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Stephen King's IT |OT| He thrusts his fists and then he posts (Unmarked spoilers)

teiresias

Member
The thing is, considering IT is basically the evil counterpart of a being that created our universe, IT should have been way more powerful than Freddy, who is basically just a random monster. But it doesn't feel like that way, is it, especially IT as it's depicted in this movie.

For a cosmic being that existed before creation and the nemesis of a universe-creating entity. IT seems so weak in here.

I mean, It claims to be a peer and equal of Maturin sure, but is that its own self delusion?
 

AoM

Member
Got the chance to see this today. I really liked it. The biggest strength is definitely the kids and their group dynamic. I do wish we had gotten to see more of their home lives, but it makes sense they wanted to focus on as few adults as possible. Some bulleted thoughts:

- The placebo/gazebo line from Eddie is great, but the funniest for me was probably the "How do you amputate a waist?!"
- Skarsgård was pretty good, but some of the CGI was a little out-of-place at times. Also, when his hair is pulled up, I don't think I can ever find his giant forehead not funny, which sort of takes away from his intended menace.
- After Beverly's dad attacks her, given It's sudden appearance, are we to assume that he drove him to that?
- Once Ben kissed Beverly, for a second, I thought all the boys were going to do so as well, as a sort of stand-in for the group orgy (though there that was after they defeated It).
- The scene where they defeat It was pretty comical, but I really enjoyed most of those scenes in the sewer.
 
Just got back from 3rd viewing. I think that will be my final one. The lack of true Pennywise confrontations where they talk back-and-forth really sucks. And that final confrontation is just...weak. I love it up until Pennywise starts changing shapes partway. Still confused why Pennywise starts repeating Bill's "he thrusts his fists..." and he even stutters. And his last line "fear" is damn weak. That whole movie I really love until that final minute of their fight. Bill telling Pennywise he is afraid really makes me roll my eyes too.

Not super excited for an extended cut if we just get more of the kids being funny. And the Stan speech sounds bad if you consider it comes after the kids all fold like lawn chairs after Neibolt and refuse to do anything about It...then he scolds the town/congregation? Blech.

Can't wait for this to come out on bluray.
 

Ahasverus

Member
I'm gonna say I loved the movie, but it had a weak part: The Clown.

Everything surrounding It was fantastic, the build ups to his appareances were very good and the mythos was well explained, but whenever the clown appeared all tension disappeared, and that's because his power was not well explained.

What are his limits? Why does he seem so powerful sometimes and others so frail? Why can't he just transform into a machine gun and kill the kids? Why is he so damn slow to kill them?

Yes, yes, he toys with them, but when he is threatened he still looks and acts like a human clown, not an abomination.

The kids were all fantastic, it's probably the strongest children cast ever put to film, their characterization was good, except for the black guy who is just too /there/ he could have easily been fused with other kid. They carried the film no doubt.

The guy playing the clown, well, it was less of a Jack Nicholson to Heath Ledger jump and more like a Jack Nicholson to Jared Leto. You can feel he's trying the damnest to impress, but he doesn't, it's too predictable, too sterile.

8/10. A must watch imo, but don't go see it for the clown.
 

Surfinn

Member
Just got back from a viewing. Here are some random thoughts:

Well, I was a little let down, to be honest. The film wasn't really that scary and didn't have a whole lot of standout moments, for me. I actually thought the best moments in the film were when the kids were just hanging out and shooting the shit. That scene where they all jump off the cliff and are playing in the water was the best in the entire film, I thought. It just felt so natural and the cinematography was on point. You want them to have that moment after all the shit they've been through.

The kids and their interactions were pretty good. Some very funny moments. I liked Bev and the moments she shared with the other guys.

The CGI was surprisingly great, I thought, even when it went full on CGI. I feel like this is an area that can easily get carried away in this genre and look like shit, but that wasn't the case here.

I thought it was an average film, but I would see it again. Pretty passable stuff, but nothing really bad. A few shining moments.

I give it a solid 7/10 after the first viewing. I'll probably see it again on Monday (THANK YOU MOVIEPASS)

Amy Adams for Bev please.

I like this guy
 
The thing is, considering IT is basically the evil counterpart of a being that created our universe, IT should have been way more powerful than Freddy, who is basically just a random monster. But it doesn't feel like that way, is it, especially IT as it's depicted in this movie.

For a cosmic being that existed before creation and the nemesis of a universe-creating entity. IT seems so weak in here.

