Movie Adaptation: It by Stephen King
This is hands down my favorite Stephen King novel and I was so excited to FINALLY see this adaptation. It. Was. Wonderful. The TV adaptation in the 90s was certainly no flop, but it was made for TV, so of course it couldn’t be as graphic or as outlandish as it can be in the theaters. While I was skeptical at first that anyone besides Tim Curry could be the creepy AF Pennywise, I was absolutely blown away by Bill Skarsgard. For anyone who doesn’t know, It is about a group of kids who has to fight an ancient evil in their small town of Derry, Maine, a thing that manifests itself as the terrifying clown Pennywise, but also as your greatest fear. It comes about every 27 years, and the second half of the novel (as well as part two of the movie, out in 2019), deals with the kids as adults when they have to come back and fight Pennywise again. I’m so glad that they decided to do this adaptation the right way (splitting it into two), instead of cramming it all into two hours. The cast of kids was absolutely phenomenal, and they brought a humor to it that wasn’t over the top at all, nor did it feel forced. Jaeden Lieberher, who played Bill, is one of my favorite child actors, and he played the part so well. I actually even teared up at one point at one particular scene towards the end of the movie, and that tells me everything. Who tears up during a horror movie? Finn Wolfhard, who plays Richie, is no ~stranger~ to horror buddy films, as he is part of the phenomenal cast of Stranger Things as well. Jack Dylan Grazer has also become one of my favorite child actors, as his role of Eddie was played to perfection. And as I said above, Bill Skarsgard? WOW. He was just the right amount of terrifying and just plain creepy, and I cannot wait to see him do it all again in the next one. I’ll miss the kids, but I’m excited to see who will be playing the adults. If you haven’t seen this yet, go. You will not be disappointed at all. Although if you’re looking for a true horror film, I wouldn’t exactly say this is scary necessarily- unless you’re afraid of clowns. If you’ve seen it, let’s talk about it! Happy watching!
