It’s common knowledge that I usually champion a good horror remake, but I have to say that nostalgia definitely got in the way where ‘IT’ is concerned.
I was NOT happy that a movie (Actually a Mini Series if we’re being picky) that I know inside out, was being messed with! When you know every word/sound/movement in a film, you feel slightly protective over it and this is a perfect example.
I actively avoided the trailer out of stubbornness – simply because I knew full well I would fall for it hook line and sinker and I didn’t want to cheat on John Ritter.
I wasn’t wrong – the second I saw the trailer I was desperate to see the movie.
So, after what felt like years :-| I finally got to see ‘IT’ on the day of its release (obvs) and I was anything but disappointed. It’s perfect.
I have zero complaints. Not one.
I do however have observations (defo not complaints) it was a teeny tiny bit too long but then maybe because I know the story so well, I just felt like I needed them to get to the point slightly quicker than they did.
Also, Bill Skarsgaard was AMAZING and so fucking scary but I have to say that his voice took some getting used to. During the first few lines he sounded like a combination of Evil Ed from the original 'Fright Night' and Scooby Doo, which sort of jarred me out of my creeped-out state for a few seconds. To be fair though, as soon as he bit Gerogie’s arm off, I wasn’t even thinking about his voice at all ha ha I was just feeling my already irrational fear of sewer grates growing more intense by the second.
In terms of film making, every aspect is above and beyond what it needs to be; some beautiful cinematography, which is usually slightly neglected when it comes to horror movies, locations and sets were flawless, costume and make up, especially SFX, were fantastic.
It may not be the desired effect but what I took away from this movie the most, was how funny it is and I don’t mean funny as in ‘Scary Movie’ stupid funny, I mean the quick wit you share with your friends ( I HATE the word Banter so I refuse to describe it as such). The one liners the kids came out with were brilliant, although I have to say that on more than one occasion, I was the only one laughing ha ha not sure what that says about me or my apparently juvenile and dirty sense of humour.
This brings me nicely to the kids. I can’t heap enough praise onto every single one of them; what a bunch of naturally gifted and charismatic young actors they are. Obviously anyone who is a fan of ‘Stranger Things’ knows exactly what Finn Wolfhard can do but the standout for me was, Jack Dylan Grazer who played the eternally paranoid, Eddie Kaspbrak. JDG turned what was a whiney negative nancy in the original, into an incredibly brave, funny and ultimately likeable character.
Obviously the script being good was important to this remakes success and when I saw who was writing it, I wasn’t altogether sure that they would pull it off but my god have they!!! With little experience in the horror genre or any genre for that matter, I was wondering how this would be handled and what we ended up actually getting is basically ‘The Goonies’ with a murder clown instead of Sloth. That’s certainly not a bad thing because the end product is an endearing and engaging story about friendship and loyalty, as well as being scary as fuck with just the right amount of violence and blood so that it doesn’t over step the mark into splatter horror territory.
This version stayed true-er to the source material but still left out most of the stuff the 1990 adaptation did but that’s certainly not to its detriment and also the time period was changed from 1960 to 1989, which made way for a supercool soundtrack. Supercool for us born in the early 80’s, anyway.
I am desensitized to horror of most forms unless its scary Demons you can’t see (See 'The conjuring 2' – I could cry that scares me so much) so when it comes to jump scares etc I can usually see them coming a mile off but I have to admit that I almost had another 'Insidious' moment in the cinema – I jumped out of my skin, more than I’m proud of that’s for sure.
In summary, it’s a lovingly made, beautifully acted movie that is so much more than just the scary clown.
I was NOT happy that a movie (Actually a Mini Series if we’re being picky) that I know inside out, was being messed with! When you know every word/sound/movement in a film, you feel slightly protective over it and this is a perfect example.
I actively avoided the trailer out of stubbornness – simply because I knew full well I would fall for it hook line and sinker and I didn’t want to cheat on John Ritter.
I wasn’t wrong – the second I saw the trailer I was desperate to see the movie.
So, after what felt like years :-| I finally got to see ‘IT’ on the day of its release (obvs) and I was anything but disappointed. It’s perfect.
I have zero complaints. Not one.
I do however have observations (defo not complaints) it was a teeny tiny bit too long but then maybe because I know the story so well, I just felt like I needed them to get to the point slightly quicker than they did.
Also, Bill Skarsgaard was AMAZING and so fucking scary but I have to say that his voice took some getting used to. During the first few lines he sounded like a combination of Evil Ed from the original 'Fright Night' and Scooby Doo, which sort of jarred me out of my creeped-out state for a few seconds. To be fair though, as soon as he bit Gerogie’s arm off, I wasn’t even thinking about his voice at all ha ha I was just feeling my already irrational fear of sewer grates growing more intense by the second.
In terms of film making, every aspect is above and beyond what it needs to be; some beautiful cinematography, which is usually slightly neglected when it comes to horror movies, locations and sets were flawless, costume and make up, especially SFX, were fantastic.
It may not be the desired effect but what I took away from this movie the most, was how funny it is and I don’t mean funny as in ‘Scary Movie’ stupid funny, I mean the quick wit you share with your friends ( I HATE the word Banter so I refuse to describe it as such). The one liners the kids came out with were brilliant, although I have to say that on more than one occasion, I was the only one laughing ha ha not sure what that says about me or my apparently juvenile and dirty sense of humour.
This brings me nicely to the kids. I can’t heap enough praise onto every single one of them; what a bunch of naturally gifted and charismatic young actors they are. Obviously anyone who is a fan of ‘Stranger Things’ knows exactly what Finn Wolfhard can do but the standout for me was, Jack Dylan Grazer who played the eternally paranoid, Eddie Kaspbrak. JDG turned what was a whiney negative nancy in the original, into an incredibly brave, funny and ultimately likeable character.
Obviously the script being good was important to this remakes success and when I saw who was writing it, I wasn’t altogether sure that they would pull it off but my god have they!!! With little experience in the horror genre or any genre for that matter, I was wondering how this would be handled and what we ended up actually getting is basically ‘The Goonies’ with a murder clown instead of Sloth. That’s certainly not a bad thing because the end product is an endearing and engaging story about friendship and loyalty, as well as being scary as fuck with just the right amount of violence and blood so that it doesn’t over step the mark into splatter horror territory.
This version stayed true-er to the source material but still left out most of the stuff the 1990 adaptation did but that’s certainly not to its detriment and also the time period was changed from 1960 to 1989, which made way for a supercool soundtrack. Supercool for us born in the early 80’s, anyway.
I am desensitized to horror of most forms unless its scary Demons you can’t see (See 'The conjuring 2' – I could cry that scares me so much) so when it comes to jump scares etc I can usually see them coming a mile off but I have to admit that I almost had another 'Insidious' moment in the cinema – I jumped out of my skin, more than I’m proud of that’s for sure.
In summary, it’s a lovingly made, beautifully acted movie that is so much more than just the scary clown.