ElBoxyBrown
Banned
IT (2017) IOTI There's peanuts, cotton candy, hot dogs, annnnnnnd - SPOILERS
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IT - Official Trailer 1
- Thread starter Theorry
- Start date
StrongBelwas
Banned
Got tickets to a midnight screening on Thursday, cannot wait!
reelbigtink
Member
IT |OT| TO TI
It doesn't make any sense thematically but look at it
It doesn't make any sense thematically but look at it
...This movie has to do well now! Also, best Stephen King movie?=O
More_Badass
Member
I think they're going to bolster the psychological thriller aspect.
Bev escaping Tom, and him chasing her to Derry, and Henry breaking out and terrorizing the group
MosquitoSmasher
Member
Yeah but for a while now we've had some shitty movies too so I guess it's not saying all that much yet. But I have a feeling this one is worth it.
Galactic Specter
Member
IT |OT| Even the Losers, Get Lucky Sometime
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Shawshank Redemption?
il Diavolo
Banned
OT |IT|
Saucycarpdog
Member
|OT| Welcome back b-b-b-billy boy
|OT| A massive insult to the Lego timeline
|OT| A massive insult to the Lego timeline
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Fixed.
Just got back from seeing an advance screening of this in London. Disclaimer: I have previously seen the mini series but not read the book. I guess you guys are going to want some context for my opinions, so my favourite horror film is Rosemary's Baby with The Shining a close second. Not generally a fan of modern Hollywood horror and, for example, disliked both Insidious and The Conjuring which I think are shallow, boring, derivative exercises in jump scares and not much else.
IT is a very busy film and it's not always a successful one. Its strengths and weaknesses are not at all what I expected, and it's broadly entertaining but ultimately a bit disappointing.
I guess I'll start by saying that I was surprised by how much of a comedy (intentional) it is. This is something that was not conveyed by the miniseries at all outside of Tim Curry's appearances and I have no idea if it's the case in the book, but large chunks of the film are basically a comedy with horror interludes. There were a lot of laughs at the screening I was at, and generally the film juggles the comedy and horror elements well, occasionally in the same scene, without it feeling tonally jarring. There were one or two moments where I thought they got it wrong and the contrast in tone from scene to scene was just too much, but on the whole it's pulled off well - no mean feat.
Much of the humour comes during the lengthy sections of the movie where the kids bond and form relationships. This is solidly done and the child actors are uniformly excellent, although a couple of them felt very underused by the end. The black kid and the Jewish kid (can't remember their names) didn't really feel like they had much to do compared to the rest of them.
So, breaking it down you have a good comedy and a solid coming of age/bonding story. What about the horror? Sadly, this is the weakest element of the movie by far. Please dispense of any notions that this is in any way a subtle or particularly psychological horror movie. It has its moments for sure but for the most part it is loud, brash, action packed, stuffed full of mediocre CGI, guilty of showing way too much on screen and features a laughable amount of shots of Pennywise dashing at the screen.
There are a few really good set-pieces, I won't lie. They're set-pieces in the modern Hollywood horror movie vein but they're gripping ones. There are just as many bad ones though. One in particular I thought was laughable, and there are numerous times when there is a solid build-up but the end of the scene is fluffed. The Georgie scene at the beginning is a great example of this sadly. The payoff does not live up to the great build-up at all.
With regards to Derry and its inhabitants, it does a better job trying to convey the complexity of what is wrong at the heart of the town than the miniseries but it still doesn't feel quite there. Maybe it's a nearly impossible task for a two and a bit hour movie to be honest. The bullies and Beverly's dad are, unsurprisingly, way nastier and more disturbing than the miniseries and a couple of other characters like another parent and the pharmacist get screen time to show how fucked up the town is. You also get some brief exposition about the town's history from the fat kid who essentially turns into a clunky exposition machine when the writers demand it.
The climax of the movie is an overstuffed, underwhelming, unscary turkey which left me feeling flat and disappointed just as the movie was ending. Didn't work for me at all and I think it is potentially one of the few areas where the TV miniseries is better; the climax to part 1 of the miniseries is more restrained, less silly and less action orientated, even if that was only due to budget constraints, and I think it works better for it.
I can't possibly end my thoughts without talking about the performance of Pennywise. It's very good, bouncing between eccentric humour and genuine menace with aplomb, but his appearances are almost too sparing. Half the time he does appear he's jumping around or running at the camera anyway, so the amount of actual dialogue he has in the whole movie is surprisingly low, which feels slightly disappointing given how well he delivers what he does have.
