SOME OF ALL FEARS

“It” is funny.

This may not be surprising to the oblivious viewer, who knows this 2017 film and the latest iteration of Stephen King’s 1986 eponymous novel, to be chiefly about the exploits of a clown. But all jokes aside, Andy Muschietti’s horror film may deliver the suspense expected of a great King adaption, but has little of the scare.

Introduced to a seemingly no-holds barred approach from Muschietti in the opening scene (and a friendly reminder to keep your arms out of gutters), the film sets a bloody tone for the duration. The gruesome nature of some of the injuries inflicted on young teenagers and children can be jarring at times, yet there still lacks a certain consequenceto much of the film’s narrative. We meet our newest edition of It/Pennywise The Clown (Skarsgård) who brings the creepiness expected of the iconic antagonist, as well as an idiosyncratic style of voice and demeanour that can be attributed to his Nordic heritage.

Most importantly in these first scenes, we meet the ‘Losers’; a misfit, rag-tag group of young high-schoolers who have banded together at the outskirts of social popularity. The cast works well for a young ensemble, with some excellent editing work done in order to provide satisfactory backstory and motivation to each of the ‘gang’. As well as fleshing several other characters in the town, the keystones (and highlights) of the group are but a few. Lillis gives a strong performance as the ‘Loser’s’ only female member, and holds her own against older male characters as well as the stand-out leader of the pack. However, the scene-stealer amongst our protagonists is Richie (Wolfhard), whose wise-cracking, yet crude, humour is a hilarious break from the horrific narrative. However, it proves to sometimes break the tone of the film too often and too well. There are many fantastic moments of comedy from Richie and other Losers, yet the quantity is almost a greedy amount amongst their quest to defeat the reality-defying It.

The direction by Muschietti is relatively well-done, with excellent craftsmanship and suspense-building and the creation of a believable small-town blues kind of world. Though there may be more Dutch angles used in this film then found in the black & white short of a pretentious art-schooler, Muschietti captures the darkness that comes with the fear of a thing like It in a sunny Maine town such as Durry, which is no easy feat. While there is no traditional horror or slasher scares in “it”, there is no lack of shock at some of the clever ways Muschietti twists the eponymous villain into the ‘real-world’ as he tortures and teases the children of Durry with their worst fears.

However, what may be the strongest element of the film (and one of King’s perennially excellent features) is the supplementary cast of antagonists. From sadistic school bullies, sexually abusive fathers or creepy pharmacists, the humans that put our heroes at unease prove to the be the true ‘monsters’ of the film and the more scarier: they’re in our lives too. But, when compared to the 1990 TV miniseries where It is more human-esque, the film dives slightly too deep into the supernatural in order to drive it’s horror and narrative tropes. Unfortunately it seems that we lose some of the edge that a monster such as It holds, when it falls into a mainstream collection of all-powerful creatures that have lost touch with humanity. Skarsgård’s performance is still a strong and unnerving one, albeit let down by the manner in which the tone of the film seems to shift to slightly more surrealistic craft.

So while “It” enjoys getting the most of a young cast and an unexpected barrel of laughs, it’s still bogged down by slightly uninspired horror writing and an iconic villain that in all, is trumped by the much more real monsters of the world. “It” is a worthwhile viewing for fans of King, horror and clown fans.