TCTTS said:
Never read the book, but saw the miniseries back in the day. That said, the only things I could remember from it where Pennywise, two timelines, and a stuttering kid/adult.
I know we are getting a sequel.Brian Earl Spilner said:
I think we're getting a sequel.
TCTTS said:
TCTTS said:
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.
GiveEmHellBill said:
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.
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.SkiMo said:
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?
That makes sense. I guess if I thought about it a little harder I could have figured it out. haha.Ag13 said: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.SkiMo said:
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:That makes sense. I guess if I thought about it a little harder I could have figured it out. haha.Ag13 said: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.SkiMo said:
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?
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.M.C. Swag said:
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.
agree. the rest of the book is flat out amazing. the Patrick Hockstetter chapter is probably King at his absolute best.free_mhayden said:
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.