IT
Starring Tim Reid, John Ritter, Annette O’Toole, Tim Curry
Teleplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace


The sad thing is I haven’t read a single Stephen King book yet that has lived up to its hype. The good thing is I haven’t watched a single Stephen King based film I haven’t liked yet either. Seeing that I like films more than I like books, this is a good thing for me, but considering Stephen King makes his living from writing books -- that is not so a good thing for him (not like he needs the money at this point though).

“IT” (which I have not read yet) was a great story cinematically. It had strong characters, great suspense, and a lot of scares. Not too much more you can expect from a horror these days, now can you? It also had another thing I really enjoy in films -- a friendship theme. Just like in another great Stephen King based film, “Stand by Me” -- “IT” tells the story of a band of “outcasts” (aka losers) who seem to find each other one summer and together they embark on various childhood journeys and battle an evil foe that in “IT” happens to be in the shape of a psychopathic clown (kind of like Ronald McDonald on steroids and acid) named Pennywise. You see, in the small town of Derry, Maine, people seem to start dying and disappearing (especially kids) every 30 years, but on this particular cycle of 30, Pennywise the psychopathic clown runs into the band of outcasts that plan to foil his plans.

“IT” is as much about a killer clown as it is about kids facing their personal demons and discovering themselves through friendship with others. That is where I believe Stephen King is truly king. He scares us with our own selves. We see ourselves vividly in his characters and the only thing he has to do then is add a killer clown to the mix and voila -- we have a horror masterpiece. Sounds simple, but actually a tall task -- which is why I appreciate “IT” so much.

I remember watching “IT” when I was twelve, but after watching it again as an adult, I am glad to say that “IT” still scares me. Not as much as before, but still enough to make me look around before I crawl into bed. Having something scare you as a child and then as an adult really says something about the material.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Still scary now as it was then (1990).

The Bad: A little dated, but to me that just adds to the horror.

The Law: It’s getting close to Halloween, so check “IT” out.