By Lily Firth
Reviews Editor
Stephen King released his novel, “It,” in 1986, and the intense story continues to give readers nightmares. It was made into a low-budget television series in 1990, starring Tim Curry, but many fans still ached for a cinematic masterpiece that could more accurately portray the terror that King created in his novel.
Luckily, these fans got exactly what they wanted — a beautifully crafted film that will haunt you weeks after seeing it. It topped the box office charts right from the get-go and has still been selling out theaters everywhere.
What makes “It” so different from other horror films is the fact that it was a novel beforehand, so the plot itself is very clever, and not just a badly written screenplay with cheesy scare tactics like many horror films.
“It” tells the story of the fictional town of Derry, Maine, where children go missing every 27 years, but no one really understands why. In the beginning of the film, Bill’s little brother, Georgie, goes missing.
Although most assume he has died, Georgie’s disappearance begins the desperate and obsessive search for the truth. Bill gets together his rag-tag “loser club” of eccentric friends to find exactly what is happening, and they find more than what they could ever have imagined — they find “It”, also known as Pennywise, who takes the form of a terrifying clown. It also has the ability to physically morph into people’s worst fears — like a person with leprosy, a burn victim or a headless man — any horror you could think of, Pennywise could imitate it.
The kids try to defeat Pennywise so they can stop the terror once and for all, but they have to do it before Pennywise hunts them down one by one.
I think the best part about the movie, other than its clever plotline, is the characters.
None of them are one dimensional, and by the end of the movie you’re desperately wishing you were part of their friend group because you’re in love with every single one of them. There’s Eddie, who is a nervous kid who pops 100 pills a day because he always thinks he’s sick. There’s Richie who is crude and foul mouthed but always has a hilarious joke up his sleeve. There’s Bill who is so determined and inspiring, always thinking of others. There’s Bev who’s courageous and witty and never lets the boys outdo her. There’s Ben who is passionate and loves to read, Mike who’s positive even though he’s gone through a lot of trauma in his life and Stan who scares easily but is still loyal. The movie is terrifying, but these quirky kids always make you laugh and smile the whole way with their pure and true friendship and the love they have for each other.
Any movie lover, especially horror buffs, need to see “It” immediately if they haven’t already. It makes you experience a range of emotions — you’ll laugh one minute at the kid’s banter, cry one minute as someone goes missing and jump out of your seat when Pennywise lurks in the shadows. “It” is a phenomenal movie that I think will go down in history as one of the best horror films of all time.
