Stephen King's IT

[Jinsai]

More early return preview screening audiences are showing up... there's one tomorrow in Austin.

The consensus takeaway is that this is one of the greatest horror movies of all time, easily. They wouldn't be risking this if the studio was worried that the movie was bad. It's gonna be fucking great. Will it live up to the book? Maybe that's an impossible question due to narrative tactic. Think of the second chapter taken from the perspective of Patricia Uris (Stanley's wife). It's devastating for me in hindsight. He just couldn't take the trauma again, but he was one of the more "properly functioning adults." Properly trying to have a kid, fucking away desperately and sadly, unable to father a child, and seeing the doctor, being a supportive and loving husband, and then he is the one who cannot take the full terror of his childhood again, and so he kills himself in a move that, if he were fully aware of his actions, tortures his wife to madness.

And he's the one who kills himself in the beginning of the book... is a movie capable of capturing what that means? When that character's fate doesn't even feature in the movie?

I think it can. The responses are coming in from preview crowds, and they're saying it's the best horror movie they've ever seen. IT SHOULD be the best horror movie you ever see. It's definitely my favorite Stephen King book, but he's not even my favorite horror author... but it's the most powerful epic horror story I've ever read, and it CAN be done right.

Yes, I think, but it has to do it differently, and by splitting the adult/child arcs into two movies they might be able to. Reading the book again, and RIP Stanley Uris, you put up a good fight, and I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt anyone...

But you did, and you'll float too.

[theimage13]

Will it live up to the book? Maybe that's an impossible question due to narrative tactic.

I'm just thinking of how long the book is...and the number of far shorter books I've seen where I was still going "how the hell did they not include this part in the movie?!"

Point being, I'm sure it will be different from the book, at any rate. Will it live up to it? Well, we'll be able to make our own opinions soon enough.

[Jinsai]

I'm just thinking of how long the book is...and the number of far shorter books I've seen where I was still going "how the hell did they not include this part in the movie?!"

Point being, I'm sure it will be different from the book, at any rate. Will it live up to it? Well, we'll be able to make our own opinions soon enough.

I'm rereading it right now, and it's an exposition beast... which I love. It's also covering the material that will be in both movies...

Also, like they say, a picture says a thousand words... some of the power in the book is exhaustive backstory, details about things that you just can't reasonable include in a film, or at least impart the same way. You can, conceivably, convey a similar sentiment in a momentary visual flash that might take twenty pages of a book... and if the author intends that to be something which works to supplement the novel and bridge the two in a complimentary way, that would win it for me.

For all the shit talking The Shining gets from King's most faithful, it does this brilliantly in the scene where the guy in the bear costume is giving a BJ to the man in the suit. It's a quick iconic flash on the screen, and if you've read the book, you know the guy in the suit is Horace Derwent.

But that's not even explored in the movie, it just has that quick momentary link, and that's enough.

[kel]

this might not be the right thread, but i have a question for those of you who read the book: i read it junior year of high school, 15 or 20 pages at a time after i'd finished a test or whatever. it took me two months. anyway, there was a bizarre part at a junkyard with weird winged creatures, right? i remember thinking that would have been a neat scene had they attempted it. that's all i recall from it and i wish someone could explain it to me.

[Jinsai]

this might not be the right thread, but i have a question for those of you who read the book: i read it junior year of high school, 15 or 20 pages at a time after i'd finished a test or whatever. it took me two months. anyway, there was a bizarre part at a junkyard with weird winged creatures, right? i remember thinking that would have been a neat scene had they attempted it. that's all i recall from it and i wish someone could explain it to me.

Flying leeches... See the section on this page called The Junkyard
http://stephenking.wikia.com/wiki/Patrick_Hockstetter

[marodi]

The flying leeches scare me a thousand time more than Pennywise.

[Jinsai]

The flying leeches scare me a thousand time more than Pennywise.

Given a strange comment the director made a while back, I think there's a good chance we'll see them in this version...

It kind of drives me nuts knowing that a bunch of people have already seen this, and I'm just sitting here twitching with anticipation...

[kel]

thanks, @Jinsai .

i am really excited for this. that inverted triangle of balloons chills me to the core for some reason.

syfy played the mini-series today. i had a massive school yard crush on brandon crane, the kid who played ben.

[Jinsai]

Bill Skarsgard is doing an interview on Jimmy Kimmel tonight...
Also, the critical review embargo is getting lifted later tonight, so we'll see at least what the critics think

[Swykk]

I'm seeing IT Thursday night. I am excited and I hope it's both better than the miniseries and scary.

[Jinsai]

first 14 reviews are posted to Rotten Tomatoes. IT's sitting at 100% right now.

