where Stanley (one of the members of the Loser’s Club) has his first encounter with It in the synagogue in the form of a hideous, creepy flute-playing woman (Judith) that came from a painting in his father’s office.
- Another terrifying scene is when Henry Bowers kills his father Oscar by using his knife while the woman and children encourage him from the television.
- Another terrifying scene is when Patrick finds the Losers Club in the sewer by using a flamethrower, only to discover that he saw the dead zombie kids, promoting run away then he says the red balloon that pops to be Pennywise that walks and eats him.
- Probably the most infamous intense and scariest is in the beginning, while controversy, where the entire encounter between Georgie and Pennywise.
- After Georgie and Pennywise laugh at their mutual love for popcorn, Pennywise abruptly stops laughing and just stares at Georgie, mouth agape and drooling. Georgie is a bit creeped out and says he should be going. But we all know how this scene ends up...
- This shot makes it look like Pennywise is looking at Georgie with one eye and looking directly at you with the other.
- And it's not just that shot, either; its eyes are like that for the entire movie. Yes, It can see you.
- One eagle-eyed fan noticed that It lets Georgie reach for the paper boat before pulling it away when Georgie almost has it in his grasp. The simple act of Pennywise toying with its prey gives some good insight into its feral, animalistic nature. You can hear the eagerness in its voice when It almost has Georgie in its grasp...
- While the scene roughly follows the one in the book, its ending goes much farther than King's novel version and the 1990 miniseries. Not only do we see Georgie's arm getting ripped off ONSCREEN, but we also see him crawling away, sobbing and crying for Bill, just before Pennywise's arm stretches out of the drain and drags him down to his death.
- On a psychological level, this scene is especially frightening if the viewer is a parent and/or has a much younger sibling. The thought of a child about Georgie's age being harmed when their older family member is unable to protect them is enough to make anyone feel terrified.
- The Losers Club members are very likable and relatable, as they each have something that makes them victims of bullying, such as race, disability, and parental incest.
- The cinematography is awesome and is very similar to other films based on Stephen King's novel.
- Awesome and funny lines, such as "YOU'LL FLOAT TOO!", "Beep beep, Richie.", and Eddie’s best-known line “They’re gazebos!”.
- Much like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows duology, the movie's idea and success have led to many other novel franchises make their split into two movies for the first installment (as well as standalone) instead of the finale, such as Dune, another popular novel of the same name.
- It also led Hollywood to adapt more of Stephen King's works to feature films and series as well and fans hope to re-adapted, like Salem's Lot and Doctor Sleep, after the success of this movie. Previously, they didn't make more movie adaptations of Stephen King's work as they made poorly received movies, like Carrie and Cell. But now, they deserve the chance to bring the adaptations to the big screens, as many fans of Stephen King will wonder what will find out.
- Most of the other scenes are very memorable.
- Mainly the unforgettable and hilarious Pennywise Dancing Scene.
- Henry Bowers and his gang of bullies are very entertaining and sadistic in their ways. Also, Henry Bowers went into less crazy and never said the n-word, unlike the 1990 miniseries.
- The ending is heartwarming, cool, and emotional all at the same time, which leads the second half film.
- Amazing and creepy musical score by Benjamin Wallfisch.
- "Every 27 Years" plays over the logos of Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, and RatPac and opening credits and sets the tone for this movie. And what better tone for It than Creepy Children Singing, immediately followed by a beautiful piano and string piece?
- "Paper Boat" plays when Bill makes the paper boat and when Georgie sails said boat across the neighborhood, and it is beautiful. It starts softly, but then the swelling orchestral score kicks in, and it fits the beautiful lighting, atmosphere, and cinematography perfectly; it also sounds adventurous, almost as if the movie itself is asking us, "You wanna go on an epic adventure? Who knows what might happen along the way?" But then the paper boat falls down the storm drain...
