Was that quarry they jumped from the same location from Stranger Things?

Don't have much of a problem with TCTTS review as I think it reads like a review from most adults that haven't actually read the source material. I felt like what connection I did have with the movie, I had because of the book. Seeing the Paul Bunyan statue, the kissing bridge, etc... All things that anyone who didn't read the novel isn't going to get anything out of and the "nods" they give to the book readers likely come off as forced dialogue to anyone who didn't read (like Henry going out of his way to point out that they were on the kissing bridge).

I think it was a competently done movie, which is a pretty significant achievement for a King film.

The more I think about it, while I think the kids did a competent acting job... The 90s miniseries Part 1 with the kids I felt captured their individual stories much better. In the miniseries it's a pretty big deal with Eddie finds out about the placebos because of the development they've done with his character in regards to being sick, what his mom will and won't let him do, etc... In the movie, it's just kind of thrown in their matter-of-factly.

The entire 90's miniseries wasn't as bad as people are now trying to make it out to be -- the first half was actually very well done, it was the second half with the adults that was so bad.

TCTTS said:

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Cosmic turtle!

I think we're getting a sequel.

TCTTS said:

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Obviously talking a long ways away (since it would certainly come after It Chapter 2), but I'd be interested in knowing what kind of rights WB actually has... Not saying he wouldn't for the right price, but I very much doubt King has already handed over the keys to Warner Bros to do whatever they please with his characters.

Saw it Friday. Best horror movie that I've seen in I don't know how long.

TCTTS said:

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Dear lord... let's kill the mystery.

Saw it and loved it. Loved that there was no attempt at "humor" or "entertainment" from the Pennywise sequences. He was there to f-ing scare you and I loved that.

Here is my one and really only nitpick of the film:

I got so frustrated with the kids saying "it can't hurt us if we stick together!"

Then seconds later "oooh, look! Something shiny!" <wanders away from group>

Question for those who've read the book: after running it off and the bodies float back down the the ground....did they go get the police to recover the bodies? It seems like all those parents would have appreciated the closure.

Red Letter Media does their review of both the original TV version and the current movie. For those of you not familiar with RLM they normally hate everything and will do reviews that are longer than the movie. The reviews are often brilliantly funny (not this time though). They did the star wars prequel reviews that got millions of hits.

The scene form the movie doesn't happen in the book. I believe they maybe see a decomposed body or two while going into the sewers (chased down there by Henry and his gang, not down there purposely to find It) but they never see the kids floating... nor does Bev see the deadlights and float.

That's part of why I find the book so superior -- they are kids and they didn't have any grand plan, it was just a normal day at the end of summer and things just... happened... Bev's dad went nuts and Henry and his gang found the losers at just the right time. The best part of it all was how the losers noticed that the the entire town just seemed empty.

Bill confronts It in what is deemed the "macroverse" (somewhere either inside their respective minds or outside the entire universe) and wounds it severely but doesn't kill It -- which is why it returns 27 years later when they are adults.

Bowers sees the deadlights while in the sewers, goes nuts, and is blamed for all the child killings.

TCTTS said:

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I'll take the bait.

While not anywhere near "one of the worst movies I've ever paid to see in adulthood," I thought it was an extremely average movie at best. In fact, I was hoping/thinking it was essentially over after the initial encounter with Pennywise at the abandoned house, but once it became apparent that we still had an entire third act to go, I started to dread being in the theater for another 20+ minutes. It was just... not engaging at all. Funny at times and kind of charming in its own weird way, but overall, for whatever reason, I just felt a disconnect from everything that was unfolding.

