I try not to be a prisoner of the moment. When you are on the high of just seeing a new movie its really easy to proclaim it your new favorite immediately, but I really like to sit and process what I saw and digest it before making such claims. IT was far and away my most anticipated movie ever. I just dont get that excited for new movies. Even movies I am really excited about, say one such as Spiderman: Homecoming, I dont count down the days until it comes out and get super excited as it comes closer. But IT was different. Ever since the first trailer dropped back in March I have been counting down the days. Ever since Mid August I rewatched the trailer 5-10 times a night, spent so much time on Youtube watching behind the scenes footage, and cast interviews and other things. I was jacked for this movie to say the least. There was no way it could live up to the hype I built up for it in my head. And somehow it did, dare I say it even exceeded my all too high expectations.
Before I get into what I thought about the movie, lets get into the phenomenon it is for the whole country right now. The success of this movie is completely unprecedented. IT made an astounding 51 million on its opening day. After just one day IT is already in the top ten highest grossing horror movies ever. 51 Million is a number for opening day usually reserved for Batman, Spiderman, Star Wars, and Pixar movies. Certainly not R rated horror movies. The average R rated horror movie makes about 5-6 million on its opening day. Again, IT made 51 Million. It had 16 showings on its opening day at the closest theater to my house. All 16 sold out. I kept track. This is like something weve never seen before. Truly, IT is only the second horror movie EVER to sell out theaters and destroy the box office like this. The first? The Exorcist. 44 years ago. Thats how long its been since weve seen something to this level for a horror movie. Its astounding. Update: IT is now projected to make $120 Million in its opening weekend. Spiderman Homecoming made $117 Million. An R rated horror movie is going to make more money in its opening weekend than a Spiderman movie, with Iron Man in it, released in the middle of summer, when the most people go to movies. To say this is groundbreaking would be an understatement.
Back to me. IT is a masterpiece. After having time to digest, there is no doubt this is one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. Probably top five, maybe top three. Why? First, they have incredible source material to work with. The story Stephen King came up with here is probably the greatest horror novel ever created. It's an incredible story, and so all they filmakers had to do was find a way to make it translate well to the big screen. And they did. As beloved as the 1990 version is to so many people, the simple fact is that overall it is pretty mediocre fare. This coming from somebody who loves it (I love many many horror movies that I can admit are mediocre from a quality standpoint.)Its so popular and iconic because Tim Curry is an incredible actor and completely carried the movie as Pennywise, but any scene without him is nothing special. Not to mention the source material is very neutered because its a made for TV movie so needed to be made for TV audiences.
For starters this movie has an R rating and it earns every bit of it. The opening scene where Georgie gets killed is graphic, disturbing, and even rattled me for a moment. Right off the bat they want you to know this isn't the cheesy 1990 version. The verbal exchange between Pennywise and Georgie lasts what seems like forever (Purposefully Im sure) as the tension ratchets up to an unbearable level. It's a scene I wont soon forget, a perfectly horrifying introduction too this version of Pennywise. But by no means is this movie all about the scares.
What I absolutely adored about this movie is the way it juggles so many different genres back and forth within its two hours. It shifts back and forth between comedy, horror, and emotionally poignant and touching scenes so often and so quickly it can be jarring, but just makes the movie all the better. One moment your doubled over in laughter and five seconds later the mood has shifted back to horror. Many movies are horror comedies (American Werewolf in London is a masterclass in horror comedy) but the comedy part of those movies always fall on the side of dark/black humor or over the top sight gags. IT employs straight up comedy, watching the kids banter back and forth might just be the highlight of the movie as a whole actually. It's hilarious and allows the movie to breathe rather than being a screamfest. Its safe to say the way this movie violently shifts back and forth from horror to comedy to lighthearted so many times is something we've never seen in a movie before, and may never see again.
Apart from the comedy and horror aspects, I touched upon the emotionally poignant part of this movie. The "losers club" completely steal the movie. Their incredible acting and the way they build up each of the characters with their own unique personalities and traits and mannerisms leads to something incredibly rare in horror movies: Characters you actually care about. IT is the rare horror movie where you hope with all your heart that no one dies, because you love the characters so damn much. I've heard many say that IT is more a coming of age movie than a horror movie and I completely agree. The movie is at its core about a group of outsiders who come together to defeat evil. Its a very relatable theme and once again these are traits that are just so rare in a horror movie and thats what makes it special.
In the end this movie will live in my heart as an all time favorite because of the tapestry of genres it weaves together to make a perfect whole. Its a movie about facing your fears and standing up for what you believe in. its a movie about friendship and sticking together through tough times. Its a movie that somehow perfectly pulls off being heartfelt, hilarious, and terrifying, sometimes all three within a span of five minutes. Because of that, IT is truly a movie like we've never seen before, and may never see again.
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