By Shania Sanchez – Staff Reporter

The movie “IT” came out in 2017 and was a complete commercial success. The movie, which is an adaptation of the horror fiction novel written by Stephen King, was directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. The movie is a sequel itself and was inspired by an amalgamation of different 80s movies, including “The Howling” (1981), “The Thing” (1982), “The Goonies” (1985), “Stand by Me” (1986), and “Near Dark” (1987). Critics said it was one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s books, which is saying a lot due to the fact that the book had a previous adaptation. Recently, there has been the release of the “Welcome to Derry” series, which takes place before “IT” and expands more into Pennywise’s background as well as the fate of the people in Derry who lived 27 years before 1988. Due to this series, people have been talking about this gem of a movie again. 

The movie’s main characters are Bill Denbrough and his friends Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Stanley Uris. They spend the first half of the summer looking for Georgie, Bill’s little brother, who had gone missing the year prior when he went to play in the rain and never came home. The group gets labeled the “Losers Club” by bullies including Henry Bowers – the most persistent and the bully ringleader. The “Losers” embrace that label, however, and Bill’s refusal to conform to the thought that his baby brother is dead causes him and his friends to get wrapped up in something unimaginably horrifying. He says, “Because I can’t. I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn’t there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals… but he isn’t…” The hurt Bill has due to not seeing his little brother anymore takes up so much space in his mind that Pennywise uses it against Bill so many times. As the movie progresses, the “Losers Club” grows in size with the addition of a homeschooled kid (Mike Hanlon), a girl whose rumors of promiscuity have made her an outcast (Beverly Marsh), and the newest kid in town (Ben Hanscom). They are all united due to being outcasts in their tiny town of Derry, Maine, are easy targets for bullies and, of course, the killer clown entity on the loose. But their empathy and love for each other hold them together through it all.

The movie was absolutely amazing from start to finish, capturing viewers’ imagination. The movie was so well done that it gave many people a fear of clowns and sparked a dance movement where people danced like the famous clown during a scene with Beverly. It also perfectly encapsulates how freshmen in high school act. Richie had such a foul mouth, it’s so natural that, honestly, most teen watchers wouldn’t bat an eye. Not to mention all of the actors were the age they were portraying. There was no 25-year-old playing a 14-year-old, the oldest people on set were the adults and Skarsgård. The movie also did a great job portraying friendship in high school. People who have no worries just ignore the clown, but in the scenes without the clown, they are having their fun messing around and going through their small town on their bikes, making the movie not all doom and gloom. It also does a beautiful job of giving the children real fears that a 13 or 14-year-old would actually have. Seeing Stanley Uris absolutely terrified of some skinny, gaunt-looking lady from a painting in his dad’s office is super realistic and honestly adds a layer of humanity. Richie Tozier was a fan favorite, with his constant foul mouth and witty one-liners. 

Many people who read the book complained about the fact that Mike was supposed to be the researcher and brains of the operation, but sadly, that was given to Ben, which made people sad that Mike had such a crucial part of his character taken from him. There were also criticisms about the fact that Beverly had been given a much more “damsel in distress” role compared to her stronger portrayal in the book. There were also complaints of it relying too much on jump scares, but it is a horror movie, obviously, there are going to be jump scares, and the watcher is supposed to be scared. But that’s mostly where the complaints of the movie end. 

The only way to describe the movie “IT” is beautiful and terrifying, a great adaptation that did justice to the book. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars