It might’ve been a worldwide box office phenomenon raking in $700M and frightened audiences but for myself I can’t say I was once terrified and actually became a bit more annoyed with the jump scares more than anything. However, the movie is worth watching if only for the impressive young cast.
It
(2017)
Genre(s): Horror, Drama
Warner Bros. | R – 135 min. – $44.95 | January 9, 2018
Date Published: 01/13/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Perhaps the biggest surprise of 2017 was It, adaptation of probably Stephen King’s biggest hit, which is saying something. Although it was already made into a TV mini-series in 1990, that was more silly than scary, especially the awful second half. Thankfully this latest version was… well, not very scary but not silly, more mundane than anything else. But 1980s nostalgia is “in” and this film taps in when you see movie marquees with Batman, Lethal Weapon 2 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5.
It centers on several kids — Bill (JAEDEN LIEBERHER), Ben (JEREMY RAY TAYLOR), Beverly (SOPHIA LILLIS), Richie (FINN WOLFHARD), Mike (CHOSEN JACOBS) and Eddie (JACK DYLAN GRAZER) — who are outsiders and self-labeled “losers” bullied by the town punks. The plot goes into motion following the disappearance, and presumed death, of Bill’s younger brother and as we see in the pre-title scene, was nabbed by a demonic clown named Pennywise (BILL SKARSGÅRD), tearing off one of the boy’s arms. There’s a whole back story concerning Pennywise and the town of Derry, Maine where disappearances are not exactly uncommon, as discovered by newcomer Ben who has spent his time in the library doing research and eventually find out the clown returns every 27 years to do his evil deeds. Keeping things simple, soon enough each of the kids begin seeing horrific things and they must band together to survive. It actually isn’t that bad in terms of the characters and actors. One dread of mine watching films are child actors and honestly, these kids are easily the strongest aspects, led way by Jaeden Lieberher and Sophia Lillis not to mention Finn Wolfhard, one of the child stars of the aforementioned Stranger Things. Even Bill Skarsgård brings something interesting beyond just being some creepy clown giving the character some sort of accent (Irish maybe?) and has some fun movements. Sadly, for all that works with the characters and their chemistry with one another, the biggest fallacy is that this horror-thriller had little to no scares and it of course implements the tried and not true of modern horror of loud sounds to clue audiences in when they should be frightened or at the very least, jolt them out of apathy. Honestly, there wasn’t one time that I even jumped, which is saying something because even some cheap scares can get to me.
The film was directed by Andy Muschietti who made a splash with the movie supernatural/horror flick Mama, a film which I still haven’t watched (but have in my collection). I don’t know how talented Muschietti is but while It was well shot and features some decent cinematography and production designs but the usage of screeching sounds really ruined any real terror outside of seeing Pennywise who, again, has the built-in creep factor being a clown. I don’t know, I guess there was some great love/appreciation for the 700-page novel and 1990 TV movie but It was a bit of a letdown considering the reviews from both professional critics and audiences alike. For me, it was the epitome of ‘fine’ if only for the performances and chemistry with the young cast rather than the horror elements.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.25/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy slip cover. Pennywise Lives (16:25; HD) looks at how actor Bill Skarsgård prepared to portray the killer clown. The Losers’ Club (15:42; HD) – This featurette introduces us to the young stars of the film and their bonding throughout the production. Author of Fear (13:51; HD) is an interview with Stephen King talking about what inspired him to write the novel and the central character, Pennywise. Deleted Scenes (15:18; HD) – There are 12 scenes that were either trimmed or cut, nothing all that interesting here and probably was excised for good reason. Preview – Annabelle: Creation |
4K VIDEO – 4.75/5, BD VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Warner Brothers Home Entertainment creeps It onto the 4K format presented in the film’s original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer (HEVC / H.265 codec) and it looks fantastic throughout with some nice bright shots whenever we’re in Derry and the drone shots of the town while also some stark black levels during the sewer sequences especially in the finale. Skin tones appear natural and you can see each pore in Pennywise’s face. While I’m not ready to say its reference quality work, this is still one excellent transfer. The 1080p high-definition transfer is nothing bad either offering similar if not quite as sharp video, but still does look great with some nice and deep dark levels. |
AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
| Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs are accompanied with Dolby Atmos tracks which generally was strong providing crisp and clear dialogue from the center channel while the track really comes to life with those jump “scares” music while the bass does kick in for an extra measure of depth. There is also a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track available presumably as an alternative for 5 speaker systems. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, It might’ve been a worldwide box office phenomenon raking in $700M and frightened audiences but for myself I can’t say I was once terrified and actually became a bit more annoyed with the jump scares more than anything. However, the movie is worth watching if only for the impressive young cast, especially Jaeden Lieberher and Sophia Lillis. This 4K/BD combo pack offers some decent features and great video/audio transfers. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.