I think It closely resembles Patrick Hockstetter in a few ways:
1. Both exist in their own bubble made up of their own perception of existence.
2. Both are wrong regarding their perception, and they are not as significant as they believe themselves to be.
3. Both feel threatened with the concept of their perception being wrong, especially in the existence of "others" equally or MORE powerful than themselves.
4. Both understand there are rules they must follow, regardless of themselves believing they are "powerful" and significant beings.

It is powerful, but isn't as powerful as one would think.
It's transformations are powered by the fears of It's victims, but It also shares the weakness of whatever form he chooses to take. In the book, particularly, Pennywise is very talky, but he doesn't talk much, if any, in some of his more monstrous forms simply because those forms don't ALLOW speech. As a werewolf, he most he can get out is rough, growl-like speech that sounds more like a beast pretending to talk than an actual person speaking. As a giant bird or the Crawling Eye, he can't speak at all. In the book, the whole "This is battery acid..." part happened against the Crawling Eye, which the inhaler's mist caused the eye to bubble and corrode, and Eddie basically told the other Losers to kick the shit out of it because "It was JUST a fuckin EYE!". It manifested that form because Richie saw it as that (sorta like he saw it as the Werewolf in Neibolt Street, so it locked into that form). As soon as it locked into that form, It is bound by that form until it retreats.
This was covered in the book, though, not really in the movie.

I mean, It claims to be a peer and equal of Maturin sure, but is that its own self delusion?

Kinda like that line "You only see what you mind allows you to see.", as applies to It. It only sees in its perception of the world and universe. It only knows what it believes is existence, that
It and the Turtle are the only beings somewhat on par with each other, and that the people of Earth are helpless, easy prey. When this perception is broken and It starts to wonder if there is an "Other", a being MORE powerful than itself, it starts to feel uneasy. It's million year belief of it's "truth" has been shattered. The fact that the Losers can fight and HURT It also shatters this delusion. To the point that, at the end, it is pleading with Bill to let it live. It basically got the rug pulled from underneath it.
 

Surfinn

Member
Am I the only one who heard fucking Frank Oz's voice coming out of Pennywise's mouth in the beginning of the movie?

Was not expecting it. I kinda liked the idea of an evil Yoda clown.

Thought Pennywise was pretty awesome and had some truly menacing scenes
 

Ahasverus

Member
It is powerful, but isn't as powerful as one would think.
It's transformations are powered by the fears of It's victims, but It also shares the weakness of whatever form he chooses to take. In the book, particularly, Pennywise is very talky, but he doesn't talk much, if any, in some of his more monstrous forms simply because those forms don't ALLOW speech. As a werewolf, he most he can get out is rough, growl-like speech that sounds more like a beast pretending to talk than an actual person speaking. As a giant bird or the Crawling Eye, he can't speak at all. In the book, the whole "This is battery acid..." part happened against the Crawling Eye, which the inhaler's mist caused the eye to bubble and corrode, and Eddie basically told the other Losers to kick the shit out of it because "It was JUST a fuckin EYE!". It manifested that form because Richie saw it as that (sorta like he saw it as the Werewolf in Neibolt Street, so it locked into that form). As soon as it locked into that form, It is bound by that form until it retreats.
This was covered in the book, though, not really in the movie.
This explains so much.

Btw, are the floating kids at the end dead? I thought they were just catatonic like their girl but then were never seen again.
 

Moreche

Member
Watched it last night and I thought it was terrible, not scary at all.
I’m about one third into the book and the I’ve lost any motivation to finish it now.
 
Am I the only one who heard fucking Frank Oz's voice coming out of Pennywise's mouth in the beginning of the movie?

Was not expecting it. I kinda liked the idea of an evil Yoda clown.

Thought Pennywise was pretty awesome and had some truly menacing scenes

I thought Skarsgard sounded like his brother, Gustaf, doing his Floki voice, when he talked during the Georgie sequence.


I defintely agree he was one of the weaker elements of the new film. The shadow of Tim Curry's brilliant performance looms large over Skarsgard.
 

dmshaposv

Member
I thought Pennywise was at his scariest in the opening with Georgie. He never really recaptured that same creepiness throughout the rest of the movie.

I liked the film overall but I was hoping for more from Pennywise. The friend I was with liked the film a lot less than I did, but we both had the same issues with Pennywise.

Pennywise is best when skarsgard got room to talk and act rather than the director forcing some schlocky cg effect on his eyes, face or teeth.

The actor is most effective when he can skew his eyes and talks creepily while drooling.

Just tone down some of the cg stuff a bit.
 