Every frame, every plot point, every character felt like something we've seen a thousand times before. And please, I've more than reached my nostalgia quota of small-town-'80s-kids-on-bikes, so after Stranger Things, can we seriously retire this trope for at least a decade or so? The kids' performances themselves were fine/good - the girl, in particular, was great - but man, the adults in this movie were not only bad actors, but such sh*tty characters as well. I realize that's kind of the point, but they weren't even interestingly sh*tty, just straight up cliched sh*tty. And speaking of cliched, that main bully kid had to have been one of the most over-the-top '80s high school bullies I've ever seen. He wasn't just an assh*le, he was a raving lunatic psycho who's actions continually felt so needlessly and incredibly extreme. Sorry, but a jerk cop dad isn't enough to warrant the sheer terror that kid was unleashing all over town. That, and again, we've seen that basic character type a gazillion times before and they brought nothing new to it save for his unwarranted super psycho-ness.

I don't know, I guess a big part of it was that I'm just continually underwhelmed by modern horror movies in general. Every jump scare nowadays is like this overly choreographed, effects-heavy *sequence* that is beyond telegraphed both in the way it's executed and especially in the music. The most effective/creepy scene BY FAR was the opening gutter scene with Pennywise - because it was so simple - but I thought everything else scare-wise was downhill from there. Are people really frightened by this sh*t? I just don't get it. These movies to me are like bad funhouse rides were you can anticipate every single scare around every single corner. It all just feels so controlled and guided to the point where you never are allowed a sense of true dread or shock. That, and I've said this before, but the ghosts/demons/monsters in these movies who are trying so desperately to BE scary just simply aren't. Half the time you can't help but imagine all the planning, theatrics, and choreography these entities have to go through just to *****with some kids and you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. It just feels so desperate.

I will say that the final act ended up being better than I thought - I can always appreciate a good, climactic set piece, which that definitely was - but all the weird beats leading up to it (WTF was up with that random cleaning-up-the-blood-in-the-bathroom sequence?) just didn't work for me. To the point where I have absolutely no desire to watch a sequel with these characters as adults. Then again, at least they won't be on ****ing bikes, riding by movie marquees with whatever wink-wink "classic" movies showing, going to arcades, and communicating via talkie-talkies. Seriously, I used to LOVE that stuff in movies - I was that kid doing all that exact same stuff in the '80s - but now I'm almost actively repulsed by it. Enough already.

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Sums up my thoughts pretty well and I read the book. Movie was average at best.

GiveEmHellBill said:

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Question for those who've read the book: after running it off and the bodies float back down the the ground....did they go get the police to recover the bodies? It seems like all those parents would have appreciated the closure.

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In the book, Eddie is really good with directions. After the kids "defeat" It, they try to leave, but Eddie can't find their way out. They also start to lose their "connection" with each other and worry they'll never leave. Beverly, after being creeped out by her dad, gets an idea to do the most "adult" thing she can think of to keep them close together. There's a kid orgy / gangbang, and they find their way out.

I finished the book a few months ago, but it's surebthere are some details I'm leaving out.

SK is good when he's good....but he's really bad when he's bad. That gangbang scene...wtf man?

I personally thought the book was below average and the movie did a better job of adapting the interesting aspects. I'm actually shocked at the number of people who not only like the book, but actually re-read it.

That said, the movie was ok. Too cliched to be great, but did everything fairly competently. Thought they spent too much time showing the children's individual encounters and could have spent a bit more time focusing on their relationships with their families.

It did enough to make me want to see Ch. 2. Thought Pennywise was pretty good, especially with his dialogue.

Saw this yesterday and had a question. Let me preface this by saying that I haven't read the book and remember pretty much nothing from the original movie. I'll also say that I went into the movie with low expectations and thinking it was going to be super cheesy. But I loved it!

With that said, what was up with the old woman in the beginning that saw Georgie and did nothing? Was she in the book? Original movie?

SkiMo said:

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Saw this yesterday and had a question. Let me preface this by saying that I haven't read the book and remember pretty much nothing from the original movie. I'll also say that I went into the movie with low expectations and thinking it was going to be super cheesy. But I loved it!

With that said, what was up with the old woman in the beginning that saw Georgie and did nothing? Was she in the book? Original movie?

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That theme is present throughout the book. It's representing that the whole town is essentially evil. It happens again in the movie when one of the kids is getting beat up and the old couple drives by and does nothing, and then there is a balloon in the back of their car. I don't remember if that was as pronounced in the miniseries (it's been a while) but it was a pretty big aspect of the book to make the kids feel helpless.

