It (2017) is Hollywood’s second attempt at re-imagining Stephen King’s infamous horror novel of the same name. With an amazing novel and successful film adaptation already released, does It (2017) hold a light to its predecessors, or will it be washed away into the sewers?

It follows the adventures of the “Losers’ Club,” a group of twelve year-old children living in the fictional Derry, Maine, as they battle a creature of incredible power preying on Derry’s residents. This creature, commonly referred to by the children as “It,” possesses the ability to transform into whatever form it desires, often preferring to take the form of whatever its victims fear the most.

Its favorite and most widely recognized form is that of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. As the story progresses, the kids learn more about this mysterious creature and how it uses the town’s sewers to accomplish its goals, all in hopes of ridding the town of It once and for all.
With a diverse cast of characters, viewers are bound to relate to at least one of the members of the Losers’ Club. From the boy who is bullied for his weight to the girl suffering from child abuse, each character has their own life problems and fears.

To name a few, the fears of the children include the death of a relative, germs, and, of course, clowns. The film does a fantastic job of developing the children’s personalities, often through revealing what they fear the most through their interactions with It, allowing the audience to really sympathize with the children.

The movie’s dialogue is spot on. The children are constantly cursing and making sex jokes, which is exactly what anyone who has lived through middle school would expect from twelve-year-olds. The kids bickering with each other creates unexpected and much needed light-hearted moments in a movie with a terrifying premise.

One gripe with the film would be the number of jump scares. The movie does not hesitate with getting into these. From the onset, audiences will be sinking into their chairs in anxious anticipation (not necessarily a good thing.) Though, for a 2 hour and 15 minute horror movie, one should expect a decent number of jump scares, and for the most part, the movie evenly disperses them.

It drives home the idea of facing your fears and dealing with your problems instead of sitting back and letting them (literally) consume you. Whether you are a fan of horror or not, it is worth your time. The film holds substance in a genre filled with movies that lack it. It will not only leave you terrified, but also curious about how you can deal with your own monsters.

Just remember to stay away from those storm drains.

OVERALL RATING: 8/10