ES Review - Pennywise Returns
The time has finally come, IT has been released in German cinemas! As an ardent horror fan, I immediately rushed to the cinema and saw the long-awaited Stephen King classic for myself.
When fear haunts you
A small group of young outsiders have to deal with bullying, racism, slander and other problems. To make matters worse, more and more children suddenly start disappearing in the small, tranquil town of Derry in the state of Maine. In addition to terrible hauntings that could be a clue as to where all the people have gone, a fruit-feeding clown keeps appearing. The children then decide to find out what IT could be...
27 years later...
No horror film has been as eagerly awaited in recent years as IT . On the one hand, this may be because this cult horror figure has not yet been completely exploited with 1,000 remakes, and on the other hand because of the expressive trailer, which was immediately convincing.
Even though you wouldn't want to meet Tim Curry as Pennywise at night, unlike Bill Skarsgård he can pack up. His performance symbolizes the fascination of horror. He scares you, but you can't look away. That's why it's all the more surprising that Bill is making his debut in American film with this role. He is thus on a par with his famous father ( Stellan Skarsgård ) and brothers ( Alexander & Gustaf Skarsgård ).
The film has actually been in production since 2009 and has had to go through a lot of team changes and changes, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. The story has very good storytelling and never seems superficial. As a viewer, the children's fear is conveyed to you - of course also because of the excellent acting of the young protagonists - in such a way that it was very understandable and almost tangible. The threats posed by the adults were also interesting, so there was not just one source of threat.
Technically, the film was also flawless and was particularly convincing due to its authentic 80s flair, solid effects and damn good and at times crazy camera work. In the latter, nothing was left to chance and Chung Chung-Hoon , who had already done a great job on Oldboy , was hired.
An extremely successful film
My personal opinion of the film is based purely on the new IT film and is not compared to the book or the two-part TV series from 1990. I fell asleep during the latter. Sorry Tim!
First of all, I have to say that I have always had a love for horror films, which is often disappointed. Often the expectations are too high, but the films are too weak in terms of story and production. That's what happened to me with most Stephen King films.
The film once again didn't contain the desired amount of horror, but I still loved it! The atmosphere and storytelling were conveyed in a high quality and were fun to watch. The mixture of coming of age and humor was just right for my taste. But the most fascinating thing was the clown himself, who sometimes made me not know whether to laugh or cry in fear.
The only thing I would have liked - besides more horror - would be a more detailed explanation of where Pennywise comes from. But after a quick research, I now know why the topic wasn't covered in detail in the film. Google it yourself...
I also have to honestly say that all the trailers gave away a lot of things in the film.
Normally I'm not a big fan of Stephen King . He's kind of the McDonalds of the horror genre and he drowns out smaller authors with his name. But I think it's time for me to pick up a book by him and read IT .
A little fact on the curb
The director and producers of IT are making no secret of it, so it's legitimate to mention that there will be a second part. There are two stories in the book, one for the children and one for the adults. So we can stay excited!
I hope you all enjoy this film and let Pennywise cast his spell over you!
Francy
