It (2017 Remake)
Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:53 am
Biggest disappointment of the year so far for me. I'd been led to expect something really out there with this adaptation of Stephen King's novel, but what we actually get is a thoroughly mainstream horror movie. It's technically competent, and that's about the best thing I can say about it. The realization of Pennywise (in clown form) is quite effective, especially in his opening scene where he is a sinister presence in an unexpected place.
The biggest problem with the film though, is it's just not very scary. Maybe I've just seen so many horror films at this point that I'm immune to their devices, but all the standard horror tropes are out in force (the scary trip to the basement, the creepy old house etc.) and the score contains all the typical cues leading up to a jump scare. Tonally, the film is all over the place; points in the plot which should be really frightening always seem to be sabotaged by a comedic moment that totally alleviates any fear. It's kind of like an R-rated version of The Goonies. There's too much CG as well, which invariably takes me out of the moment as my subconscious mutters darkly 'that's CG right there'.
Maybe if I were 20 years younger (or more) and hadn't seen hundreds of other, better, horror films, this one would do the trick but as it is... no. It needs to be far, far weirder than it is, tonally more coherent and about half an hour shorter. 5/10
The biggest problem with the film though, is it's just not very scary. Maybe I've just seen so many horror films at this point that I'm immune to their devices, but all the standard horror tropes are out in force (the scary trip to the basement, the creepy old house etc.) and the score contains all the typical cues leading up to a jump scare. Tonally, the film is all over the place; points in the plot which should be really frightening always seem to be sabotaged by a comedic moment that totally alleviates any fear. It's kind of like an R-rated version of The Goonies. There's too much CG as well, which invariably takes me out of the moment as my subconscious mutters darkly 'that's CG right there'.
Maybe if I were 20 years younger (or more) and hadn't seen hundreds of other, better, horror films, this one would do the trick but as it is... no. It needs to be far, far weirder than it is, tonally more coherent and about half an hour shorter. 5/10