Stephen King Week: It

Throughout the Nineties and the first part of the 2000's, one of the main staples of television was the Stephen King mini-series. For me though, none of them were as good as It (although The Stand is a close second). With a fantastic story, a great cast and a genuinely great villain, this one really works while containing some genuinely scary moments. If nothing else, it's responsible for an entire generation of kids being absolutely terrified of clowns.  

The story focuses on seven friends both as children and then as adults. They consist of Bill Denbrough (played as an adult by Richard Thomas and as a kid by Jonathan Brandis), Richie Tozier (played as an adult by Harry Anderson and as a kid by Seth Green), Beverly Marsh (played as an adult by Annette O'Toole and as a kid by Emily Perkins), Ben Hanscom (played as an adult by John Ritter and as a kid by Brandon Crane), Stanley Uris (played as an adult by Richard Masur and as a kid by Ben Heller), Eddie Kaspbrak (played as an adult by Dennis Christopher and as a kid by Adam Faraizl) and Mike Hanlon (played as an adult by Tim Reid and as a kid by Marlon Taylor). As kids they all shared visions of a creepy clown known as Pennywise (played by Tim Curry), who is really an ancient shapeshifting monster, taking the forms of whatever it's intended victims fear. The monster is responsible for several deaths around their small town of Derry, Maine, including Bill's younger brother, Georgie. The seven of them eventually gather their strength and head into the sewers where the monster, referred to as It, is hiding. The fight and think they've killed it but make a promise that if It ever comes back, they will return and finish it once and for all. And of course, that is precisely what happens thirty years later as Mike brings each of the friends back to Derry, having stayed behind to watch over the town and keep guard. The goal is to find It and finish it off once and for all. 

I think it's the combination of the story and the performances from all the actors that make this movie resonate with me so much. I've always had an affinity for stories about kids fighting monsters and then to add in the concept with revisiting your past and making peace with it with the adult characters makes for a potent mix. There's something about this group of friends though that really makes the it special. They're a group of outcasts, each different in their own ways but yet they all accept one another and develop such a strong bond. It's that strong bond that allows them to stay together and fight Pennywise both as kids and later as adults. The film is also exceptionally well cast with everyone giving great performances, which only helps add depth to the film. I genuinely cared about each one of the characters which only adds to the suspense of the film for me. Then we have Tim Curry as Pennywise, It's go-to guise. I wasn't exaggerating when I said his rendition of Pennywise made an entire generation petrified of clowns. Everyone I've spoken to around my age who was a kid when they first saw this hate clowns and the reason given without fail is this film. There are times when he goes a little over the top, such as the scene where he's terrorizing adult Richie in the Derry library, but for the majority of the film he's nothing short of terrifying. 

That said, the film is a little dated, as one would expect 25 years later. But yet, oddly not as much as one would think. For the most part it holds up quite well. However, some of the stylistic choices in the film and some of the effects betray the age of the film. Considering what the filmmakers had available to them on a TV Miniseries budget, they pulled it off handsomely. The film condenses Stephen King's epic length original novel down to a streamlined 3 hour movie (originally airing in two parts, each two hours long, with commercials). The filmmakers wisely created a film to play to the strengths of what they knew they could pull off and also what they could get away with on broadcast television. Still, they did push the envelope in several places, especially an early scene when a young Bill comes across a picture of his brother in a photo album which proceeds to blink at him and start oozing blood. While the film doesn't contain everything the book does, it has the same spirit as the book and doesn't lose the characterization that makes the story of both the book and the movie memorable. 

Overall, It remains one of my favorites and one that I have come to appreciate even more as the years have gone by. It remains one of my favorites of the several Stephen King mini-series I've seen over the years. Aside from the horror it has a lot of heart to it as well and I think that is part of the reason I continue to respond so strongly to it.