It Review

Like many Stephen King novels, the latest horror film this week is "It," based on his 1986 novel, though people are probably more familiar with the famous 1990 miniseries. It is all the same seeing it on the big screen: kids become friends, get in trouble, fend off bullies, oh yeah, and get stalked by a murderous clown named Pennywise. You know, typical childhood stuff.

Now look, I, along with many, suffer from coulrophobia, or you know, the fear of clowns. A popular choice for an irrational fear, but it is a fear (you won't find me at many carnivals). So as an exploit of this aberrant phobia, "It" works. The clown, portrayed by Bill Skarsgard, does little other than yell "boo" at the screen and the group of kids known as the "Losers," but then again, I suppose any one dressed as a clown would spook me if I was in a dark basement. It doesn't make the film any less effective, I would be lying if I didn't jolt out of my seat a time or two, but he brings zero personality to Pennywise. His scary makeup and prosthetics make him a frightening clown, not so much is performance.

But the group of kids are wonderful, so realistic; every scene was like watching a group of potty-mouthed kids enjoy their summer (well, perhaps "enjoy" is not the word). Though they're led by Billy (Jaeden Lieberher), the standout is little Jack Dylan Grazer, who plays the group's germaphobe Eddie, who's almost whiny fear is particularly realistic- he was the only one who truly looked frightened, almost struggling to speak his lines. It could be because the child actor struggled remembering them, but on screen, his terrified looks and pronunciation was most realistic.

The film lingers on each kid; we meet their parents, some abusive, some over-protective, with at least one a rapist, and watching the children growing together to escape their homes was charming and far more dramatic than scary- if you were to walk blindly into the theater, you might think you were watching long-lost scenes from "Stand by Me." The bullies, the romance, the banter, there are so many moments here far better than a movie about a psycho clown deserves. And that is the biggest fault here: there is simply little for Pennywise to do while the kids act like kids. There is a part when little Mike (Chosen Jacobs) was being beat up by Henry (Nicholas Hamilton), the leader of the bullies. Right, picture it, they are at a stream, bully pounding on Loser member, when he looks next to him and sees Pennywise smiling. But then it is right back to the fight. What is the point of the clown?! There is a story about friendship buried somewhere here, but it functions independently from all the blood and gore; just when these moments gain momentum, bam! Scary clown.

Unfortunately, while much of this clown action simply involves Pennywise running towards individual kids and occasionally showing his mouth packed with rows of pointy teeth, there is one exception. It's in the film's opening scene, when Georgie (Bill's brother, played by Jackson Robert Scott) loses his paper boat down the sewer. You know the one, it is the most iconic moment of the book. But what I simply cannot condone is what happens to poor little George- we watch as his arm is chewed off by the aforementioned chompers. Blood pours out of his arm before he is ripped down the storm drain. It amazes me that the book's infamous sex scene goes unmentioned here, but this level of violence is exploited, especially when the violence has no point. How many kids do you hear about getting killed by clowns? This isn't war, this isn't a reality. If there isn't a reason for this level of violence towards kids, then there is no reason in showing it, let alone opening a movie with it. I get zero pleasure with the notion of either, no thrill- nothing but unacceptable disgust. It is one thing to suggest the killing of a child (think of that part in "The Mist," or the one in "Pet Sematary," works based also on stories by Stephen King), but by showing it in such detail turns this otherwise uneven adaptation into a "geek show."

Pennywise himself is underdeveloped, but from what I gathered, he lives in a well in the town's abandoned house, coming out every 27 years to feast on children. He is controlled by fear, exactly like Freddy Kruger from the "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series, rendering Pennywise harmless if the kids are not scared; when scared, the kids imagine lepers, dead brothers, all sorts of gross stuff that chase the children around. But this makes no sense for the titular clown- not only does he need to wait all those years to eat, he is completely dependant on kids' fear. What if there are no kids when he comes out to eat (hey, it could happen), could he survive on adult's fear? Why such a random number like 27? His existence is barely explained, and we never know what he can do or can't do. This doesn't keep you on your feet as it should. Not knowing his tricks should work in the film's favor, but in the second half of the picture he recycles much of what he has already done; you groan at the screen each time the clown impersonates Billy's dead brother. The film does teach us that Pennywise can do one thing however, and that is set up a sequel.