{"id":5327,"date":"2017-09-11T10:52:30","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T15:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=5327"},"modified":"2018-08-20T16:45:04","modified_gmt":"2018-08-20T21:45:04","slug":"new-it-film-wonderful-own-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/new-it-film-wonderful-own-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"The new It<\/em> film is wonderful as its own thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I wouldn\u2019t trade my time in film school for anything \u2014 other than maybe a slightly more useful degree \u2014 it has kind of ruined the genre of \u201chorror\u201d for me. While I still enjoy spooky stories, the veil has been lifted and I can generally pick out the filmmaking tricks necessary to make the audience jump (though Twin Peaks: The Return<\/em> did scare they shit out of me, but that\u2019s mostly because of David Lynch\u2019s nightmarish sound design). This definitely proved true for It<\/em>, Andy Muschietti\u2019s new update of the 1990 horror TV miniseries. But it also didn\u2019t matter \u2014 this iteration of Stephen King\u2019s novel is wonderful as its own thing.<\/p>\n

It<\/em> is different than its predecessor in all the right ways. While the miniseries clumsily intercut between the stories of the preteen and adult versions of The Losers Club \u2014 the dogged heroes of the unbelievably fucked up burg of Derry, Maine, the new version chooses to separate into two standalone films, one with the kids and one with the grown-ups. This film focuses solely on the younger Losers Club, with the setting updated to the late 1980s.<\/p>\n

The portrayal of the Losers Club also benefits from a lighter tone in the script\u2019s dialogue. While more direct adaptations of Stephen King stories are generally riddled with repartee dialogue that\u2019s full of unexplained inside jokes, the ones that use more of their director\u2019s creative license tend to amplify the material. It\u2019s why The Shining<\/em> still stands out as the cornerstone of good King adaptations (and likely why King himself hates that film).<\/p>\n

In fact, It<\/em> views as a scarier version of The Goonies<\/em>, focusing more intently on the chemistry of its young leads in the face of adventure rather than the darkness they\u2019re chasing. And the kids\u2019 acting is far less wooden than in the original, most notably in Stranger Things<\/em> star Finn Wolfhard as class clown Richie Tozier, the role originated by Seth Green in the miniseries. Easily the best actor of the group, Wolfhard is given the film\u2019s standout lines.<\/p>\n

The film is pretty scary, too. The visuals are clipped and unsettling, and Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd\u2019s Pennywise the Clown moves with a rubbery gait that\u2019s almost horrifyingly cartoonish. I know this may be high heresy for fans of the original, but Skarsg\u00e5rd was far more frightening than Tim Curry, and it\u2019s not even close.<\/p>\n

And on a personal, more nitpicky note, kudos to It<\/em> for not over-relying on \u201980s nostalgia. Films made by grown fans have a tendency to go heavy on the nostalgia. But It<\/em> uses it as more of a timekeeper, a way to mark the age of the undoubtedly older leads of Part 2, which will presumably be set 27 years later.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking to occupy your days before Stranger Things<\/em> returns in late October, checking out It<\/em> would be a great way to do it. Then maybe you can help me work on my dream casting for the adults. Here are my picks:<\/p>\n

Bill:<\/strong> Chris Pine
\nBeverley:<\/strong> Jessica Chastain
\nBen:<\/strong> Ryan Reynolds
\nEddie:<\/strong> Colin Hanks
\nRichie:<\/strong> Bill Hader
\nStanley:<\/strong> Elijah Wood
\nMike:<\/strong> Anthony Mackie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I wouldn\u2019t trade my time in film school for anything \u2014 other than maybe a slightly more useful degree \u2014 it has kind of ruined the genre of \u201chorror\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5155],"tags":[3345,19,377,3341,3344,3342,3343],"yoast_head":"\nThe new "It" is wonderful as its own thing | The Bozho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While the 1990 miniseries clumsily intercut between the preteen and adult versions of The Losers Club, the new film focuses solely on the youngsters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/new-it-film-wonderful-own-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The new \u201cIt\u201d is wonderful as its own thing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This film focuses solely on the younger Losers Club.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/new-it-film-wonderful-own-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bozho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thebozho\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-11T15:52:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-20T21:45:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/It-fb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The new \u201cIt\u201d is wonderful as its own thing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"This film focuses solely on the younger Losers Club.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/It-tw.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@thebozho\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@thebozho\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Whitcomb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Bozho\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thebozho\/\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/thebozho\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thebozho\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/logo.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"The Bozho\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Bozho\",\"description\":\"Seeing things. 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