Spielberg-Like Mess

Rating: 4/10 (10 September 2017)

I had to force myself to give this four stars. The book by King is set in the 1960s but for whatever reason, maybe for nostalgia, maybe to make the milieu more recognizable, the movie takes us back to the eighties and pokes fun at some of the more lamentable icons of that decade. I couldn't help feeling through all the jokes about New Kids on the Block, Detroit gas-guzzlers and fanny packs that somehow we were supposed to bring to mind some of the kid-centered movies of that time. Groups of kids trying to find pirate treasure, helping E.T. get home and generous splashes of all the traits that make being a kid and/or teenager such a grueling experience for most people a la John Hughes. IT doesn't feel like a horror movie. The book it is based on is deeply flawed anyway, written at a time when King was going through a rough period in his personal life. By the mid-eighties the author was losing his powers of persuasion and this book shows it. If you haven't read it I leave it up to you to read the book to find out what I mean. For those of you who have read it, you know what I'm talking about. His earlier work was far superior; Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Bachman Books but I'm getting off the subject. There are some bright spots in this film. Bill Skarsgard does an excellent job as Pennywise while Sophia Lillis is incredible as Beverly Marsh and I have a distinct feeling that we'll be seeing a lot more of the actress in the future. There are some effective jumps to scare the audience and the special effects are on target but, I say it again, it doesn't feel like a horror movie. It's like someone took a crash course on Steven Spielberg tropes and was trying to prove to the much lauded director that they too could direct a movie that would harken back to some of his more impressive work. Finally, I have to say the story was softened, toned down and restrained so that the widest possible audience could see it and not be completely horrified and turned away. It was not made for horror fans; it was made for that great crowd in the middle who think they like horror and were willing to sit through this and suffer through its shocks and surprises in order to prove to themselves that they indeed had a horrific experience. I know I did.