This explains so much.

Btw, are the floating kids at the end dead? I thought they were just catatonic like their girl but then were never seen again.
The book has a very strong theme of belief. Pennywise turning into the shape of a werewolf doesn't make him weak to silver just because that is what werewolves are weak against. In fact, you could say he isn't weak against silver per se. What fucks him is that the kids BELIEVE silver will hurt him, therefore the silver hurts him. In the movie, Bill believes his gun is loaded and will hurt Pennywise, so it does (even though it is empty).

Also, Bev scene in sewer opens with blood dripping onto floor, so we can probably assume they are all dead and that was blood from one of them.

Pennywise is best when skarsgard got room to talk and act rather than the director forcing some schlocky cg effect on his eyes, face or teeth.

The actor is most effective when he can skew his eyes and talks creepily while drooling.

Just tone down some of the cg stuff a bit.
Agreed. Best part of whole movie is the 2 minutes going from Pennywise pulling himself out of the fridge at Neibolt to him retreating in the house well. It's a damn shame we hardly get anything like that.
 
Honestly the scariest pennywise scene was him talking to Georgie in the sewer. He felt more like a predator in that moment than anywhere else in the movie and that's because he was given lines and the opportunity to act. I would have loved more of that pennywise and less of the transforming cg pennywise we got.
 
The extended cut could spend a few more scenes on Mike. He got the short end of the stick.

He and stan got barely any screentime. Hopefully both of them get some added content. Other than his scare scene stan just bitched at the group the whole time. Could have taken him out of the film entirely with little impact.
 

Caode

Member
He and stan got barely any screentime. Hopefully both of them get some added content. Other than his scare scene stan just bitched at the group the whole time. Could have taken him out of the film entirely with little impact.

There was mention of an extra scene relating directly to Stan's subplot that was cut, in that interview regarding the directors cut.

“There’s a great scene, it’s a bit of a payoff of the Stanley Uris plot which is the bar mitzvah, where he delivers a speech against all expectations… it’s basically blaming all the adults of Derry [for the town’s history of deadly “accidents” and child disappearances], and it has a great resolution. … Maybe it will be in the director’s cut!”
 
Extended cut confirmed = cool
15 minutes extra = ehhhh, alright

I was hoping delusionally hoping for some insane Sergio Leone extended cut adding an hour.
 
The only thing I've never understood about It was that why nobody else can see him? Why The Losers? Why Bowers and his gang? Does he pick and choose his victims?
 

DeathyBoy

Banned
The only thing I've never understood about It was that why nobody else can see him? Why The Losers? Why Bowers and his gang? Does he pick and choose his victims?

Yes.

I mean mainly it's a critique on adults not believing kids/adults losing their innocence/adults intentionally avoiding the truth about Derry.

If Pennywise is centuries into Derry, then every generation knows of it. They just refuse to accept
 
Extended cut confirmed = cool
15 minutes extra = ehhhh, alright

I was hoping delusionally hoping for some insane Sergio Leone extended cut adding an hour.

15 minutes is still a big deal. It doesn't take much to change the pace of a film.

Also, horror fans go crazy over a few seconds of cut gore.
 

TylerD

Member
We saw IT last night and I really enjoyed it. I thought some of the jump scares were a bit over the top but I also thought the ferocity of how Pennywise advanced and attempted to attack the kids was startling. The garage scene was particularly good.

There were some parts that didn't really work for me, particularly the out of the blue 80's music montage of cleaning up the bathroom and Ritchie could be a little grating at times.

Also, I felt the film had a made-for-TV kind of shot and directing feel to it. Which I thought was appropriate given the previous miniseries.
 
Is ITs clown form his main "human like" form? Since everyone seems to see him in that form despite being able to shape shift. Not sure if everyone sees his other forms or if it's just specific to a person.

Also if IT took the form of say Majin Buu, would he be able to have those powers too? From what I understand is that he can transform into whatever he wants but that said form would be constrained by the abilities of that particular being.

Say I'm scared shitless of Jason Voorheese and IT was using a Jason form to scare me, it would be impossible to kill him unless I overcome my fear? I guess I answered my own question.
 

- J - D -

Member
Is ITs clown form his main "human like" form? Since everyone seems to see him in that form despite being able to shape shift. Not sure if everyone sees his other forms or if it's just specific to a person.

Also if IT took the form of say Majin Buu, would he be able to have those powers too? From what I understand is that he can transform into whatever he wants but that said form would be constrained by the abilities of that particular being.