Ag13 said:

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SkiMo said:

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Saw this yesterday and had a question. Let me preface this by saying that I haven't read the book and remember pretty much nothing from the original movie. I'll also say that I went into the movie with low expectations and thinking it was going to be super cheesy. But I loved it!

With that said, what was up with the old woman in the beginning that saw Georgie and did nothing? Was she in the book? Original movie?

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That theme is present throughout the book. It's representing that the whole town is essentially evil. It happens again in the movie when one of the kids is getting beat up and the old couple drives by and does nothing, and then there is a balloon in the back of their car. I don't remember if that was as pronounced in the miniseries (it's been a while) but it was a pretty big aspect of the book to make the kids feel helpless.

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That makes sense. I guess if I thought about it a little harder I could have figured it out. haha.

Dr. Watson said:

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TCTTS said:

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Cosmic turtle!

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it's turtles all the way down

SkiMo said:

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Ag13 said:

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SkiMo said:

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Saw this yesterday and had a question. Let me preface this by saying that I haven't read the book and remember pretty much nothing from the original movie. I'll also say that I went into the movie with low expectations and thinking it was going to be super cheesy. But I loved it!

With that said, what was up with the old woman in the beginning that saw Georgie and did nothing? Was she in the book? Original movie?

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That theme is present throughout the book. It's representing that the whole town is essentially evil. It happens again in the movie when one of the kids is getting beat up and the old couple drives by and does nothing, and then there is a balloon in the back of their car. I don't remember if that was as pronounced in the miniseries (it's been a while) but it was a pretty big aspect of the book to make the kids feel helpless.

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That makes sense. I guess if I thought about it a little harder I could have figured it out. haha.

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The kids discuss it in the miniseries- Bev recalls a scene where Bowers was trying to hurt her and "old man so and so" came outside and she thought he was going to do something and instead he just walked back inside.

It's not so much the people of the town being evil, it's that the people of the town for so long have turned a blind eye to the bad things (racism, abuse, gay-bashing) that evil was able to gestate and thrive there.

Among other things it's pointing out that the picture perfect "small town America" had some really bad things going on, people just pretended it wasn't there.

M.C. Swag said:

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I personally thought the book was below average and the movie did a better job of adapting the interesting aspects. I'm actually shocked at the number of people who not only like the book, but actually re-read it.

That said, the movie was ok. Too cliched to be great, but did everything fairly competently. Thought they spent too much time showing the children's individual encounters and could have spent a bit more time focusing on their relationships with their families.

It did enough to make me want to see Ch. 2. Thought Pennywise was pretty good, especially with his dialogue.

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I realize it's totally subjective and opinion, but I have a hard time understanding how anyone remotely interested in the genre doesn't like the book. It's in my top five all time, and I've read it probably four times.

To each his own I guess.

The genre is right up my alley. Love a good monster story, especially one with elements of sci-fi/fantasy, but IT was....just off. I was never a SK guy to begin with, so i think it was mostly a conflict of writing style/structure. I will give SK credit, he knows how to setup an intriguing premise. It's the execution, i feel like was lacking. I think he tried to do too much with IT in general (Macroverse, psychic dueling, kid orgy) and the ending left much too be desired imo.

free_mhayden said:

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Macroverse, psychic dueling, kid orgy were all pretty much the ending -- something SK notoriously struggles with.

To each his own, but I don't think the last 100 pages of crap offsets the first 1000 pages of incredibly fleshed out story.

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agree. the rest of the book is flat out amazing. the Patrick Hockstetter chapter is probably King at his absolute best.

Dr. Watson said:

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TCTTS said:

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Cosmic turtle!

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Lovecraftian entity crashes on earth. That's your origin story. Stupid idea.

TCTTS said:

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ugh. I have visions of them now trying to make this a trilogy,......

There's gonna be so many It's. I can't wait for the names:

It Happens

It Hits The Fan

Holy It!

Pennyrise (prequel obviously)