[Haysey_Draws]

first 14 reviews are posted to Rotten Tomatoes. IT's sitting at 100% right now.

Oh WOW. In the same year we get an awful King adaptation we get an awesome King adaptation! I just wish i wasn't so scared of clown (and spiders) the trailer for this look great!

[Graceless]

I really want to see this but I am afraid to go. I read IT years ago in high school, around the time that the miniseries was on tv. I spent an entire night laying sleepless in bed with the lights on, filled with the certain dread that if I were to lift the blinds and look out the window into the backyard that Pennywise would be standing there smiling up at me. Two nights ago I dreamed of boiling red stormclouds and a sky full of red balloons. I woke up sure that a hand was going to grab my ankle if I stepped out of bed. I think this movie is going to be oh so good but I don't want the nightmares that I know I will have if I watch it. I am torn.

[Jinsai]

@Graceless, the critics seem split on how terrifying it is... The book did give me nightmares the last time I read it, and I'm reading it again and it's as unsettling as ever. Many critics are saying that while it does have its fair share of scary stuff in it, this IT's more about a coming of age story, nostalgia, friendship, and that it's loaded with endearing heart and that it's more fun and occasionally (intentionally) hilarious than you'd expect.

Here's a silly promo spot to help you face your fears!

https://www.facebook.com/ign/videos/10155153462086633/

[Bachy]

Just got back home from seeing this and I'm actually shaking. This was an absolutely terrifying film. Bill Skarsgard nailed Pennywise. They did understandably so leave a few things out from the book and tweaked the story a little bit. Still great adaptation.

[Bachy]

One last thing, I do believe Skarsgard did a better job than Tim Curry.

[Jinsai]

I thought it was great. Pretty much all I hoped it would be, with a couple critical complaints. Eager to eventually see a director's cut, and of course the second movie. I have a bunch of more specific thoughts, some theories, but I don't wanna risk spoiling it until others have seen it.

The theater did a great job with it too... red balloons everywhere. Skarsgard was great. All the actors were amazing actually, especially considering how disappointing younger actors can be. I'm excited to see it again.

[Uraki14]

Am I going to be that minority that came out of this underwhelmed? To be fair I just reread the book and my expectations were high. ********SPOILERS******
I thought he was okay as Pennywise but I really grew tired of him the more he talked. I was definitely not a fan of the kids switching roles of Ben being the history buff instead of Mike. I also really hated the whole Bev being kidnapped thing. It just stunk of the "damsel in distress" bulllshit that has been done a million times. To me the book presents Bev as the second strongest of the Losers Club. I was also not happy about the entire missing part of Bev and the slingshot or silver bullets. I was happy about the inclusion of Neibolt Street, but I felt like the director took way too much liberty with the source material and I didn't enjoy all the humor injected in. Totally dehumanized the entire scary theme of the entire story. I did like the movie, but still feel like the miniseries does a much better job of telling it and how the kids all become a unit.

[Swykk]

Am I going to be that minority that came out of this underwhelmed? To be fair I just reread the book and my expectations were high. ********SPOILERS******
I thought he was okay as Pennywise but I really grew tired of him the more he talked. I was definitely not a fan of the kids switching roles of Ben being the history buff instead of Mike. I also really hated the whole Bev being kidnapped thing. It just stunk of the "damsel in distress" bulllshit that has been done a million times. To me the book presents Bev as the second strongest of the Losers Club. I was also not happy about the entire missing part of Bev and the slingshot or silver bullets. I was happy about the inclusion of Neibolt Street, but I felt like the director took way too much liberty with the source material and I didn't enjoy all the humor injected in. Totally dehumanized the entire scary theme of the entire story. I did like the movie, but still feel like the miniseries does a much better job of telling it and how the kids all become a unit.

Skarsgard was very good. I didn't mind the "role switch." I agree and also didn't like the part about Beverly getting taken. She might be the strongest among them, actually. I thought them having weapons instead of a slingshot was a good change. They couldn't use The Werewolf due to rights issues. I found this to be pretty faithful to the book. Too much humor? The book is ripe with it. Lots of fart jokes in the book were left out of the movie. Richie and Beverly were my favorite characters. I hated the miniseries and think this was much better. My only complaint is this seemed like a bit too long of a movie. Maybe 10-15 minutes could've been cut? I don't know. I'd give it a B+.

[Bachy]

They absolutely nailed the opening scene from the book with Georgie.

[perceptionnexus]

IT was amazing. I thought it captured the spirit of the book perfectly. Have to agree that Skarsgard outshined Curry, he gave Pennywise a sense of other-worldliness that wasn't in the first film, in addition to coming off as straight-evil. You could tell some ppl. in the theater were absolutely scared shitless. I loved all the Losers, also. There was a lot of great chemistry there.

