I Might Actually Be Underrating This...

Rating: 7/10 (13 September 2017)

I vaguely remember being at a friend's house for a sleepover once and one of the kids sneaking in the Tim Curry mini-series VHS of It into the VCR, and slowly falling asleep to a creepy clown doing goofy things. However, this newest iteration of Stephen King's cultural behemoth is one of the most utterly surprising and purely fun experiences I've had all year. An endless barrage of horror visuals and teenage whimsy, it's as dementedly scary as it is brightly charming. Eighties set and inspired, it brings to mind Goonies, E.T, and the rest of the Amblin films repertoire, much like Abrams' Super 8 or more recently Netflix's "Stranger Things" did before it. The comparisons are inevitable, especially given the casting of the "Stranger Things" lead Wolfhard. However, where those sometimes walk the line between homage and straight-up copy bluntly, It manages to mostly stand on its own; and either way, we simply don't get movies this sincere and thoughtful, while also being terrifyingly entertaining, enough anymore. If it takes reminding us of bygone decades to do it, then I'm all for it. This 135 minute nostalgia nightmare can be a daunting undertaking, not just for the filmmakers but for the audience. However, so much creepy goodness is packed into its runtime, it not only doesn't feel overlong, but seems to have a high re-watchability factor. Even with some of the stale drama and less-than-perfect child performances, the screen is so filled with terrifying bumps, sunny disturbia, and a welcome onslaught of tension-breaking humor, I can imagine happily running into Pennywise over and again.