Stephen King’s novel “It” is regarded by many to be one of his best works, having been nominated for and won several awards.
In November of 1990, a miniseries under the same name was released on ABC. In this miniseries, based off Stephen King’s “It,” Tim Curry portrayed the infamous killer clown, Pennywise. Despite mixed reviews, audiences seemed to enjoy it, with Rolling Stone calling it a “cult classic.”
Then 27 years later, the same amount of time it takes before It reawakens in the book, New Line Cinema released a full-length feature adaptation of the novel with Andres “Andy” Muschietti in the director’s chair and Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise.
Following “It”’s release on Friday, Sept. 8, the film broke several box office records, including highest R-rated film release, highest R-rated opening day and largest opening for an R-rated horror film. Despite a budget of only $35 million, “It” grossed a domestic total of $123.4 million on opening weekend and has currently made $505.6 million worldwide.
Taking place in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, “It” centers around seven kids and outcasts known as the Losers Club. Throughout the summer of 1989, they have several encounters with the local bullies led by the sadistic Henry Bowers, played by Nicholas Hamilton, and are haunted by an ancient supernatural entity that takes the form of their greatest fears most notably in the form of Pennywise, the dancing clown.
The Losers Club also discovers that this entity has a connection to several horrific murders and accidents, all involving missing or dead children, that occurred throughout Derry’s history every 27 years. As kids continue to disappear without a trace and nobody does anything about it, the Losers realize that they must band together and face the monstrosity, as well as their fears, even if it costs them their sanity or lives.
There has been much debate surrounding whether Curry or Skarsgard’s made a better Pennywise, but regardless, fans and critics have been raving about Skarsgard’s performance.
“His performance was bone-chilling and left me frightened long after the movie was over,” Cabrini sophomore Kaelyn Hassey said.
The lead actors were also considered to have done an outstanding job.
“What I liked the most about the movie was the chemistry all of the actors had,” Hassey said. “It really felt like all of the kids had been friends for years.” The performance that stood out to Hassey the most was Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier.
Graduate Assistant Annie McMahon especially liked the relationship with Bill Denbrough, portrayed by Jaeden Lieberher, and his little brother Georgie Denbrough, portrayed by Jackson Robert Scott.
“It melted my heart as I’m sure it was intended to,” McMahon said.
While the movie was well received, the adaption varied from the book. The movie has faced criticism for the way character traits were flipped around, such as bully Patrick Hockstetter lacking his psychopathic and solipsistic personality that rivaled Henry’s insanity. Ben Hansom providing the historic knowledge, rather than Mike Hanlon. In addition, there was not a lot of development for certain characters, such as Hanlon, Stan Uris, and Henry Bowers and his gang.
Despite these changes, it appears that most people were greatly satisfied with “It.”
“There were certain parts where I closed my eyes out of fear not knowing what to expect,” McMahon said. “I would love to go back and try to watch the entire movie.”
