A Shock to the System

Rating: 8/10 (11 September 2017)

Modern horror films have never been my cup of tea, relying too much on low budgets, cheap scares, and uninteresting plots to make back dozens of times the cost of the film with little effort. It seems to have had a lot of time and love put into it, creating a sort of homage to horror films of the eighties while maintaining much of the modern staples we've come to expect.
The story of a bunch of misfits coming together to battle against a terrifying creature that predominantly takes on the guise of a clown is interesting in the contrast between the whimsical and lighthearted slice-of-life moments and the scenes of pure terror. What I felt was a good foundation for a much longer movie was sadly stripped down, leaving less development of the kids and a lot of missing exposition that could explain their fears better, and instead going straight for the scares. While I understand that the director and writers are giving the audience what they want, I feel that with twenty or thirty minutes more of development, I would have felt a deeper connection to the Losers.
The horror elements are good but I never found the movie particularly scary. A later scene in an obviously "haunted" house was very tense, but I wouldn't say it was terrifying. That's not to say that the imagery won't stick with you. Bill Skarsgard is wonderful as Pennywise and some of the visual scares (Pennywise in the meat processing plant, the scene where the kids watch the slides) are unique. But overall, I wouldn't call this movie scary in the practical sense, more in the fact that scares are accompanied with startling loud noises that are just annoyingly cheap at this point.
Despite the problems, I really enjoyed It. It's one of the best horror films I've seen in the past ten years with excellent acting, great visuals, well done cinematography, and a bit of heart that you wouldn't expect. It's also a film perfectly suited for a theater experience. Suggested!