acid reflects

Que horror
Review by Vives Anunciacion

It
Directed by Andy Muschietti
Based on the Stephen King best-selling novel
Rated R13
Published 9.8.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

It trailer

-For Raymart, Kian, Carl, Reynaldo – who probably would have wanted to see this movie just like regular movie-loving Pinoys-

There’s an 80s kids renaissance​ in TV and movies and the latest adaptation of It is 80s scary and fun, minus a song and dance number. The new take on a classic Stephen King tale has all sorts of feels – demonic scares, coming-of-age wonder, the horrors of growing up, puppy love and bravery. It’s so Pinoy.

One rainy afternoon in the summer of 1989, six-year-old Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) disappears in the sewers – the first victim in a string of mysterious disappearances in the small town of Derry, Maine.

Determined to find out what happened to his younger brother Georgie, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) and his pre-teen, bike-riding barkada attempt to investigate in the town’s drainage and in the process befriend a few more recruits to The Losers Club – new kid Ben (Jeremy​ Ray Taylor,) Beverly (Sophia Lillis,) and Mike (Chosen Jacobs.)

Their investigation reveals that It (Bill Skarsgård) – a monster disguised as Pennywise the Dancing Clown – is behind the disappearances and every member of the club has had horrific encounters with the clown. With summer winding down, the group devises a plan to end the menace in Derry. Meanwhile, school bully Henry (Nicholas Hamilton) is increasingly becoming maniacal no thanks to Pennywise, literally threatening to kill the Losers Club. The kids of Derry have more than just school to worry about.

Part bittersweet coming-of-age film like Stand By Me (also based on a Stephen King novella;) part 80s teen movie with young crushes, bicycles and walkie-talkies; and part 80s horror movie – It feels like it has three narratives just barely stuck together, thanks to an incredibly talented and charming set of stars and smartly-layered script. My favorite kids have to be foul-speaking motor-mouth Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) and the always misappropriating Richie (Finn Wolfhard.) If Richie and the movie remind​ you of Stranger Things, it is because Finn is Mike Wheeler in the Netflix show.

The movie portrays two forms of horror that The Losers must overcome. The supernatural horror involves Pennywise and is presented with just enough set-up and mood for effective scare tactics. It’s scary and it’s over in just a few seconds. There are moments when the imagery is​ the stuff of nightmares.

The second horror is portrayed in the many forms of abuse that these kids are subjected to – bullying, verbal, sexual, emotional – which is​ as effectively portrayed as the scary scenes. It is in these scenes that I am reminded of our current context – how our teens and pre-teens struggle daily in their immediate social circle and in the larger context of what is happening around us. This movie may be set in the 1980s, but I was surprised at how currently relevant its message is, particularly in the Philippine context.

Social context aside, It covers a lot of plot and character pieces with enough nostalgia feels for batang 80s people that overall make a satisfying whole – even if the end tends to be a corny effects-driven retribution.

For fans of the book and the 1990 TV miniseries, we all know that the young Losers only cover Chapter One. Bring a friend when you watch.