I first saw It (1990) in the early ‘90s in my neighbor’s living room, and while I thought there was a certain appeal to it, it didn’t tingle the spine of my friend, who had read the book. “It certainly doesn’t live up to the book. It wasn’t scary,” said my neighbor whose bookshelves were crammed with those mammoth books by
I specifically remember one of the opening scenes. A boy, Georgie, wearing a yellow raincoat, was chasing his paper boat down the street until it fell into the sewer. When Georgie went looking for it, he met Pennywise the Clown.
When Pennywise offered Georgie his boat back, he grabbed Georgie’s hand and the camera zoomed in to a close-up of the clown’s razor-sharp teeth. The scene faded away.
In the modern remake, there’s the same scene. But the clown sticks his teeth into Georgie’s arm and . . . .
I’m not going to spoil it for you.
Andy Muschietti’s (Mama 2013) latest adaptation is violent, gory, horrifying, multi
It (2017) is basically about a group of bullied kids with some of the worst parents in movie history. They team up together, and soon Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) starts appearing in their worst fears with his face white with greasepaint and his mouth bleeding with lipstick in a killer’s grin, holding a red balloon in hand with his shrieking laugh. Ready to eat them.
The leading group of child actors are mostly unknown. This is their moment to make their mark. And they do.
After the screening in the men’s room, I heard a group of colleagues talk about the film being very loyal to the book.
It sounded like It would scare my old neighbor, too.
‘It’ premieres in cinemas September 8.
