'It Movie' Review: The Overwhelming Power of Friendship Over Fear

It was one oddly satisfying rainy September afternoon. Young Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott) is excited to try out the paper boat that his big brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) made for him. He’s been patiently waiting, and now he has it. However, things take a turn for the very worst as he goes missing right after sailing out his new boat. This then took me to the most terrifying 2 hours of my life. Andrés Muschietti’s newest take on Stephen King’s horrifying clown novel comes in the form of this year’s horror blockbuster—”It.”

Of all the insanely creepy things that Stephen King has come up with that I’ve seen on the big screen—the dead twins of The Overlook Hotel in “The Shining” to the bucket of Pig’s blood that drenched the Jean Grey-ish protagonist of “Carrie,”—there’s one that stands out so devilish, so gory, and so hard to watch on the big screen. That’s the scene where young Georgie gets his entire arm bitten off by Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). There’s something about an innocent young boy meeting his own end in a very violent way that made me want to hurl at the start of “It.” He was then dragged into the storm drain while helplessly screaming out his big brother’s name.
I wanted to watch the “It movie” because I thought it could help me curb my coulrophobia—the fear of clowns, obviously—but it didn’t. It messed me up, and this is just the beginning.

‘It Movie’—a Masterful retelling of friendship

Unlike the 90’s movie, this version of “It” took the liberty to creatively tell the first half of King’s story. Muschietti’s movie had a lot of material to go through in just over two hours. But I personally think that this is the best way to go if you want to be really faithful to the 1000-page novel of the same name.

“The Loser’s Club,” made up of Bill Denbrough (Lieberher), Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), Stan Uris (Wyatt Oleff), and Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs), is haunted by each of their own fears and more straightforwardly shunned by the rest of the school clique. In a classic “Stand by Me” type of narrative, it established the group of friends as more than just kids brought together by the same fear, but also kids united because of one thing that matters all throughout the “It movie”—an uncompromised child-like idea of friendship.
The movie also narrates the complexities of the typical small-town America: racial slurs directed at the only black kid in the bunch, domestic child abuse, sexual abuse, body shaming (complete with letters being carved in the fat kid’s stomach), and so on.

The Loser’s Club is a mix of child actors who made the movie as perfect and authentic as it is. There’s a genuine connection that runs through these actors’ veins, and it shows very well on screen. As it echoes the same kid bunch of “Stand by Me,” their friendship also takes on its own identity—and this is one that could never, ever be broken by any kind or any amount of fear. Much like “Stranger Things,” this is a particular group of kids that you’d want to stick with through thick and thin because you know that they will always have your back—even 27 years from now.

Derry’s longstanding fear capitalized in the many forms of Pennywise

The fears of each member of “The Loser’s Club” was manifested in different times and different locations. This is what made Pennywise grow stronger every 27 years. And now that he’s ready to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine once again, it just makes things even worse as the new collective fear from The Loser’s Club entices the clown to go for more kills.
Pennywise remains equally as the unnerving, insatiable, inter-dimensional creature that Tim Curry once portrayed in the 90’s version of “It.” This time though, the role falls perfectly in the hands (or jaws?) of Skarsgård who I think made a separate version of the clown that’s bound to be as memorable as the former’s portrayal. Speaking with some kind of an obscure Swedish accent, Skarsgård makes a skillful monstrosity of his performance.

The extreme makeup job and animation make for a more faithful monster clown seen in the Stephen King book. Honestly, this version is more horrifying and violent than Curry’s, and all the more iconic. There are a few “abilities” added to the ferocity of Pennywise. For one thing, the scenes where he awkwardly unfurls himself from being stuck in the fridge and unravels his sharp yellow teeth made me almost leave the theater.
I can almost see myself looking back 20 years from now and never forgetting this vile creature that Skarsgård showed me. This can never be undone. All in all, this version of Pennywise is a successful reinvention of the classic Stephen King monster albeit not quite commanding the entire narrative of the “It movie” as Curry but absolutely making you lose your s**t as you dreadfully wait for this next appearance.

The Verdict

“It Movie” is yet another conventional horror slash shocker movie, more than the common running time but definitely substantial—especially given the chance to focus on the pre teen side of King’s novel. As a harrowing monster ride through nooks and crannies and sewers that I bet even David Lynch wouldn’t dare to wander, the film makes its way around an often deafening and terrifying volume that ultimately builds up on the evil that is Pennywise.
Perhaps Muschietti has more of these in store for the next chapter of the “It Movie,” especially since the audience now has a firm grasp of the genuine fright that the movie entails. It’s petrifying at its peak, well done and truly takes you to the brink of madness and fear—at times driving you completely insane.

You’ll float with emotions, too

The story began with Georgie’s violent, ill-fated death but ended on a very light note, highlighting the importance of friendship that goes beyond just hanging out at The Barrens during summer. It goes beyond what they fear, and it goes beyond who they are. They are a group of kids bonded by blood and a promise to never leave their beloved town behind. The movie ends with a very intimate scene where The Loser’s Club share a moment with each other. Bill stands up and demands, “Swear: If it isn’t dead, if it ever comes back, we’ll come back too.” This just solidifies the group’s relationship, forgets all the lows they’ve experienced, and makes them all bound for life.
In the midst of the horrors that they all faced, in the midst of Pennywise singling them out one by one and ultimately failing at it, there’s one thing that you can’t take away from them—the overwhelming power of friendship over fear.