"It" Movie Review

This weekend I went to see the movie It , based on Stephen King's novel. Now, don't hate me, but as much as I love watching the films, I can't stand reading King's books. Something about the writing style just rubs me the wrong way. I also never saw the original 1990 film. So I went into the theater on Saturday with absolutely no background knowledge other than what the trailer had given me. It went something like this:

"Well, we have an R-rated Stephen King movie, so I'm sure we'll see some blood and gore and I'll be cowering behind my hand for most of it. Nothing I haven't seen befo--OH MY GOD THAT CLOWN JUST RIPPED THE LITTLE BOY'S ARM OFF WITH HIS TEETH WHAT THE FUCK?!?!"

This was an excellent movie, without a doubt. I didn't even mind the damsel-in-distress trope at the end. All the boys pull together to rescue Beverly, the only girl in the group that at least two of the boys have a crush on. But given how awesome she is--both before and after her rescue--and how great the rest of the movie is, I'm willing to let that one slide.

It's also hilarious . Not funny in the way bad horror movies are funny, or even horror comedies like Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland . Interspersed through the terror is a steady stream of humor and side-jokes that had the whole theater giggling. Sometimes it's something one of Billie's smart-ass friends say, and sometimes it's a shout-out to the horrible awkwardness of youth. It provides not only comic relief, but also makes the characters that much more relatable.

The weird thing is, I didn't think it was a particularly scary movie. There were definitely some jump moments, and on a scale of one to ten the creepiness factor was a solid twenty. But in terms of gut-wrenching, oh-my-god-I-can't-even-look-at-the-screen, I'm-not-getting-any-sleep-tonight terror that I normally get from horror movies...nope. Not there. I admit that was a bit disappointing, but it's like opening a box labelled "pumpkin pie" and getting chocolate pie instead. Not bad, just a different flavor.

But that's just me. My cousin almost broke his friend's hand, he was gripping it so tight, and left the theater shaking in his boots.

Overall, it's a great film. Definitely worth the money. The only complaint I have is that we have to wait until 2019 before we get to see It: Chapter Two .

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