It (2017)

Dare I say it, the cheesy 1990 mini-series is far superior. Despite the hype, this adaptation was a real letdown. The kids were great, however the the CGI was awful and the jump scares were cheap.

Bill Skarsgard? Hard to tell between him and the CGI.

This adaptation was lacking in both exposition and soul. All we have here is a CGI clown terrorising some kids. There is no depth to the story of his origins. There is no proper backstory regarding the kids.

There is absolutely none of the feeling of dread that both the book and the original mini-series encapsulated. No atmosphere whatsoever.

Its not a bad film, but highly lacking.

Fmovies: I managed to win a preview screening to 'IT' on the 30th of August, in Sydney. I had high expectations for this film - and IT exceeded them.

The acting. Great performances all round. The kids had great chemistry, and you really believe that they were all great friends. It reminded me of Stand By Me and The Goonies. Out of the child actors, Richie (played by Finn Wolfhard) was my favourite and his jokes cracked the whole cinema up. Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise is scary and really creeped me out, but for me there was just something missing about his character and I think he wasn't given enough dialogue.

A minor flaw for me was that the plot was a bit rushed, in terms with the development of Mike (played by Chosen Jacobs), but for an adaption from a book, they managed to condense the original material very well.

Overall, it (no pun intended) was a great thriller film that kept me on the edge of my seat, with strong performances.

The opening scene of IT is so promising - well directed, atmospheric, and Skarsgard's clown is compelling to watch. There is a brief moment where while laughing mutually with the kid, the clown suddenly goes quiet and stares menacingly. Its brilliantly unsettling. But sadly, that's it as far as unsettling clown performances go - the rest of the film is typical CGI scares, and the clown throwing out taunts like the deriative satire of Scary Terry in Rick and Morty.

The cinematography and acting is great. Its watchable in an afternoon Netflix kind of way. But there is no real gist, goal or drive to the story, it all just sort of unfolds scene after scene, goalless and drifty like the string-along nature of a Police Academy film.

Its OK - but it really isn't the classic that people are making out to be. Its been incredibly over-hyped. I personally found Insidious to be a far more effective supernatural chiller.

It fmovies. What persuaded me to watch this movie was the blessing bestowed upon it by the stories original creator, Stephen King, who claimed: "I wasn't prepared for how good it really was".

He's not wrong.

"IT" is quite extraordinary. The attention to detail, the subtle but effective comedic undertone and the exquisite cinematography not only do the original title proud, they make this re-imagining of the original classic even better than its predecessor.

It's a very scary film but what impressed me was how true the film sticks to the original's tricks; it isn't filled with loud in-your-face jump scares, in fact, a lot of what makes this film scary is the slick cinematography and intricate shadow play. The use of lighting and creation of atmosphere is what makes this film so tense, which is why it's perfectly suited for those who like Horror movies but without the obnoxious gore.

Watched the pre-release as a critic - August 28th.