IT (2017) - USA
Review by Andrew Chan
Clowns are literally and figuratively scary and are most children hideous nightmare. Stephen King's IT is iconic with the Pennywise character and it is so scary and chilling that the film will leave most faint hearted audience breathing heavily. There are so many thrilling and genuinely scary moments in this latest remake that put many other Stephen King's adaptations to shame. Full credit to director Andrés Muschietti by taking us on a highly visual yet psychological creepy journey that uses all genre tricks and situations to make us al the more frightened.
The real star of the show is Pennywise dancing clown played brilliantly by Bill Skarsgård. The evil smile, the scary face, the awkward movements all make this crown the scariest and most creepy thing since Jigsaw. The "Stand By Me" setting of a bunch of 80s outcast kids teaming together, also works to its advantage. The ensemble cast of Jaeden Lieberher as leader, Sophia Lillis as the lone female and the overweight Jeremy Ray Taylor all proved to be memorable and provide in depth performances for the audience to root for and care about. That's almost critical as it is because we care for their fate that makes the film all the more creepy and frightening.
All in all, "It" succeeds in ticking all the right boxes for a horror thriller and sometimes, the clever pacing and anticipation of Pennywise prove to be even more scary than the actual clown itself. This is a smart method of filmmaking as the audience is forced to be shocked and the journey is without doubt creepy throughout. With the pending Chapter 2 coming, "It" will prove to be a box office success all over the world. After all, a kid in yellow raincoat and a red balloon with a crown hiding under the gutter, is a scary enough premises to last a long time.
I rated it 4/5
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