IT
- Aymen Saqib
- Oct 15, 2017
- 3 min read
Rating: 7/10
Directed by Andrés Muschietti
Starring:
Bill Skarsgård as IT/Pennywise
Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh
Jaeden Lieberher as Bill Denbrough
Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier
Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie Kaspbrak
Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben Hanscom
Killer clowns can give the heebie-jeebies to Sam Winchester, one of the world’s best hunters. But can the notorious IT clown, Pennywise, trigger your coulrophobia, not so much. Primarily because IT isn’t about being scary but more about a life lesson, a single stick is breakable, but a bundle of sticks put up a stronger guard.
Pennywise’s introductory scene, which is just a few minutes into the movie, remains one of the strongest. It really establishes the grounds for a lot that is explored further in the movie. Pennywise lives in a sewer and is a ruthless evil who’d bite off a vulnerable kid’s arm. The scene also highlights the issues kids go through and adult’s indifference from those issues. And off course little George’s disappearance, whose search drives the whole movie.
George’s brother, Bill, pacts with six other preteens to find him. The first half of the movie centers on the character building of the preteens. Each of the kids has been subjected to some sort of torture, physical or mental. The deadly clown appears to each of the kids as an expression of their individual fears.
Bill grieves his lost brother but his parents choose to ignore it, the clown appears to him as a manifestation of George. Others face sexual abuse, racism, fat-shaming and germ-phobia. Mostly the kids are withdrawn about their fears.
The movie is able to really form a bond with all the major roles, it doesn’t go around killing everyone. Except George whose death is well-grounded, his resurgence would have made things too utopian. The rest of the characters are allowed to grow and jump scares are used in the buildup for each character’s story. But obviously this means the story’s buildup is delayed because it’s catering to the character development of seven roles, which explains IT’s lengthy runtime.
The sewer/drain/sewage trope is brilliantly integrated in the movie. The sewer, Pennywise’s habitat is a reality, where waste is discarded, yet it’s an inconceivable other dimension, clouded with bottled up fears, which prominently differs from the hygiene of our homes. The fears give the clown his powers and he’s able to build bridges to the real world. Two of Pennywise’s dialogues, “I’ll feast on your flesh as I feast on your fear” and “Tasty, tasty beautiful fear” picture this.
Bill Skarsgård has been able to create much furor in the fangirls but for Pennywise he hasn’t been able to create that much panic in the moviegoers. It’s a tough job though, to create a clown scary enough when there’s a competition of over 201 pre-existing clown movies. Especially when a gem like Twisty the clown from American Horror story: Freak show has set the standards pretty high.
During his encounters, mostly he rattles around almost hilariously (though his teeth are viscous and he’s brutal enough to bite off a 4-year-olds arm off, one of the initial dreadful scenes of the movie.) The only time “the dancing clowns” dance is witnessed is around the culmination of the movie but it sure is impressive. Hell-ish fire around and Pennywise's Dance by Benjamin Wallfisch playing at the back, the ambiance makes Pennywise look almost majestic. The scene can put your body into varying temperatures, with your ears steaming hot and faced drenched in cold sweats, it’s unsettling.
If you are expecting some serious bed-wetting fright, then it’s a no go but it successfully portrays many social concerns, the impact that long held fears can have on the lives of people and how they can come back to haunt you.
If you liked IT, check out Mama by the same director which also focuses on similar themes, caring for children and motherhood.
[endif]
Comments