I'm not sure if I've mentioned on my blog recently, but I've been waiting for ages to see the new horror Box-Office smash hit film 'IT' since it released and this weekend I finally got to see it!! No-one else was brave enough to go with me, but Matthew said he would because he's brave. And he loves me. And he's not a wimp. And he's not scared of clowns. Love you, Matthew! Anyway, here's my review...
The film starts back in 1988 on a very rainy evening in the town of Derry with two brothers making a paper boat to float outside in the flooded streets. All seems perfectly normal until little brother Georgie goes out to float the boat and the current sweeps the boat into the storm drain. Georgie looks into the drain in the attempt to get the toy back but instead of finding the boat, he finds two eyes glaring back at him. As if these eyes weren't unnerving enough for Georgie, the eyes peer forward, allowing the street light to illuminate his clown face. Here he is, Pennywise the dancing clown, he has Georgie's boat in his hand but does he have good intentions on giving it back to him and letting little Georgie play on? Oh no, of course not it's a horror film guys, keep up! After a little exchange trying to win Georgie over, Pennywise invites Georgie to lean in closer and fetch the boat from him...only at that point, Pennywise unleashes his perilously sharp nashers (and boy does he have plenty of them) and chews Georgie's arm off before polishing the rest of the poor boy off. It's clear from the beginning that this clown was not a friendly one.
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| Pennywise the dancing clown! (Picture credit: The Sun) |
We're then taken to the year of 1989 and the beginning of the summer break. Several narative strands are established at this point and all of the characters in them have the same thing in common- they're all bullied and they're all at the bottom of the school's pecking order. First we meet Bill, Georgie's older brother and his band of misfits who are closer than peas in a pod, but while they're the master of the boyish banter among themselves, they often fall victim to the cruel taunts from Henry and the rest of his 'cool boy' gang. We're then introduced to Beverly who has been cornered in the girls toilets suffering a tirade of abuse from the popular girls and a near soiling from the contents of the toilet bin. We then see Mike who is struggling with the harsh reality of sheep farming and gets a few stern words from his father. The next character is Ben, somewhat of a 'nerdy' kid who loves nothing more than history and 'New Kids on the Block.' Ben and Beverly meet as they bump into eachother after school and strike up a friendship immediately with Ben seemingly besotted by her.
All of the characters end up meeting after Ben is cornered and attacked by Henry and his gang who have spent the first of their summer break terrorising their fellow classmates and the town alike. Bill and his friends meanwhile have walked over to the exit of the storm drain where Bill thinks his little brother is. He's still convinced that his brother is missing and not dead and he is determined to seek the truth. Just when the gang are all preparing to enter the drain, Ben comes tumbling into view in the river behind them causing them a scare. As they all rally round to help Ben recover from his ordeal, the boys go into a pharmacy looking for supplies and recruit the help of Beverly who's already there. She takes pity on the boys and distracts the owner while the boys slink out with the supplies. After Beverly realises Ben is the one the boys are trying to help, she offers her assistance and is then invited to more of their adventures. So with nearly all the gang together, they discuss the Pennywise case further and Ben tells them all about the town's history and that this 'IT' creature has a disturbing pattern of taking children every 27 years.
The gang are all scared and alarmed at Ben's evidence and the prospect of being hunted by a killer clown but persuade eachother, and more importantly Bill, to stop worrying about it (literally) and just enjoy the summer. Bill is skeptical of doing this, not wanting his brother's memory or disappearance to fall by the way-side, however he tries to take the boys' advice and enjoy his summer break. They walk the fields, banter the hell out of eachother and gather round gawping at Beverly. One afternoon they hear Henry's gang terrorising Mike and all go to the rescue ending up in a rock fight between the two gangs. Bill and co win outright, sending Henry running off humiliated. With that victory, Mike joins the boys making the gang complete.
With the boys having more strange sightings and surreal experiences, they are all becoming increasingly nervous and worried for their lives. Pennywise is of course a clown on the surface of it but he's way more than just a clown with a shit-tonne of teeth, he's a shape shifter. Shifting into everything that the children are scared of meaning that to defeat this circus reject, it's time to get tough. However, after one unsuccessful face off, the gang's ego's and friendship is shattered as despite nearly being killed, Bill wants to carry on, find his brother and the other missing children and most importantly defeat the clown. The other's aren't so keen and they all head their separate ways and each in turn struggle with the prospect of Pennywise edging ever closer to them.
The tables turn sharply when Beverly is taken by Pennywise after she confronts her abusive father. Bill goes to visit her and is confronted by a bloody scene in the bathroom. He knows immediately what has happened and goes to find his friends to reunite and get Beverly back. As the boys learn of Beverly's not-so-suspicious disappearance, they all club together to confront Pennywise and send him packing for good. The confrontation takes place down in the depths of the sewers and as we follow the boys into Pennywise's lair, it becomes clear just where all the missing children are and the meaning behind the haunting chant of "you'll float too" that Georgie screams earlier in the film also becomes clear. All the missing children of Derry are all suspended high up in the lair-including Beverly. The boys manage to get her down and the battle with Pennywise begins with creepy contortions, haunting cackles and spooky jumping jarring movements and a daring show of bravery that sets this band of misfits far apart from the rest of Derry.
In conclusion, I think this film has a great story and message behind it. Well, Stephen King did write the book this is based upon so it's hardly surprising the story is a great one. There have been many adaptations of the book but this is the only one I've seen. Having said that, I can say that this is a great film that captures the hilarity, humiliation and the trials and tribulations that come with growing up, while having a good crack at being a horror. For most, if social media is anything to go by, 'IT' has scared everyone to death but did it scare me? Pfft, no. It's creepy, I'll give them that, but to say it scared me would be a stretch too far. I've not seen a 'horror' film yet that's really scared me and after finally seeing IT, the search still continues but having said that, I really enjoyed this film and recommend you all go and see it. $478 million from Box Offices worldwide can't be wrong.
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