It was a pleasant surprise, probably one of the most memorable horror films I've seen in the past 5 years.

Rating: 9/10 (3 October 2017)

Summary: It was a pleasant surprise, probably one of the most memorable horror films I've seen in the past 5 years. 86/100 (B+)
First of all, it's great to be back with you guys after almost 3 years of zero reviews. So moving on, I was not expecting this movie to be good at all, the trailers did not convince me and it did not look scary at all to me. But holly hell! I did not do any research about this movie so when it started to get many attention and praise from critics I was interested. So I found out later that the guy who directed Mama made this. I liked that film in general, so I was even more excited. Anyway let's get to the film. This review will contain minor spoilers if you haven't see the film. I will not reveal anything too important.
I was really surprised with the opening scene, the movie introduces us to Georgie and his brother and then we move on to that scene. Pennywise looks scary as hell and his dialogue is funny at the same time also the saliva coming out from his mouth adds a little creepy touch to that specific scene. Then we move on to the rest of the first act which introduces us to these kids and their bullies, this movie does a great job developing its main characters which are performed by many talented kids who did an excellent, magnificent work on their roles.
It was pretty cool to see the individual scary scenes with the red balloons for each kid, all of this moments packed many jumps and jolts which I found extremely well directed. I noticed that this movie still keeps the "Mama" flavor from director Andy Muschietti. Both films have similar creepy imagery and effects. Both movies look very similar in style, color and art direction, I absolutely loved that the movie kept that aspect. I cannot wait to watch more films coming from him.
The second act is slick, dreadful, a brutal explosion of blood (literally). I loved every second of it, my movie theatre was screaming and laughing all at once during this act. This is definitely one of the best movie theatre experiences I've ever had. The projector scene was so freaking good, (I will not spoil anything) let's just say that it is one of the best moments in a horror movie in years. Also, my favorite scene was the first bathroom scene with the incredibly talented Sophia Lillis (Beverly), her screams and overall performance during that scene was mind- blowing.
Another moment from the movie which involves a scary looking house was very intense too. It was one of the sequences who got the most gripping reaction from my audience. Muschietti directs with energy, it is a sea of memorable scares and surprises. Oh, man this movie has so many great moments! Also, the film does a great job mixing the comedy and horror aspects together. When the film is doing horror it's scary, and when it is doing comedy it's hilarious. Mainly because of the genius and sleek dialogue between the characters.
I want to stand out Nicholas Hamilton's performance as the bully guy (Henry). He did a fantastic job and he was very scary in every moment he was on screen. I actually felt very frustrated as the characters themselves. I also felt a great connection between the characters, there was good chemistry among them. That beautifully scary house sequence left me breathless, because it's the moment where shit's going down. The moment where everything goes to hell, amazingly orchestrated by Muschietti.
Third act is shaky but still fun. I wish it did not have all of that shaky cam during the final fight, it was very difficult to see what was going on. It was similar to what happened with the horror/action scenes in the movie Krampus, way too dark and shaky. But whatever it was still entertaining. The resolution of the film was very accurate, I was very happy with the ending and I cannot wait to see the sequel which I hope is as good as this film.
As with flaws I would say that it takes some time for the film to start the horror aspect. It takes a lot of time to develop these characters. But I don't complain after all, movies need great character development. Another minor flaw I have is some of the VFX used in the film, in a couple of moments they look kind of weird. But hey! It's from the same guy who directed "Mama" so I get why he decided to use that type of strange CGI in this film. Anyway, this is one of my favorite horror movies in the past 5 years. It is so extremely well directed, acted and shot. It has so many memorable horror moments and it definitely deserves to be the highest grossing horror film to date! (B+)