Up Close and Personal with Pennywise

Rating: 7/10 (10 September 2017)

It is the end of the 1989 school year in the beautiful town of Derry Maine. Summer vacation has begun for Bill and his friends 'the losers', and they're dodging their psychopathic bully classmate Henry and something even darker lurking in the sewers below. IT delivers the jarring contrast of sweet childhood friendship and warm small town summer days with the everyday dangers of molesting parents, bullies and the far worse supernatural terror of Pennywise the Clown. The film is rife with 'jump scares', but the pace is too fast and repetitive. There are too many encounters with the Losers escaping Pennywise. The director gives into the temptation of turning the movie into a 'chase' film. Pennywise is too revealed, stripping away his mystery and terror. The magic and eeriness of a good horror story are mostly missing. The viewer doesn't need to see Pennywise's tonsils, nor in extreme close up. The art of the horror story is lacking and veers instead into action film territory.