As you can see, my overall feelings are mixed leaning towards good. The 2 hours 15 minutes flew by, I'll give them that. It just doesn't all work, some of the horror is weak or silly, and by the end the movie just feels like it hasn't quite cohered into a satisfying whole so much as a series of vignettes of varying quality.
IT is a very busy film and it's not always a successful one. Its strengths and weaknesses are not at all what I expected, and it's broadly entertaining but ultimately a bit disappointing.
I guess I'll start by saying that I was surprised by how much of a comedy (intentional) it is. This is something that was not conveyed by the miniseries at all outside of Tim Curry's appearances and I have no idea if it's the case in the book, but large chunks of the film are basically a comedy with horror interludes. There were a lot of laughs at the screening I was at, and generally the film juggles the comedy and horror elements well, occasionally in the same scene, without it feeling tonally jarring. There were one or two moments where I thought they got it wrong and the contrast in tone from scene to scene was just too much, but on the whole it's pulled off well - no mean feat.
Much of the humour comes during the lengthy sections of the movie where the kids bond and form relationships. This is solidly done and the child actors are uniformly excellent, although a couple of them felt very underused by the end. The black kid and the Jewish kid (can't remember their names) didn't really feel like they had much to do compared to the rest of them.
So, breaking it down you have a good comedy and a solid coming of age/bonding story. What about the horror? Sadly, this is the weakest element of the movie by far. Please dispense of any notions that this is in any way a subtle or particularly psychological horror movie. It has its moments for sure but for the most part it is loud, brash, action packed, stuffed full of mediocre CGI, guilty of showing way too much on screen and features a laughable amount of shots of Pennywise dashing at the screen.
There are a few really good set-pieces, I won't lie. They're set-pieces in the modern Hollywood horror movie vein but they're gripping ones. There are just as many bad ones though. One in particular I thought was laughable, and there are numerous times when there is a solid build-up but the end of the scene is fluffed. The Georgie scene at the beginning is a great example of this sadly. The payoff does not live up to the great build-up at all.
With regards to Derry and its inhabitants, it does a better job trying to convey the complexity of what is wrong at the heart of the town than the miniseries but it still doesn't feel quite there. Maybe it's a nearly impossible task for a two and a bit hour movie to be honest. The bullies and Beverly's dad are, unsurprisingly, way nastier and more disturbing than the miniseries and a couple of other characters like another parent and the pharmacist get screen time to show how fucked up the town is. You also get some brief exposition about the town's history from the fat kid who essentially turns into a clunky exposition machine when the writers demand it.
The climax of the movie is an overstuffed, underwhelming, unscary turkey which left me feeling flat and disappointed just as the movie was ending. Didn't work for me at all and I think it is potentially one of the few areas where the TV miniseries is better; the climax to part 1 of the miniseries is more restrained, less silly and less action orientated, even if that was only due to budget constraints, and I think it works better for it.
I can't possibly end my thoughts without talking about the performance of Pennywise. It's very good, bouncing between eccentric humour and genuine menace with aplomb, but his appearances are almost too sparing. Half the time he does appear he's jumping around or running at the camera anyway, so the amount of actual dialogue he has in the whole movie is surprisingly low, which feels slightly disappointing given how well he delivers what he does have.
As you can see, my overall feelings are mixed leaning towards good. The 2 hours 15 minutes flew by, I'll give them that. It just doesn't all work, some of the horror is weak or silly, and by the end the movie just feels like it hasn't quite cohered into a satisfying whole so much as a series of vignettes of varying quality.
Spieler Eins
Member
I don't care about coming off age stories, so it's disappointing to hear that the horror is apparently as bland as the trailers and leak made it look like.
Guess I'm out.
Is it the
Bev bathroom scene
Hmmm.
I'm really disappointed they dialed back the cosmic horror part as I think that could have been a great way of ending it.
Btw (possible big spoiler)
does Henry die in this? Seems like a really bizarre change.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I mean, why would I enter the film expecting that in the first place.
It's an adaptation of Stephen King's "IT".
It is a book that is neither subtle, or all that "psychological."
People get shook easy.
Discotheque
Banned
Movie looks entertaining but lol I have a really hard time believing (or more seeing myself agreeing with) that statement
BreezyLimbo
Banned
The movie looks unique, if it manages to blend the coming of age and horror elements together well.
Reading the book, I always felt the stronger themes in it were about a group of kids trying to fit in.
Reading the book, I always felt the stronger themes in it were about a group of kids trying to fit in.
It could still be better than a lot of Stephen King movies at least.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
IT |OT| We all post in here
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Preorder cancelled.
Random Human
They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
I'm way more excited about the coming of age aspect than the horror parts so this sounds good to me. Stranger Things The Movie, give it to me.
