IT (2017) Movie Review

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2018)

I'm not completely sure what I was expecting from this movie when I sat down to watch it. Friends who have seen the movie before gave mixed reviews, some didn't like it, some loved it, some people said it wasn't that scary, and other people said it was horrifying. I never heard anyone give a lukewarm reaction to the movie. Personally, I thought it was amazing. It was a concept that I never have seen nor heard of before and was very successful. It wasn't a very realistic concept, but as a horror movie, it was fantastic.
The movie is based in Derry, Maine. Bill Denbrough, played by Jaeden Lieberher, has a little brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) who goes missing in the first few minutes in the movie. About every 27 years, there is some sort of missing children incident. The viewer knows that this is because of Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgård. He takes children down in the sewers, eats them, and makes them hover in the air when he is finished with them. However, the characters do not know about Pennywise. To help him track down his brother, Bill gathers all his friends, Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff), Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), and Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs). The kids call themselves the Losers Club because they are all outcasts for all different reasons. As they search for Georgie, Pennywise tries to separate them so he can scare them and eat them. Because of this, the viewer learns what each kid is afraid of. Bill is afraid of his stutter, Stan is afraid of a woman in a painting, Eddie is afraid of lepers, Richie is afraid of clowns, Beverly is afraid of her father, Ben is afraid of the history of Derry and if it repeats itself, and Mike is afraid of being burnt alive. To defeat Pennywise, the kids have to overcome their fears and prove that he cannot scare them anymore.
The setting and music of the movie created a great atmosphere. The barrens, which is the Losers Club's main hangout spot, is open and large. There is normally no background music to give the impression that it's just a calm and quiet space. The Neibolt House is an accurate representation of an abandoned house, with a creaky floor, cracked walls, and dirty windows. The music is eerie, creating suspense of what will lie around every corner. Finally, the sewers are filled with rubble, dark water, and dripping pipes. In this area, the music is mostly dramatic because this is where the group finds Pennywise's hideout and have their final battle with him.
All the actors in the movie were astounding. They were all able to portray and evolve their characters very naturally, and they could convey great emotions. For example, the way that the actors were able to portray the Losers Club as just a little friend group who got mixed up in a big problem in their small town seemed very realistic. One actor imparticular, Bill Skarsgård, Pennywise's actor, was able to make his character come to life. The way he was able to convey such fear in just a simple facial expression is beyond impressive.
Overall, the movie had a new, interesting concept that worked well as a horror movie. The actors and crew were able to collaborate to create a movie that truly makes us ask ourselves, "What Are You Afraid Of?"