In preparation for IT Chapter 2 coming out this week, we watched IT (2017) as well as the 1990 Miniseries starring Tim Curry. If you haven't seen IT and are a horror fan, you are probably in the minority, since it (IT?) is the highest grossing horror movie of all time. IT 2017 Poster We watched It. We already have seen it, but we watched it again. It was good. We liked it. THE MOVIE IT! https://youtu.be/hAUTdjf9rko IT is available to rent on Amazon Prime, Youtube and other places probably. IT (2017) Watch the full movie of IT (2017) Rent/Buy on Amazon IT 2017 Synopsis IT (2017) is a total rip off of Stranger Things. It features a group of boys in the 80s who discover a young girl with the special power to give them boners. Actually, IT (2017) is based on the Stephen King novel “IT”. The film follows “the losers club” which is a motley crew of six young boys and a girl who find themselves haunted by Pennywise the Dancing Clown played by Bill Skarsgård. Pennywise is very literally dread incarnate, and torments the group of kids with their worst fears. Upon research, the group finds out that Pennywise has been tormenting and killing children for millenia.  IT Movie Review The film tackles the source material admirably. It’s hard to capture on screen the concept of the monster being fear itself. You get a real feeling of dread throughout, and it remains one of the best group coming of age stories, second only to King’s other adaptation: Stand By Me.  Check Out Our Review of Ready or Not https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/08/28/ready-or-not-review/ I’m glad I got to watch this again, because my first viewing was so colored by my nostalgia for the 1990 TV miniseries starring Tim Curry. And while I still do like the direction of the Pennywise character a little better in the miniseries, I think that overall IT 2017 is a far superior film. We watched the miniseries to be able to compare it to this film and the upcoming Chapter 2, and I don’t know what to tell you, it does not hold up. https://youtu.be/cmOLwrvH-Ag IT 2017 is one of the best mainstream, general audience horror movies to come out in the last decade. Director Andy Muschietti keeps most of the dread from the source material and includes some modern production and jump scares to appeal to fans of the Conjuring universe. Overall, I really liked it even more the second time. This film has probably the best child cast of all time. Comparisons are readily made to Stranger Things (especially since Finn Wolfhard is in both) but the acting from these kids in IT (2017) is far superior in my opinion. Score for IT (2017) Movie 8/10 Check out our review of It Chapter Two https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/09/11/it-chapter-two-review/ Spoilers for IT Expand for Spoilers The opening scene with Georgie losing the paper boat that Bill made for him. This is the scene that really sells every version of this story, whether it's the novel, the miniseries, or the modern iteration. The main difference here is that Muschietti leans into the "hard-R" when Georgie's arm is graphically ripped off by Pennywise. Georgie, giving Pennywise a hand. Pennywise isn't the only danger in IT. Henry Bowers and his gang torment the group of friends on the regular throughout the film. And torment is putting it lightly. Henry doesn't just bully them, he tortures them. In another scene that shows the commitment of making the film a heavy into the paint of an R-rating, Henry deeply carves his initials into poor Ben's stomach. All of a sudden, the gimmicky side kicks obsessed with fire or belching seems strangely out of place. But, come on, who doesn't like a character named Belch? BRRRRAAAAAUUUUUUPP The Losers Club Fears Throughout IT, there are scenes that show the different fears of the Losers Club. Bill's fear of actually accepting that his brother Georgie is dead.