New Clown in Town

In a movie industry that is plagued by constant reboots and remakes of old classics, Stephen King’s It tells a surprisingly fresh story. The original It aired as a television series in 1990, so 27 years is ample time to wait for a reboot. Coincidentally enough, Pennywise the clown comes back to terrorize the children of Derry ever 27 years. Creepy coincidence or planned marketing ploy; we will never know. Instead, I’d like to focus on successes and failures that the reboot had.

It [Credit: New Line Cinema]

One of the most disappointing parts of the movie is the horror aspect. When I first saw the trailer, the film looked like it was going to be terrifying. The music used in the trailer sent chills up my spine, and any sight of Pennywise the Clown made me break into a cold sweat. For the first half of the film, glimpses of Pennywise here and there were enough to cause me to freeze to my seat. However, as the movie went on this dread quickly subsided. As the kids learned more about how to conquer their fears, I felt less and less scared of Pennywise. Perhaps this was the lesson of the film, but whatever the reason was, it largely detracted from the horror of the movie. It was advertised as a scary movie, and roughly halfway through, I was no longer scared at all. The movie took and entirely new route, though, and I think there are some upsides to that.

After about an hour into the movie, you realize It is no longer about the monster at all. Instead, the group of friends fighting Pennywise are the focus of the film. I think one of the best parts about It is the cast of kids. For what seems like a long time, Hollywood has been casting actors and actresses in their 20’s and 30’s to play high schoolers. They stick out like sore thumbs. It differs in that regard. All of the 13-year-old characters are actually 13 years old. This works well to extend the suspension of disbelief that is required for a supernatural horror movie like this one. The characters are authentic. When they act a certain way, it’s believable because the actors are really that age. 

The Loser's Club [Credit: ew.com]

It, though advertised as a supernatural horror film, turned out to be a coming of age tale about a gang of middle school kids, and that is the best part of the movie. An hour into the story, almost all of the fear of Pennywise melted away and I began to worry more about the children solving their real-life problems: overbearing parents, high school bullies, and even racism. Their struggles to simultaneously fight an evil clown and their raging hormones are interesting to watch. There were cheesy jump scares around every corner, but such is the way Hollywood horror films are these days. Though It doesn’t make any strides to change that, it certainly brings a fresh perspective to an old classic.