Say I'm scared shitless of Jason Voorheese and IT was using a Jason form to scare me, it would be impossible to kill him unless I overcome my fear? I guess I answered my own question.

Isn't Pennwise's true form a spider-like alien creature?
 
My girlfriend's dragging me to see this even though I don't like horror movies. I just gotta know: is this film gory? I've never been comfortable with gore or gross-out stuff in films.
 

Eppy Thatcher

God's had his chance.
His true form is those three lights down his throat when he floats Bev.

Saw this last night and really enjoyed it. Big fan of Pennywise - he did a great job - and there were tons of little things. tiny background drops and sound design that were faaaaaantastic (specifically - when Bowers goes to the mailbox and finds his knife and is shaking like a leaf. The moment his fingers touch the knife you hear Pennywise give this little giggle. Not a maniac laugh. A legit happy "Huh-Hehe" and it was perfect.)

Some of the dialogue between the kids was a little lame and i've always disliked the ending to some extent but that's all baked into the "Love is Magic/Friendship is power" arc for the Losers so it gets a pass.

Gotta say though... this movie really isn't scary at all. Maybe it's how likeable the kids are, maybe it's how quickly it needs to get through the major parts so nothing is given a chance to linger. Or fester. The garage scene was really good though. And being the biggest fan of Cosmic horror more than anything else the mild hint of that stuff was seriously great.

Looking forward to chapter two. I can't wait to see this Pennywise mentally torture these adults!

p.s. Bowers has got to be fuckin dead i don't care that you don't see his body. That dude was a ping ponging down that well so hard lol
 
That's the closest thing to his true form that they're able to conceive, the closest their minds can come to comprehending it.
Yeah. This is accurate. Pennywise is one of his favorite forms he takes, but the kids can never conceive the reality of what It truly looks like, so we don't know It's true form.

Is ITs clown form his main "human like" form? Since everyone seems to see him in that form despite being able to shape shift. Not sure if everyone sees his other forms or if it's just specific to a person.

Also if IT took the form of say Majin Buu, would he be able to have those powers too? From what I understand is that he can transform into whatever he wants but that said form would be constrained by the abilities of that particular being.

Say I'm scared shitless of Jason Voorheese and IT was using a Jason form to scare me, it would be impossible to kill him unless I overcome my fear? I guess I answered my own question.
One of my favorie aspects of Stephen King, and of It, is that he hardly ever gives you a 100% solid answer on a lot of this.

As for the fear stuff, I hate how Mike said "we"re all afraid of something" then the end of the movie they aren't afraid anymore. In the book,
overcoming your fear wouldn't really do shit. All that means is that you wouldn't be as tasty to It, but you wouldn't suddenly be able to hurt It. He could still rip your head off if he wanted.
 
My girlfriend's dragging me to see this even though I don't like horror movies. I just gotta know: is this film gory? I've never been comfortable with gore or gross-out stuff in films.

Not really. Only two scenes I would consider gore. I hate gore films too and it's not like those types of horror films.
 

- J - D -

Member
That's the closest thing to his true form that they're able to conceive, the closest their minds can come to comprehending it.

So it's like a cthulhu-like thing?

His true form is those three lights down his throat when he floats Bev.

Saw this last night and really enjoyed it. Big fan of Pennywise - he did a great job - and there were tons of little things. tiny background drops and sound design that were faaaaaantastic (specifically - when Bowers goes to the mailbox and finds his knife and is shaking like a leaf. The moment his fingers touch the knife you hear Pennywise give this little giggle. Not a maniac laugh. A legit happy "Huh-Hehe" and it was perfect.)

Some of the dialogue between the kids was a little lame and i've always disliked the ending to some extent but that's all baked into the "Love is Magic/Friendship is power" arc for the Losers so it gets a pass.

Gotta say though... this movie really isn't scary at all. Maybe it's how likeable the kids are, maybe it's how quickly it needs to get through the major parts so nothing is given a chance to linger. Or fester. The garage scene was really good though. And being the biggest fan of Cosmic horror more than anything else the mild hint of that stuff was seriously great.

Looking forward to chapter two. I can't wait to see this Pennywise mentally torture these adults!

p.s. Bowers has got to be fuckin dead i don't care that you don't see his body. That dude was a ping ponging down that well so hard lol

Oh right I was wondering what was up with those lights in his mouth.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Reminder to tag book details from the adult timeline, and especially that detail. A lot of people not familiar with the source material or prior adaptation are coming here for discussion and we don't need to spoil a film a couple years early for them.
 
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