Stephen King’s IT (1990)

October 17, 2017

With all the recent hubbub around the It remake I thought it would be worth finally checking out the original. What I didn’t know what that this was essentially two TV movies glued back to back, so I found watching the whole thing in one go was a bit much, especially as the second half kinda wanes and gets lost a bit. I don’t know what it is about Stephen King stories, but they are just more enjoyable when it involves children. It just seems that the type of horror that Mr. King creates is more fitting to a child’s world view (that might be because most of it is a pile of shit that only kids could believe, but there we go).

That being said (and probably for that reason, thinking about it), the kids really shine here. The first half of the film is filled with mystery and wonder, but when they are all grown up the characters are boring and annoying. When It turns into a ridiculous (in the best way possible!) giant spider puppet, things start looking up, only to disappoint me when it doesn’t chop half of the cast to tiny pieces with its massive pincers. I did enjoy It, I really did, but I found it very drawn out and I think the whole “PG horror” thing really isn’t for me. On the plus side, Tim Curry was amazing as Pennywise – I wish I had seen this as a kid, that shit would have terrified me!