The Temptation of Red Balloon

Rating: 8/10 (28 September 2017)

Not a fan of horror film, but seeing that there are a lot of good reviews on IT, so I decided to take an adventure ride on IT.
IT is the concept of darkness and fear. IT might look happy on the outside, just like a clown. Clown is supposed to be a role that cheers you up and makes you forget about your worried mind. Yes, IT has basically fulfilled your need. But, here's a catch, there's a price to be paid.
In the film, kids are the representation of innocent and less- polluted-mind. You can say that they know what to do and don't know what to do at the same time. Each of them has their own fear of something, it's a reflection of our lives, some might be afraid of ghost, domestic violence, bullies, weird looking dolls and etc.
The film uses many visual representations that only the kids (the awaken one) can be able to SEE the truth of darkness, especially the scene where the bathroom is full of blood. In the opposite, the adults can't SEE. It's not that they can't SEE, they decided not to SEE by ignoring the facts. It's basically trying to convey the meaning that, they are blinded by their numbness. They decided to be selfish and succumb to the darkness, as long as they are not the "lamb of god". Adults are the representation of selfishness in this film.
Just when you're in the weak position, IT comes in. Here comes the Red Balloon. I personally like how they use the Red Balloon to represent the element of temptation. Red is the colour that draws your attention, and red is also the sign of DANGER. Balloon is the sign of hopes and dreams, indeed, Red Balloon = Dangerous Dream. Every time you see the Red Balloon on screen, you know that something bad is about to happen.
Red Balloon is the bridge of temptation between the innocent and the devil. IT will tell you all sort of sweet things. "You'll float too, you'll float too.", IT said. It's basically like the devil telling you. "Come to me and I will give you fortune and fame". But IT didn't tell you, "You are gonna be my slave.". IT shows the sign of satisfaction when IT conquered you.
There are many scenes showing that bad things only happen when you are alone. It's basically saying, you are weak, when you are alone. You must stay together, to stay strong. That's the only way to defeat IT.
IT has done a very good job in conveying the educative messages through the medium of visual representations. The use of horror elements is very much appropriate and in place. It's not some B-movies to scare the audience for the sake of scaring. To be honest, I almost floated in the cinema not because of the jump scares from the screen, more likely the scream of audience. And yes, you'll float too.