IT - Trailer Review

Stephen King‘s “IT” is probably the best horror novel ever written and the original television miniseries traumatized a generation. So the new film adaptation from Mama Director Andrés Muschietti has some pretty big (clown-sized?) shoes to fill.

Now that the first trailer for this long-awaited adaptation has arrived, we can start to adjust our expectations accordingly.

Set in 1989 and adapting half of King’s 1,000 page-plus book, It follows a group of kids who call themselves “The Losers Club” as they find themselves combatting a seemingly invincible, shape shifting monster that terrorizes the town of Derry, Maine (one of King’s most evil locations) every 30 years.

While the creature can take on the form of anything its victims fear, it often defaults to “Pennywise the dancing clown” (played here by Bill Skarsgård), a figure designed to lure young victims to their doom.

If “IT” succeeds, a sequel is already a definite possibility. The second half of King’s novel takes place decades years later and follows the same characters as adults as they return to Derry for another showdown with the monster they fought in their youth.

As a huge fan of the book, I’m curious and nervous to see how Muschietti and his team tackles this dense, weird, and terrifying story, especially since the “adult half” of the book feels so vital to making the flashback scenes work on the page. We shall see.

“IT” opens on September 8, 2017.