Stephen King’s It, American movie (1990)

Beep, beep, people! Beep, beep! No, I haven’t turned completely insane here by beginning this post in this way. For it has pretty much everything to do with the film that I am about to review. And let me assure you that it’s a scary one at that. This movie is the third request I have had for February’s theme, this one made by Shadowcat99. Now, I think all of you will have a few blogs that you somehow ended up following rather late, and you wonder why you did not discover them any sooner? Shadowcat99’s blog is one of mine. All I can say is don’t make that same mistake as well and go follow her blog right now. Why? Because her posts are awesome! She writes mainly about manga and anime, and her posts are written with great skill and are thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. If you don’t believe me just press the link above and discover her wonderful blog. The 1990 version of It was technically a miniseries, but I allowed it anyway as most people see this as a film. And quite a number of people still fear it…..you see how I did that pun right? Enough talk: let’s get started with the review!

The review

I just love pop up books. Don’t you?

I think nobody can deny the fact that when we were young, we all had our own fears. There might have been simple things like an irrational fear of spiders (or in my case wasps, and no I don’t want to talk about that lol), but it might also be fears that run much deeper. Leave it up to writer Stephen King though, to turn those fears into something truly sinister. It, takes place in the town of Derry where something really awful seems to be happening. Young children are being murdered in horrible ways, but nobody seems to really care about it. Not even the police. All except for one person, and that is the man called Mike Hanlon, who works in Derry as a librarian. Mike has experienced a very traumatic event in his past that is linked to the string of murders that is currently taking place. Thirty years ago a similar spree of killings occurred. But contrary to what you might believe this was no ordinary serial killer that was responsible for these murders. As Mike unfortunately knows all too well. He, and a group of his best friends encountered the being responsible all those years ago. They thought they had dealt with it. They were wrong. With unpleasant memories from the past rising up, Mike begins rounding up his friends to deal with it once and for all. But will they be able to confront their fears, or will the being known as Pennywise have the final laugh……

The joke is definitely on you!

Last year a remake of It was released in the theatres. It was well received, but many claimed that the new version wasn’t really scary enough. I can not yet say if I agree with that statement as I still have to see the new version. Yes, I know…how terrible of me. However, it was a delight to relive this one though, as it has been many years since I last saw this film. The strength that this movie has, is how well it plays with themes that we can all relate to, combined with some genuinely scary moments. How many of you remember your friends from school? Did you stay in touch with them? Do you even know what they look like these days? That for me was one of the things I loved the most about this film: the fact that real friends, no matter how long they have been seperated from each other, will always stick together. The first half of the film mainly focusses on the past, and through flashbacks we can see how the main characters lives were when they were still children. I loved the fact that each one of them had their own things to deal with. And most of these were not pretty. An abusive father, being bullied at school, stuttering, are just a few examples of how tough their lives were.

Of course there has to be a bully in this movie as well. And an annoying one at that.

But those weaknesses are the things that would ultimately draw these children together. That, and ofcourse their common adversary: the sadistic clown Pennywise. I know there are a lot of people that hate and fear clowns. I am not one of them, but really….if Pennywise were ever to become a rolemodel for the common circus clown we would be in some serious trouble. From the very first moment he makes an appearance you are getting the chills and really you have every right to feel that way. Masterfully played by actor Tim Curry, Pennywise is a force to be reckoned with. He tortures these kids with mindgames and shows them stuff that every sane person would lose their minds over. But it’s the strength of these character’s friendship that ultimately let’s them triumph….well at least for a short while that is. The childactors were very good in their roles. It sometimes surprises me how well some children can act, but at times I also think it’s quite disturbing how they don’t end up getting traumatised by the horrific scenes forced upon them.

Awww…..young love.

It’s the films second act where the movie, or miniseries if you prefer, is losing some of it’s strength. The reunion of the group is heartfelt, and brings that feeling of genuine friendship back. The adult actors unfortunately do not give such strong performances as their child counterparts. Some of them overact a few times, but luckily this doesn’t really go so far that it ruins the experience. The late John Ritter is the one that honestly was the actor that impressed the most, and really had a character that I could relate to a lot. And it was nice to see him win back his childhood love. It’s the movies ending though that really hasn’t aged well. When Pennywise appears in his true form, we get a creature that you almost have to laugh at in the way it looks. Having seen this film quite a while back, I knew there was some type of monster that would make an appearance near the end. But I did not remember that it was made with some really crappy special effects. It’s a shame though, as this really does have an impact on the overall way you feel when the film’s end credits begin to roll.

A 7 out of 10 score? Really…..you sure of that? Be very careful how you answer this…….

The 1990 version of It is a film that, having revisited it has left me with some mixed feelings. There are still quite a number of things in it that really work well, especially Pennywise and same genuinely scary scenes. However the weaker second act of the movie, did diminish the much stronger first half of the film. So whether or not you are going to enjoy this movie in the end all depends on the way you feel overall to watching older horror movies. I have always said that sometimes horror is more effective when you are showing less, especially when it comes down to special effects. That said, despite the letdown in the end, this is still quite the effective horrormovie, that is a lot of fun to watch for the most part. And you can add another point to the grade that I gave this film, if you are scared of clowns. That’s it for this review….beep, beep!

I give It a 7 out of 10 score.