Review: It (15)

Stephen King’s disturbing 1986 novel materialises on the big screen as a two-part film directed by Andy Muschietti.

This opening salvo focuses exclusively on the stories of children whose lives are 
scarred by a malevolent presence called Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard).

The second instalment will flash forwards three decades to consider the impact of the adult characters, who survived their first brush with the diabolical clown. In the summer of 1989, seven pre-teens growing up in Derry, Maine, come together as the Losers’ Club in order to survive their shared suffering at the hands of local bullies, the Bowers Gang, led by the sadistic Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). The leader of the Losers’ Club, Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher), incurs some of the deepest scars: his younger brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) is killed by Pennywise while playing in the street during a rain storm.

Bill vows revenge with the help of fellow misfits Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), Beverly (Sophia Lillis), Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mike (Chosen Jacobs), Richie (Finn Wolhard) and Stanley (Wyatt Oleff). However, Pennywise knows the children’s darkest fears and preys upon their insecurities with lip-smacking glee. Skarsgard is genuinely terrifying as a shape-shifting predator, who is deadly serious about clowning around. Roll up for all the fun of the fair from hell.