IT is back. 27 years after Tim Curry stepped in the most famous clown shows that aren‘t associated with a fast food chain and gave countless children a reason to rush in the bathroom, Stephen King‘s homage to the film monsters of his childhood has made it to the big screen.

Half of it at least. “It“ the novel and the TV miniseries it was based on interweaves the story of a group of young outsiders fighting a shapeshifting human-eating monster in the 1950s with the same friends having to return to their hometown in the 80s to definitively kill It. IT 2017 shifts the youth portion to the 1980s and leaves the adult portion to the announced sequel in 2019 which will probably be set in 2017. The decision to split the child and adult section destroys the juxtaposition in the book, but does IT a big favor because the story becomes more compact and seemingly closed. The change to 1980s also makes sense because the film refers to the childhood memories and influential films of the generation that now looks back on that time nostalgically, just like King did in his book. Of course it‘s also the age group that complains about there already being an IT film, that remakes are silly, and that Tim Curry was the ultimate Pennywise.


Director Andy Muschietti (MAMA) concentrates on the seven friends and what happened during one summer. Pennywise eats Bill Denborough‘s brother at the very beginning of the film. Even without supernatural attacks, the youths still have enough trauma to last a lifetime due to their parents and violent classmates. All of the young cast are convincing, which makes it a shame that the screenplay would‘ve benefited from some streamlining, especially when it comes to the only girl and the only African-American in the group.


When It attacks, it goes all out and earns its FSK-16 horror film rating. Tim Curry‘s Pennywise could seem nice and was somewhat funny in even the most threatening moments. The one time Bill Skarsgards shows up in a way that even adults wouldn‘t run away screaming is during his first appearance. When “It“ makes an appearance, it‘s more likely for him to be the one running/flying towards his victims. These shock effects are definitely not refined, but they fulfill their purpose in this nostalgic horror trip.


It will be interesting to see what direction the second part of the story takes, but until that and the second season of STRANGER THINGS come out, it is definitely a worthwhile warm-up for the darker half of the year.

Christian Klose (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy