REVIEW | IT (2017)
As a horror fan, I have never been so excited for a movie than I was to see the new IT. Based on the novel by Stephen King, IT follows a group of bullied kids, “the Losers Club”, from the small town of Derry as they realise that something is not quite right. Something is making children disappear, and it is dressed like the clown of your nightmares holding his signature blood red balloon.
Truly great remakes of classic movies are rare. In fact, remakes are often so bad they leave you furious because they ruin your childhood. I had already witnessed horror classics get buried six feet under–I’m looking at you, Poltergeist (2015). That little girl may have stared into the TV and whispered, “They’re here” but no amount of wishful thinking could make an audience appear for such a boring movie. Ditto for the abysmally unoriginal remake of Carrie (2013). Drag both of those to hell.
Luckily, I didn’t have to take another stab to the gut because the remake of IT delivered. It takes a lot to scare me, but I was gripped and entertained the whole way through.
The power of modern special effects amplifies the intensity of Pennywise the clown’s appearances and makes him more terrifying than before. The choice of Bill Skarsgård to play Pennywise made sense to me. I had first been introduced to the actor through the television series Hemlock Grove and his performance on that series showed me he had a knack for playing dark, creepy characters. Tim Curry’s Pennywise in the original IT is a hard act to follow, but Skarsgård manages to give an outstandingly demented performance of his own.
This remake focuses only on the group’s childhood defeat of Pennywise, and not their return as adults (that part is saved for the sequel so they can make more mon–sorry, I’ll put my inner cynic to bed). Although this is a solid remake, I still prefer the original movie as it portrayed the gradual bond of the Loser’s Club well, and the juxtaposition of their childhoods with their adulthoods gave insight into their characters’ motivations. The completely blind indifference of the adults in Derry to anything out of the ordinary is also illustrated to greater effect than in the remake. This indifference is an important aspect of the seemingly normal town because Pennywise is a reflection of the true, horrible nature of its residents.
However, there are some elements the remake did better. As well as the upgraded special effects, I enjoyed the infusion of humour, mostly crass preadolescent jokes or insults from actor Finn Wolfhard’s character Richie Tozier, used to break up the relentless horror.
Focussing on their childhood also means there is more room for character development. In particular, Beverly Marsh and Henry Bowers’ characters are explored further. To the outside world, Beverly appears cool and flirtatious. She seems to wear her scarlet letter with nonchalance. However, in private she wrestles with her self-loathing and attempts to make herself unattractive by punishingly cutting off her own hair. The physical abuse of her father is chilling and is also tinged with an unsettling sexual element. In addition, Nicholas Hamilton gives a great performance as the bully Henry Bowers. You can really see the fear in his eyes when people expose him for the weak coward he is and this provides an explanation for why he is so menacingly cruel.
The original IT still reigns supreme, however, this is a scarily good remake that does not disappoint.
2017 has been the biggest year for horror in the history of the US box office, raking in $733.5 million. Jordan Peele’s Get Out and the new remake of IT led the way (Get Out is my favourite movie this year so far). In my opinion, the genre started waking from the dead with the release of The Conjuring. Before that, there had not been a good scare for some time and horror was once again falling prey to the sticky stereotype of mediocre cheap thrills. Popular television shows, perhaps the most well known being American Horror Story, have also contributed to the recent uplift. The Exorcist starring Geena Davis was well received, and shows such as Riverdale have been given a dark twist. Whether the horror on our screen is in everyday human nature or the supernatural, it can be seen as both a reflection of our actual world and also a means of escape from it. The horror genre has experienced a resurgence and I, for one, could not be happier.
