Very creepy and effective

Rating: 9/10 (16 September 2017)

This adaptation of Stephen King's mammoth novel works exceptionally well because of how vivid and sympathetic the misfit main characters are: One really believes that these oddball kids are true friends who care about one another and have each other's backs. Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophie Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Glazer, and Wyatt Olaf are all uniformly fine and credible in their roles while Bill Skarsgard makes for a supremely frightening Pennywise. Moreover, director Andy Muschietti offers a flavorsome evocation of the late 1980's period setting (the News Kids on the Block reference is spot-on sidesplitting!), grounds the fantastic premise in a plausible everyday small town reality, and generates plenty of nerve-rattling suspense. Better still, the spooky supernatural evil of Pennywise is nicely contrasted by such chilling real-life horrors as vicious town bully Henry Bowers (a perfectly hateful portrayal by Jarred Blancard) and Beverly's repellent pedophile father. The special effects are likewise sound and convincing, the gore is generous, but never excessive, and the overall atmosphere tense and eerie throughout. An on the money scarefest.