Thursday, October 01, 2020

31 Days of Halloween - Day 1 - Movies



In the town of Derry, Maine, every 27 years a cycle of missing people takes place. Among those lost in 1988 is young Georgie Denbrough. His older brother feels guilty and is also determined that somehow his brother is still alive. When he and his group of misfit friends start having strange encounters that involve their own particular fears and a clown named Pennywise, they become determined tisane themselves and end the curse of Derry by destroying Pennywise. They don't. When the cycle begins again 27 years later, the group of kids returns home to try again.

It (2017) and It - Chapter 2 (2019) is a two part adaptation of the novel by Stephen King, which was previously adapted for television back in 1990. The new adaptation is superior in every way, even though it  follows the same beats as the previous tv version than feeling like a something that ignored it and instead went straight back to the novel for source material. The cast is fantastic and the casting of the adult versions of the kids is so believable as to be uncanny. The standout is Bill Skarsg˚ard as Pennywise. His performance suggests something of an anglerfish rather than anything human, he's simply a lure to bring children to their doom.

The films directed by Andy Muschietti, are both entertaining and solid entries in the "kids with bikes" genre, but the novel, which remains one of my favorite King books, has yet to be adequately adapted in my opinion. This version is very good though.







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