Too much bump in the night waters It down.

Rating: 5/10 (16 September 2017)

It has plenty of chills and thrills, along with too many characters and dead moments that weigh heavily on the pace of this dragged out horror that runs well over two hours. With Pennywise on the scene the film roars with sadistic terror but with a crowded field of unpleasant adults and vicious teens to hassle our small platoon of heroes the film slowly implodes into tedious Stand by Me bonding.
In the Maine town of Derry kids are disappearing at an alarming rate and the parents don't seem to be concerned as much as a half a dozen loser kids confronting a real demon or their own personal fears. A bookish new kid discovers that every 27 years something dreadful befalls Derry convincing them to investigate further but that entails circumventing parental disdain and indifference to the situation along with the sadistic ever present teen thugs.
Horror films like It demand a lot of suspension of disbelief that should be dished out at a healthy pace. Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) is an outstanding iconic villain that brings a real fun house feel to the theatre with a patient impish leer and sudden violent acts. Whether present or hinting of it Penny knows how to lay on the big scare. Unfortunately director Andy Mushietti slackens the pace by wasting time on the mawkish sensitive interplay of the children, each a heavy handed clichÃ© in a group that could have been halved to save time and amp up pace. But I guess Stephen King's book which I have not read placed heavy emphasis on growing pains which is misguidedly overplayed in a movie being sold as a terrifying roller coaster ride stalling on the interludes with a few too many creepy adults, bully scenes and obnoxious whiny kids when they should be allowing Pennywise to do his dirty work in under a hundred minutes. I only hope the heavily hinted at sequel will tighten things up with less adolescent growing pains and more of Penny's unique terror.