The writer of this blog is a sucker for projects which stick to King's material, and Andres Muschietti's film put me on my ass.
Fans know the prelude. Bill and Georgie conspire over the making of paper boats before the little boy steps out in his slicker. It is the necessary first beat of It which stages this faithful, unsettling adaptation.
Gore proceeds on a minimum pay-out basis, and the film never needs it to deliver genuinely disturbing moments. Actually there are plenty without any Pennywise, most stemming from inside the Loser's Club.
The humiliation and slitting of Ben Hanscomb is a rough go, as is any scene which features Bev Marsh's father. But such are the growing pains needed in order for these kids to come together to ultimately ward off their demons.
Standouts figure with Finn Wolfhard, whose vocal kineticism while acting out Richie Tozier is an attentive nod to King's characterization. Actress Sophia Lillis is a superb Bev, who tries the limits of her male friends in more ways than one.
Adequate doses of eighties fads prevail, since the time of this 'past' segment is moved from 1958 to mostly 1989. It's the only real change to King's work, an alteration so well-executed it is made largely welcome.
Anyone with a taste for eighties horror should get to the theater. The King elements, married with what subtle liberties in time and place the filmmaker has taken, will without question set a new precedent for future adaptations of the author's work.
