The new adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a killer clown presents terror in all its forms, leaving chills long after the credits.
It’s said that about 12 percent of adults suffer from coulrophobia, a fear of clowns, and that the numbers spiked in 1989, the year Jack Nicholson played the Joker in Batman. This is all ironic considering this weekend’s remake of Stephen King’s It, featuring a killer clown, is set in 1989 — with a marquee touting the release of Batman. Director Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of King’s novel, and a remake of the 1991 TV movie, will terrify all ages. With a deeply demented control of the character, anchored by Bill Skarsgard’s nightmare inducing performance, It sticks with you to haunt and influence your nightmares!
It’s summertime in the ’80s in the town of Derry. Unfortunately for Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) and his friends, their summer fun is ruined by the ravages of the evil Pennywise (Skarsgard) who feeds off their fear. The gang, known as the Losers Club, must band together to face their fears—both real and imagined — in order to stop Pennywise’s reign of terror.
Audience interest varies depending on whether you’ve read the original King novel or seen the ’91 miniseries. Having seen neither, entering It with the freshest of eyes leads to maximum impact (though it is said the script makes significant changes). The film’s obvious influences are Stranger Things, The Goonies, and E.T., complete with aerial shots of kids riding bikes as soaring music plays. The ’80s cliché itself might be tired, but it works towards creating a world of safety and fun that the kids just can’t find. They keep telling themselves “it’s summer” and that they shouldn’t be dealing with a killer clown, but it’s evident they were never just kids.
King’s novel was always about more than Pennywise the clown; it’s the story of how terrifying adolescence itself is, especially when the adults you’re meant to trust fail you. Typical of a King novel, the adults of Derry bury their heads in the sand, whether to hide from grief or to avoid confrontation. Bill’s parents are just as culpable in ignoring their living son after the disappearance of young Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) as those who drive by and watch a young boy be threatened with a knife. Lone girl in the group Beverly Marsh’s (Sophia Lillis) plot — though existing in the novel — does feel like the scummiest element of the movie, if only because molestation plotlines are utilized far too often for female characters in these movies (the recent Book of Henry is a prime example).
Fear, in all its forms, manifests in the character of Pennywise, and like the first thing you ever had a nightmare about, he sticks with you. Aided by rat-like teeth and greasepaint, Skarsgard eschews theatrics in favor of manipulation and menace masqueraded as playfulness. His deadpan expression only intensifies the gaudy theatrics when they are employed, like a carnival held in the bottom of a well. Skarsgard’s clipped enunciation of certain words also heightens the otherworldliness of the character in spite of the disbelief that a small child would talk to a clown lurking in the sewer. Make no mistake, the character will give you nightmares, but it’s only a mark on the power of the man underneath.
Skarsgard aside, It has one of the best ensemble casts with each young actor giving a star-making performance. The MVP of the group is Lillis as the town’s “nasty girl,” Beverly. Her plot, though cliché and the most sickening of the group, is heartwrenching and aided by Lillis’ expressiveness. Beverly, more so than any of the boys she associates with, is the bravest of the group, demanding they stick together to stop Pennywise. Lieberher is the group’s veteran child actor and he’s solid as the tenacious Bill, desperate to find his little brother (the aforementioned Robert Scott emitting Jacob Tremblay-levels of cuteness). Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs and Wyatt Olef also do well in evoking their various character traits. Jack Dylan Grazer steals the show as Eddie, the hypochondriac yearning for sweet freedom from his overbearing mother. Every line this kid says is hilarious, whether because of the line itself or his panicked reaction to everything. Think of Stand By Me’s Vern channeled through Doogie Howser’s Vinnie.
Looking like average kids who just wound up in a Hollywood movie, the group conveys the film’s authentic heart and emotion. Since Pennywise stands in for adolescent fear in general, it’s necessary to have kids that don’t come off like actors. It parcels out its scares deliberately and long stretches of an over two hour movie often follow the characters in their day-to-day lives. In the case of Jacobs’ Mike, he never feels properly integrated into the group and the film’s utilization of his race never develops beyond shock, but the rest of the individual threads are effective solo. Even the typical ’80s bullies are developed to show a cycle of violence perpetuating violence. At times you’re left to think, if Pennywise is “killed,” are the kids really safe?
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It is one of the year’s scariest movies, and possibly the scariest film in the last several years. The story is familiar but the characterization and paced terror builds to a blinding crescendo. The cast is stellar and Bill Skarsgard will remind you how frightening he is when you go to sleep tonight.