Yeah, the kids run ins with Pennywise and Its forms were often sudden and gruesome - not psychological. As More_Badass said, there's material in the adult portion of the story to go that route. The kids portion of the book is about their fears realized.
Though Pennywise bum-rushing the camera more than once is not what I had in mind there, either. We'll see.
Though Pennywise bum-rushing the camera more than once is not what I had in mind there, either. We'll see.
RuinerPrime
Member
I'll never understand peoples love of the mini series. Super hyped for this and got my ticket for this Thursday and got about 8 hours left on the audio book. Hyped.
Should have been filmed in 3D.
More_Badass
Member
To be fair, even The Witch had its one quick-turn-to-the-screen jump scare
As long as this has less jump scares than normal, and also has some creeping dread parts and unsettling imagery, I'll be satisfied
Also are any of the jump scares cheap (ie the typical cat fake-out, or really a friend appearing from behind, etc)?
RuinerPrime
Member
Carrie?
Shawshank Redemption?
Misery?
The Green Mile?
Stand by Me?
Pet Sematary?
The Shining (tho super loose)
I'll even throw in The Mist
Here's the thing though. When it comes to the actual horror, the miniseries is often more restrained and subtle than the movie. Much of the horror in this movie is a (poor) CGI fest (seriously, watch it and tell me that the Jewish kid's fear is anything other than ridiculous looking) and there is a LOT of action and noise. There are modern Hollywood horror movie traits written all over this and I expected more.
I didn't see Mama but I'm not convinced this director is particularly great at directing horror. Based on this evidence I'd say he's much more natural working with comedy than with horror.
Yeah like we talked about before, if the jump scares are earned (as was the one or two in The Witch) then it's fine. In that post I was more lamenting seeing the same jump scare a few times. (Annabelle: Creation did this and was so bad.)
Sho_Nuff82
Member
My local AMC Imax is sold out Friday night.
This one is gonna be big...
This one is gonna be big...
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
I didn't see it until much later in life and thought it was MST3K-tier bad.
Hyped for this though.
In a sea of mediocre to bad ones those are the ones that stand out for being good Stephen King movies.
RuinerPrime
Member
When it comes to the actual horror, the miniseries is often more restrained and subtle than the movie
But there is no horror in the miniseries, its just campy & silly. And not at all subtle lol
You do speak the truth. People seem to forget about the good and even the great ones. Misery won an Oscar even. O.O
But there is no horror in the miniseries, its just campy & silly. And not at all subtle lol
You do speak the truth. People seem to forget about the good and even the great ones. Misery won an Oscar even. O.O
Degenerate
Member
Pennywise........why did you guys make me remember?
Sho_Nuff82
Member
8 films, 4 of which make quite a few GOAT lists, is pretty damn good for any author.
Though I found the mini-series entertaining after finally seeing it, it seemed rather tame even without actually reading the book (was familiar with the material and able to keep track of things they changed or otherwise omitted, though). If I were to be blunt, I'd say it reminded me more of the sort of adaptation that teachers would show to their classes in junior high after students had read a book.
Wow, already? That's crazy!
Cipher Peon
Banned
I'm very excited about It, but I have significant doubts as to whether I'll enjoy it anywhere near as much as Misery.
TheTylerRob
Member
Stan and Mike getting less screen time makes sense because of the book's structure.
I can't recall any fake-outs like that. My issue with the horror isn't really the jump scares, of which there actually aren't many, it's the amount of action and CGI and Pennywise running towards the camera.
The Georgie scene is by far the tensest and slowest burn scene in the movie.
Doctor Decimate
Member
i for one am upset the movie about the demon clown thing that eats children is not very subtle or psychological
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Yeah, but the miniseries is fucking shit.
Like, terrible.
I'd imagine the restraint and "subtlety" being praised is more like bad direction and budget constraints. The Miniseries is almost completely unfrightening no matter what it tries, and most of what it tries is ineptly executed.
Of course you saw "modern Horror traits," it's a modern horror movie. The question is whether they did them well.
(I also don't think obvious CGI is an automatic negative, either, any more than I think obvious puppetry or makeup work is an automatic negative)
Unearned jump scares? That's gonna be a problem.
Gaudy set-pieces that don't justify their existence? Gonna be a problem
Botched payoffs to quality setups? Absolutely gonna be a problem.
But if what makes those payoffs "botched" is not much more than "I spotted the CGI" and "It wasn't like it was in the miniseries," then there's a decent chance our definitions of "botched" aren't gonna line up.
I'll find out tomorrow night!
elrechazado
Banned
The GOAT Maximum Overdrive
Galactic Specter
Member
Especially for Mike who's essentially the main character of the adults part of the book.