‘It Chapter One’ Still Brings the Chills
From a young age, I’ve always had quite the disdain for clowns. Why? I’ll never really know. Perhaps it’s the layers of makeup caked on to give them eerie grins, or maybe it’s how so many come clambering out of a tiny car that gives me the goosebumps. Regardless of why, something about them has never sat right with me. However, when the reboot of Stephen King’s It was set to arrive in theaters almost a decade ago, I made the decision to conquer my fear, just like the children of Derry.
And so began a journey with the purchase of King’s original novel, a book I’ve yet to finish. Not from how quickly I read, I might add, but from the sheer volume of pages in the text and the need to set it aside frequently. Having seen both parts of Andy Muschietti’s IT in theaters, I felt my fear had been overcome and ultimately set the franchise aside. That is, until IT: Welcome to Derry inched closer to being on my television screen. It was then that I decided it was time to visit Derry once more and see if the world that Muschietti had created still held up.
Ultimately, I was reminded that IT Chapter One isn’t just strong, but a masterclass in horror. From genuine chills and an engaging story, it doesn’t just pull you in; it makes audiences a part of the story.
[Warning: Spoilers from IT Chapter One are below!]
Fear comes to Derry
We’ve all experienced one day that fundamentally changes us, for better or worse. Unfortunately for Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher), it was most definitely the latter. Sick in bed and unable to entertain his younger brother, Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott), he sends him outside to play in the rain with a brand new paper boat. However, thanks to a chance encounter with a killer clown, Georgie goes missing.
That isn’t to say that Bill knew about the clown living in the sewers, because how could he? However, with the disappearance of Georgie, Bill’s more determined than ever to figure out what’s going on in his hometown of Derry. And thankfully, he’s not alone in this mission, as others are starting to notice that things aren’t okay in this small town.
Weird and downright terrifying things are happening to the children of Derry, and no one seems to have any answers. In part, it seems like the parents are oblivious to the mysterious deaths and disappearances, or they’re so emotionally checked out that they don’t care what happens. So it’s up to the Losers…I mean Lovers to get some answers and stop any more deaths from happening.
What binds this group is trauma, with each member experiencing it in their personal lives and also at the hands of Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) throughout the film. Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) lives with an abusive father, Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor) is ridiculed for being overweight, Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard) has a loud mouth that gets him into way too much trouble, but is also clearly compensating for something, Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) who is often overlooked due to his quiet nature and for the color of his skin, Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer) who’s a victim of Munchausen by Proxy syndrome at the hands of his mother, and rounding out the group is Stanley Unis (Wyatt Oleff) who is perhaps the most nervous of the group.
Why they are specifically targeted by Pennywise doesn’t matter; what matters is that IT’s out for blood. Can this band of unlikely friends stop IT’s terror? Or are they doomed to become the next set of victims of this mysterious force that keeps returning to Derry?
IT Chapter One is a horror masterpiece
So what makes IT Chapter One such an instant horror classic? It felt like the moment audiences were walking out of theaters that murmurs began about the film’s quality. Was this a horror film that would come to define a new generation of scary movies? I think that it’s entirely true, because it does feel like this genre shifted drastically around this time, because IT Chapter One reminds us that horror doesn’t have to be graphic to be scary.
I’m not one for something such as body horror. I don’t like films such as The Human Centipede for that reason. I enjoy being terrified without being disgusted, and sometimes it feels like films forget that. There’s no need to see someone’s bone breaking out of their skin in close detail, except for creatives who want to dive headfirst into shock factor. What IT Chapter One does is build different layers of fear, both through traditional methods, such as monsters or situations that elicit fear through jumps, but also with suspense and anticipation of what could (and probably will) happen.
In a way, it feels like Muschietti is honoring the films that make this genre so special, while also giving us something we haven’t seen before. When you think about it, that’s quite the accomplishment, as the novel of IT has been around since the mid 80’s and the Tim Curry adaptation came out a decade after that, so there isn’t much surprise when it comes to the story’s narrative. As well, when you factor in that it was known long before the release of the first that the story would be divided into two parts, one focusing on the characters as children and another focusing on their return to Derry 27 years later, it’s even more shocking.
Typically, when you know what’s coming from past adaptations or the promise of more of the story in the future, a film can lack any real punch. You can’t kill off one of the characters when we know they have to be present for part two. There are almost no stakes when it comes to prequel stories, because we always know how it’s going to turn out. However, with IT Chapter One, the feeling of stakes is ever-present because you’re never quite sure if Muschietti’s going to throw a curveball, which ultimately heightens the story itself.
What this film also does so well is that by splitting the story into two separate films, we’re able to sit with these characters more. That means more moments to understand who they are and to watch them develop relationships with the group as the film progresses. It also allows for more scares at the hands of IT, which the creatives do take some liberties with. It’s not a straight adaptation, but more like a winding road that gets audiences to where they need to go. It was the never-knowing-what-was-next that kept me on the edge of my seat, heightening the film’s spookiness.
Final thoughts on IT Chapter One
It’s not every day that a film, specifically a horror one, can keep me guessing, especially when you factor in that the story’s been out there in the world for decades, and Chapter One did just that. Warner Bros. not only understood these characters and King’s story, but also expanded on it in natural ways that make IT more engaging and significantly more terrifying.
IT Chapter One is streaming on HBO Max! When was the last time you watched this film? Let us know @bsb.insider on social media!
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