Review: Stephen King's IT is One of My Favorite Movies of All Time
Stephen King’s IT is my favorite book of his. I just love that story so much. I’m also a big fan of the original TV miniseries and Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise the Clown is the stuff of legend. Needless to say, I was insanely excited for director Andy Muschietti’s R-rated feature film adaptation. I loved everything that I saw in the trailers, my expectations were high, and I’m so happy to say the movie delivers complete horrific awesomeness and incredible entertainment! IT ended up being everything that I hoped it would be and more!
No joke, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I’ve already seen it three times in its opening weekend! That’s how much I loved It! Everyone has their own personal reasons as to why a certain movie ends up on their all-time favorite list, and this movie just hit the all sweet spots of everything that I love about the movies.
It delivered the fun and crazy terror that I was expecting, but it took things to a level of wildness and surprise that I didn’t see coming. The way that Pennywise the Clown was brought to life in this film was simply insane and completely over-the-top, which I loved! Bill Skarsgard was amazing as Pennywise and he brought the villainous clown to life in a new fresh and terrifying way that was so fantastically unique. I love horror movies and this movie delivered the fear in such a fun way that I couldn't help but have a smile on my face while watching the film.
More importantly, the movie also had heart, soul, and it was filled with such wonderfully funny humor. The character development was so strong and I loved how the characters that made up The Losers Club were brought to life and portrayed in the film. The young actors that played these characters simply gave amazing performances! You just can’t help be like these characters, and the chemistry between them was so strong.
The Losers Club was played by Jaeden Lieberher (Midnight Special) as Bill Denbrough, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Richie Tozier, newcomer Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, Jack Dylan Grazer (Tales of Halloween) as Stan Uris, Wyatt Oleff (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Eddie Kaspbrak, Chosen Jacobs (Hawaii Five-0) as Ben, and Jeremy Ray Taylor (42) as Mike Hanlon. All of them just lit up the screen with their personalities and I couldn’t have asked for a better cast. They all deserve a standing ovation.
I connected with these characters on a personal level as well. The movie took place in the late 80s when I was around the same age as these characters. In a way, it was like watching certain aspects of my life playing out on the big screen, minus being terrorized by an evil clown from the sewers. But my friends and I were always off on adventures exploring certain parts of the city we grew up in, looking for trouble, and even breaking into and exploring haunted houses for some real life thrills. That's just how we rolled.
I don’t know, I just enjoyed seeing that era come to life on the big screen with a group of characters that reminded me of myself and my friends. I saw myself in the movie and there was a strong nostalgia aspect of the film that hit me hard. It’s one of the main reasons why it ended up on my list of favorite films of all time.
Then there was just the whole emotional aspect of the story! The movie wasn’t just about scaring the living shit out of audiences. The movie is made in a way that makes you really care about what happened to these characters. You didn’t want to have to see them go through these terrifying events, but they did and it sure made for a great entertaining ride.
I know a lot of people aren’t horror movie fans and I’ve had a lot of people ask me if this is a film they can handle. I tell them that the movie does have its horrific elements, but that it’s terrifying in a fun way. I always explain that the movie is so much more than just an average horror film because of the characters. So far, everyone I know who hates horror movies but has gone out to see IT, has loved the movie. So even if you aren’t into horror movies, this is a film that you’ll still most likely come out of with a smile on your face.
If you haven’t seen IT yet… go! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