- "Georgie, Meet Pennywise" plays during Georgie's encounter with It and his tragic demise at the hands of the latter. It has a mysterious, creepy feel to it, which is the perfect orchestral introduction to the one and only Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
- Anthrax's cover of Trust's "Antisocial" accompanied the rock war between the Loser's Club and Bower's Gang. People were headbanging in the theater.
- "Deadlights" is one of Its most well-crafted pieces as it plays during the scene when It opens its mouth and reveals the Deadlights to Bev, complete with a pulsating overtone to start.
- "The Pennywise Dance" hilariously sets the mood for the movie's funniest moment, as a door crashes open and Pennywise stares down menacingly at Bev, captive in its lair...and starts dancing.
- If you want soft pieces, look no further than "Beverly" and "January Embers", which echo a bit of Thomas Newman.
- "Egg Boy", for being one helluva creepy track.
- "Shape Shifter". Stanley puts the creepy painting back on the wall and the chilling music starts, he realizes the woman from the painting isn't there. The door opens and a beautiful flute song starts playing. We think it's a part of the soundtrack. Then the flute drops...
- "Blood Oath" is a beautiful, melancholy track that plays during the last scene of the Losers Club altogether, adding to the general bittersweetness of their goodbyes.
- "Kiss" is a lovely track that closes out the film.
- Even though it's meant to be a horror film, it takes a break and has a nice, very realistic Stand by Me-esque vibe to it.
- A brief but touching story arc about a love triangle around Beverly, Ben, and Bill.
- The Loser’s Club shares a very realistic, loving bond.
- Much like Mama, it shows Andy Muschietti has amazing skills as a director.
- The film contains references to the 1990 miniseries. For example; a doll replica of Tim Curry's Pennywise is seen in this film for the scene where Richie encounters a room of clown dolls in the house on Neibolt Street.
- The costumes describe what '80s fashion looks like.
- The final battle with kids was so intense and awesome.
- Beverly's dresses remind everyone else of '90s floral dresses.
- Like the 1990 miniseries, the scene where Beverly has sex with all the boys after Pennywise retreats is never adapted, which is good since the author, Stephen King hates it so much that he doesn't want to include the scene in his novel.
Bad Qualities
- While the CGI is terrifying and impressive, it can sometimes be unconvincing.
- Mike Hanlon (played by Chosen Jacobs) has a lack of character development or screen time.
- Occasionally, it'll feel more like a teen comedy than a horror film.
- Even though It is portrayed perfectly, its design looks a little too scary to be viewed as a good convincing clown that could trick its victims with its clownish behavior. Like the scene where it meets Georgie. Nobody, especially somebody Georgie's age, would ever be attracted to somebody that scary-looking.
- Forgotten plot holes like the relationship between Mr. Keene and her daughter Greta.
- Greta Bowie's name is changed to Keene to relate to her father Mr Keene, who bullies Beverly for "being a slut" and we don't learn how she would encounter her again.
- Mediocre villains found from the book like Henry Bowers, and Alvin Marsh.
- Some horror tropes in the film may later become cliched and predictable.
- It is implied that It wasn't malevolent by nature, but rather just looking for its favorite foods, which contradicts the lore of King's novel and the fact that it's confirmed to be pure evil by Bill Skårsgard himself.
Reception
Critical response
IT received positive reviews by critics, audiences, and fans alike, praising the performances, direction, cinematography, and musical score, and many calling it one of the best Stephen King adaptations. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 274 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted and fiendishly frightening with an emotionally affecting story at its core, It amplifies the horror in Stephen King's classic story without losing touch with its heart." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Box office
It was a box office success, grossing $328.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $373 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $701.8 million, against a production budget of $35 million, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
Trivia
- Before Bill Skarsgård was cast, a variety of different actors were considered for the role of Pennywise. Richard Armitage, Kirk Acevedo, Jim Carrey, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp, Paul Giamatti, Jackie Earle Haley, Tom Hiddleston, Doug Jones, Channing Tatum, and Hugo Weaving and Will Poulter.
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