Could be subtler

Rating: 6/10 (6 August 2019)

6.5*
Though ultimately enjoyable, It seemingly steps into every horror film pitfall, and it is buffling why. The bad trend is obvious immediately: there is no need for gore in Georgie's disappearence at the very start of the film. But also throughout it, the cheap horror traits are abundant: ok, the scary creatures represent the children's fears, but do they all have to be zombie-like monsters? More importantly, Bill Skarsgård is, by all accounts, excellent in the role of Pennywise - so why does he need to spend half his already limited screentime rushing and screaming towards someone? Worse still, the film is full of cheap jump scares, but so predictably that none of them actually scare you.
There is also something to be said about the (lack of) plot. The kids go from one scene to another without that much coherence, there is not much character depth, and the whole affair seems pretty weird when you think that a bunch of kids disappear and the only ones who seem to care are some other kids. Who are constanly bulllied, in almost every scene, by three stereotypical 80s bullies (complete with ANTHRAX t-shirts and longish hair). And - I don't know if this is the same in the book - it is pretty unbelievable just how dedicated these bullies are. Not only do they carve kids with knives just because they're really bad guys, the one who gets killed by Pennywise goes to search for a kid to bully in a sewer - you have to admire the commitment to his craft. All in all, every single family appears deeply dysfunctional in the film. A statistical improbability, but then again, this is a pretty horrid town to live in, so ok.
For all that, It has a good cast, atmosphere, and a memorable Pennywise. If we get some more background in chapter 2 and a more nuanced horror, the end result will be good.
Oh, and Pennywise is a pretty damn scary clown. Without having the Predator's jawline, without transforming into a monster, just the clown thing. All that other stuff makes him less scary. I know it's a monster in the book, but, sorry Stephen King, he shouldn't be.