My wife is at the end of reading the novel for the first time, so she was pretty critical of all the details that were left out, but yeah, a great adaptation absolutely. And even moreso when considering SK's track record of book-to-film quality. Bring on Chapter Two!

[Graceless]

I saw this last night. I thought it was a very good adaptation of the book, making allowances for how much novel you can condensing down to 2 hours and 15 minutes. I was waiting for the slingshot to appear, but I guess by the late 80's it's not the kind of kid's toy that anyone could relate to. Strangely enough, my biggest complaint was the lack of surprising scary moments. For all that I was worried about how much nightmare fuel this movie was going to give me, you've already seen most of the moments in the trailer. By the time I saw them in the context of the movie itself they were familiar and I wasn't afraid. The only moment that got an actual "Oh Shit" out of me was when Spoiler: the kids were in the garage watching the slides and Pennywise came out of the goddamn wall big as fuck and grabbing at them.

[Archive_Reports]

It was definitely good, but some of the changes that were made (Spoiler: Mike being basically a background character, Bev getting kidnapped like Bill's wife im the book, Ben explaining everything ) felt unnecessary. I will say that they did a great job of giving subtle nods to parts they had to omit.

[Jinsai]

I dunno, what's a more troubling Spoiler: dynamic, Bev getting snatched in a princess Peach moment, and getting rescued when tragic friend zone buddy gives her a kiss, or the strange sociopathic "run a train on me it's what I'm here for" thing in the book... That's the odd spot where I accept that while it's easily one of my favorite books, it's also got some huge "flaws" that any adaptation has to hurdle... I thought the approach they took with the Ben kiss was actually really sweet and adorable.

[Bachy]

Question:

Spoiler: So are we all assuming that Henry Bowers most definitely died? It would be a shame because he's such a great character/villain

[Jinsai]

Question:

Spoiler: So are we all assuming that Henry Bowers most definitely died? It would be a shame because he's such a great character/villain

Here's my take... Spoiler: I think Henry was fleshed out and died appropriately in this take... I don't think Patrick Hockstetter is dead though. No flying leeches... no actual shot of his death. What if they're taking an approach that would further explore what a fucked up character he is.

In the book, Patrick is arguably the most fucked up character in the book, on par with the entity. He literally believes that he is the only REAL person alive, and that everyone else is a prop for his amusement. I actually knew someone who thought that way when I was a kid... he even explained it to me, how while I thought I was real, I was actually a character in his movie. It was really chilling...

But even that guy I knew in grade school, who was almost certainly a narcissistic sociopath, wasn't the epitome of what that is in King's interpretation of Patrick. In the book, Patrick is the only bully that Pennywise kills. I feel the inference was that Pennywise understood the similarity in their mindsets too well, perhaps viewed him as a threat... similarly to how Patrick murdered his baby brother because he feared that he would threaten his unique existence by co-occupying it.

I think it would be interesting if they explore the dichotomy between the two monsters... maybe have Pennywise hold Patrick captive and give him a GoT reek treatment for 27 years... and then unleash him. As if to say, in this interpretation, Henry's already been "hired" to be the assassin, and failed/died. But maybe they could twist it so Patrick is a prize, something powerful to be weaponized.

Just a theory... but yeah, Henry couldn't have survived that fall (unless someone caught him...), and either way, he's never leaving Neibolt House to wind up in jail from there.

[kel]

the polarized reviews make me even more stoked to see it. going to a matinee on monday.

[Bachy]

Here's my take... Spoiler: In the book, Patrick is the only bully that Pennywise kills. I feel the inference was that Pennywise understood the similarity in their mindsets too well, perhaps viewed him as a threat.

Spoiler: I seem to recall Pennywise killing Belch and ripping Victor Criss' head off.

[Jinsai]

Spoiler: I seem to recall Pennywise killing Belch and ripping Victor Criss' head off.

I forgot about that... though, another spoiler, if you wanna know what's probably going to be in the director's cut of this one: Spoiler: apparently in the original cut of this movie Henry kills them right after murdering his dad

Apparently removed from the original 2 hour and 45 minute version

[Bachy]

I forgot about that... though, another spoiler, if you wanna know what's probably going to be in the director's cut of this one: Spoiler: apparently in the original cut of this movie Henry kills them right after murdering his dad

Apparently removed from the original 2 hour and 45 minute version

Spoiler: That's incredibly interesting. That answers why I didn't see them at the house in the end. That was the one big issue I had with the film. They basically just disappeared.