When I first heard that Stephen King’s It was being remade, my horror junkie heart began to soar with excitement. I knew it would have a real budget, gather a lot of attention, and since it was such a success in the genre, the directors would be pressured to get it right or face criticism from generations of King fans. The director, Andy Muschietti, had me slightly skeptical because I viewed his 2013 film Mama as a huge miss for the genre, but I still clung to my hopes that It would be a heavy-hitter.
However, when I saw the movie, I was disappointed. It just wasn’t scary. Granted, I’ve seen my fair share of horror films and I’ve been desensitized to most things the usual viewer would be afraid of, but I expected more from a film with such an eerie premise. A diabolical child-eating clown that can take advantage of your deepest, darkest fears could make for a terrifying concept!
Some aspects of the film were very well done and It had its fair share of nice shots, but it was nothing special. The team decided to revamp the iconic killer clown Pennywise, making him look less like a traditional clown and more like a true monster. The design is less terrifying but less terrible, yet it will likely prove less memorable than Tim Curry’s version. However, the clown’s design relied way too much on effects that simply weren’t executed well. His altered voice is just cringeworthy and that snatched hairline is laughable and not in a good way, his “eerie” yellow eyes sliding into place are just silly, and the way the producers made his razor-sharp teeth protrude from his mouth was more reminiscent of a chihuahua with an overbite than a scary killer clown. Overall, Pennywise is clownish, but not in the way he should be. I’m laughing because he’s bad, not because he’s giving me a fun red balloon.
The actors were all very good and Finn Wolfhard is a treasure, but the writing left something to be desired as it relied too much on comic relief and that took too much away from the horror. How many silly, dirty one-liners are truly necessary? The film had the potential to run with the gritty concepts of the story and could have really expanded on complex characters with their own interesting backgrounds. However, it brushed this off and relied on annoying Pennywise jump-scares to fit It into the category of horror. I do understand that the producers wanted to appeal to a broader audience and make more money, but I found it to be insulting to Stephen King, though he’s also likely making too much money to be offended.
Overall, the film was passable but not memorable and it did not have the scares necessary to do the book justice. I will try to have hope for It: Chapter Two, though mainstream horror will likely continue to disappoint. For those looking for a not-too-scary clown movie that will likely make you jump a few times and laugh even more, you’ll probably like It. If you’re looking for an absurd but actually disturbing clown film, I suggest Jon Watts’s 2014 film Clown, which is about a cursed clown costume that adheres to the wearer’s skin and forces an everyday suburban father to eat children. Seriously, it’s good.