I’ve been waiting all year to see this film. I will admit, I was not a giant fan of the original TV movie version of IT, so I had high hopes for this remake. Did I finally get the version of IT I hoped for?

(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com): A group of bullied kids band together when a monster, taking the appearance of a clown, begins hunting children.

Before I get to my review, a funny story: when we were in the theater, and the film starts, something kept darting across the screen, we finally realized it wasn’t part of the film, and there was an actual bat flying in our theater! I wanted to share that story, because I find it very ironic that the bat decided to invade the theater room that IT was playing in! Now back to our regularly scheduled review.

What I loved about IT:

What I loved about the film was pretty much almost everything. Almost. It has genuinely creepy moments and I’m glad they were able to create more violence and scenes that were hard to watch because it wasn’t a TV movie.

Bill Skarsgård did an amazing performance as Pennywise! Without any bashing, I will say that Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise is legendary! But… he wasn’t scary. With all the pressure that I don’t doubt he felt, Bill tried so hard not to be like Tim Curry’s Pennywise. I do believe he was successful in that. He brought us a Pennywise we could actually be afraid of.

The loser’s club had fantastic chemistry and some of their scenes were hilarious! You could really see them bonding on-screen, something that I had trouble seeing in the original.

My absolute favorite character is undoubtedly Richie, played by the very talented Finn Wolfhard. He had the best lines and he had all of us in the theater laughing our asses off. When he and Eddie went back and forth, it was just so funny. I do wish they kept the “Eddie Spaghetti” nickname in there, though.

Another thing that I absolutely love, is how this film brings more focus on Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) and his brother, Georgie, and how much Georgie’s death is affecting Bill throughout the movie. The whole situation definitely had a bigger affect on me this time around.

Previous reviews I’ve read were really bummed that there wasn’t enough Pennywise in the film. While I do agree that he wasn’t in it that long, I don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing. What I loved was that it focused more on the fears of each of the children and their own demons they have to face in order to defeat him. It was never really about the clown. But, as I’ve said before, in the scenes that he is in, Bill fucking kills the role!

The final showdown was my favorite part of the whole film. It had some really bad-ass moments and was still able to bring that humor. Without spoiling too much, it has a part in it that was so disturbing, I’m so happy that it was part of the film. I can’t say that this particular part is in the book because, frankly, I haven’t read the book all the way through, but the scene makes me love the quote “you’ll float, too” even more.

What I didn’t love about IT:

IT was definitely more creepy than scary. By that, I mean you will be creeped out in the theater with the dark atmosphere. Unfortunately, this film isn’t the type that will leave you with nightmares for a week after watching it.

One thing that absolutely irritated me was the CGI blood. I understand how certain things need to be brought to life through CGI, but one thing that NEVER has to be computer animated, is the fucking blood! Especially when it came to Georgie’s arm loss. That could’ve been a little less fake-looking. Plus, whenever they CGI-ed Pennywise, it definitely took the creep-factor away. Practical effects aren’t Dead, they can still be realistic looking.

Also, when it came to the loser’s club, it doesn’t seem like enough time was spent on Chosen Jacobs’ character, Mike. He seemed out of place and it didn’t really feel like a complete group. Hopefully that’ll change in part 2.

Some of the music seemed very out of place. I’m not really talking about the instrumental soundtrack, but the songs that were chosen for a few of the scenes. In particular, during the montage when all the kids are separated and having doubts about fighting Pennywise. The song sort of took away from that scene.

Final thoughts:

The film definitely has its flaws, but it was very entertaining and very creepy. It had a very talented cast, and it was finally an “IT” film I could actually love. After the bat flew all around the theater, as an apology, the theater gave us all free guest passes. I will be using mine to watch IT again, because I just have to see that film on the big screen one more time! I will definitely be impatiently waiting for part 2!