A devilish being, known by the names It or Pennywise, torments a small town in Maine, killing kids by hitting them with their innermost fears.
However, a group of friends manage to defeat him (but not permanently) and vow among themselves to return to fight him together should he return in the future.
So it happens 30 years later...
It is one of King's most beloved novels, a monumental work about childhood, friendship, and childhood fears.
The movie based on the book is a three-hour television product with many limitations, but with one huge boast: its first ten minutes can scare the hell out of any child.
I'll take the club card as well.
Early 1990s: Channel 5 does great publicity for the film. TV smiles and songs talks about it in detail. The film is being premiered on TV in two parts, one Sunday and the following Monday.
That Sunday night I stand in front of the kitchen TV and watch that horror movie....
A little boy, the protagonist's little brother, plays with a paper boat built for him by his brother (perhaps King was inspired by his relationship with his older brother) and goes outside to play.
The little boat slides down the road and is about to fall into a manhole, but a clown, Pennywise, stops it.
A dialogue begins between an "unknown" but funny clown and a child, surprised and frightened.
It only takes a little bit to show up and the clown is no longer a stranger: the little guy did not disobey his daddy who taught him not to talk to those he does not know. And now he can take back the little boat-and, if he wants, a balloon, too. Only the price is very, very, high.
The next day, when I go back to school, almost the whole class has seen the movie and almost the whole class has not slept at night and stopped at these incipient scenes....
Seeing the film again years later, one realizes how as a child one sees a different world how fear changes with age and how a film can definitely be reevaluated over the years.
Apart from personal memories (but which, reading on the web, are widely shared), the film undoubtedly has its own "morbid" appeal, although it is not without flaws.
Tim Curry, "ambiguous" as he is, is perfect as It, but the overall cast moves quite well.
The special effects are not bad either.
However, it is really the first part of the film that has merit, because in the second part there is a general decline in quality, until an ending that is even absurd and trashy.
Distressing moments are not lacking, but only when Curry, the authentic star of the film, acts, with his terrifying smile.
Frightening if seen with the eyes of a child, no more than discreet if grown up.
Review by Zick
