"You'll die (laughing) if you try" (watching this film)

Rating: 5/10 (14 October 2018)

I was fully expecting to be terrified while watching this. In fact I was so apprehensive about watching it that I put it off for a long time. I had even decided at one point that I would not watch it at all BUT I'm a horror film aficianado and I haven't seen a movie that has truly terrified me in so long that I finally gave in and decided to watch this with the hope that I'd be scared...alas with the exception of the first scene I was not scared. If anything I was laughing throughout the film.
The kids do a pretty good job. The only two that didn't work were the actor who played Ben and the actor who played Mike. They were both pretty dull and boring. Any actor could have played those roles - they brought nothing special or unique to the film. You either have screen presence or you don't and those kids don't have it. I particularly liked the kid who played Eddie and the actress who played Beverly. They were both really good.
I had an issue with a couple of scenes. One is the first scene. I don't like that they showed a small sweet innocent child getting his arm ripped off and then dragged into the sewer. That was very chilling and disturbing especially because the child actor was so young and cute. That seemed gratuitous. The scene would have been just as scary without that because what made it terrifying was how creepy Pennywise was. The way he was trying to manipulate this trusting child was disturbing. They didn't need to show him writhing on the ground trying to get away after his arm was ripped off. I think that scene will haunt me but not because it was scary - it is more that it was just kind of heartbreaking to see a small child suffer. The child actor was so darn cute. It was upsetting to see him meet such a brutal end.
The other issue I had is with the two scenes where Ben got cut pretty seriously yet he gets no medical attention. There's no way he could have survived the second attack without getting some major stitches. At the very least he needed the cuts cleaned and you never see that happen. In fact after he gets carved up the first time he runs through a bacteria filled stream of water which would surely have given him an infection yet he has no issues from that point on until he gets cut up again by Pennywise later on in the film. And where were his parents? You never see them.
I didn't see the first It but I read that film's extensive synopsis and nowhere do they explain why the red balloon keeps popping up. I get that balloons go with clowns but so do fake squirting flowers, tiny cars and never ending handkerchiefs but you don't see those portrayed at any time throughout the films so...why one red balloon? The idea is that "It" takes the form of whatever fear a person has and no one was scared of clowns except for Richie so why would "It" keep popping up as a clown and why the red balloon?
Also I would have liked to know more about the Pennywise back story. We get some but not much. It made it hard to be too afraid without knowing why we should be afraid. A town presence takes kids every 27 years...ok great but why?
This film was actually funny. The kids had funny lines and some of their facial expressions and reactions were hilarious.
There was so much hype about the prep Bill Skarsgard went through for this film and yet once you see it you wonder if they spent too much time overthinking it because really he's not that scary after the first scene.
The ending was good. Usually horror film endings are lame, weak or cliche but this one worked really well and actually was a perfect setup for the next film. I'm looking forward to seeing that one.
I would suggest watching this only if you want some good laughs but avoid if you're looking for something scary.
I'm not clowning around...this kind of fell short and my search for a truly terrifying movie continues...