IT: We All Float Here

Ever wondered what The Goonies would be like if you mixed it with a tonne of horror elements? Well wonder no more my friends because the new IT movie is all of this and then some. It's already the top grossing horror movie in history and that isn't just because it's scary and very watchable it's also very very good.

SUMMARY TIME: Bill's (Jaden Lieberher) little brother Georgie dissapears during a storm while chasing a paper boat and it's not just him children are dissapearing all over the place. But this isn't the work of your standard serial kidnapper, this is the work of Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) an evil clown that lives in the sewers. 

This film is less full on horror than it is a horror adventure. That isn't to take away from it's truly scary moments but it also has some really fantastic adventure scenes that are so very Goonies it almost stings. 

This Goonies-esque feeling is drawn completely from the very good child cast. It seems that with shows like Stranger Things and a lot of recent movies I have talked about The Bad Batch, Miracles from Heaven, American Fable we are coming into a glut of very talented Child actors but this cast may just take the case. Stranger Things's Finn Wolfhard was playing a pretty much word for word reboot of Corey Feldman in the Goonies and as usual was compelling and very good at it. However the two standouts for me were Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh and Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie Kaspbrak. Lillis in particular was a perfect portrait of a child going through hell both at school and home.

One thing I really want to comment on was how beautifully shot Georgie's kidnapping/death scene was. Everything about it from the boat to the way Pennywise appeared was ominous and creepy. Obviously I'll talk about the clown himself soon but that opening was so fantastic. It not only set up the film beautifully but it also has this little hint of wistfulness and childhood nostalgia that echoes through the whole film.

The way the film starts painting out every childs fears as well makes them so much stronger characters than most groups of kids in these types of films. Every bit of information we get is important and shows us so much about each character. In particular the character work that turns Eddie from being a hypochondriac to a victim of Munchausens by Proxy is particularly sad and compelling. 

Anyway the bit you've been waiting for let's do the low down on this years scariest clown Pennywise himself who was honestly so creepy I am not over it. I've always liked my horror more victorian gothic so his redesign for me is damn awesome. Everything is scarier older looking.  He is such a forboding presence in the film and steals every scene. If you want evidence of it just watch the projector scene that alone will give you nightmares.


Overall this film may just be one of my favorite horrors of all time. It's not dark and gritty it's often fun and totally scary at the same time. Bring on Chapter Two!!!