Effective, epic-scaled horror film with kid cast often resembles Goonies in the Temple of Doom

Rating: 6/10 (8 October 2017)

Stephen King's terrifying bestseller from 1986, first adapted for the small screen in 1990, is brought back to life with this crisp, red-balloon-bloody theatrical version, covering just the first part of King's original story and obviously meant to be followed by a sequel (or more, if Warner Bros. has its way). Every 27 years in the town of Derry, both adults and kids mysteriously go missing (mostly kids); in fact, the woodsy community has an extremely high ratio of missing persons versus the national average. A group of young teenagers in 1989, have-nots and misfits who not only have to face their scary elders every day but also must contend with a carload of carousing school bullies, form a "Loser's Club" to fight the evil consuming the town. The "It" of the title lives down in the bowels of Derry's centuries-old sewer line, feeds on fear and manifests itself as a killer clown named Pennywise (whose harbinger is a lone red balloon). Pennywise's freaky transmutations are startling and scary, and the kids scream and cower quite naturally until they finally agree to battle It to the death. The film, which is overlong, lays on the brutality with a trowel. It is, in fact, quite vicious and ugly in its mean-spiritedness and, though some may argue this is necessary in the function of the plot, I found the physical violence inflicted on the kids so nasty as to be unsettling. The introductions of the characters aren't very promising, but the young actors do have a way of growing on you (particularly Jaeden Lieberher as William and Sophia Lillis as Beverly). These poor youngsters have it tough, with parents or guardians who are off-balanced and classmates who are out for blood. Director Andy Muschietti makes their surroundings so dangerous that one wonders how anyone survives in Derry. Still, Muschietti's presentation, helped by excellent effects, cinematography and music scoring, makes this a slambang chiller for audiences out to experience a good shudder. **1/2 from ****