It, directed by Andy Mushietti, is one of those movies that already had a lot to live up to before the first trailer even came out. This film acts as both a remake of the 1990 original with Tim Curry and an adaptation of the terrifying novel by Stephen King.

The marketing definitely helped sell the movie since the first trailer gained over thirty-seven million views. So far the film has been a critical and financial success. It was given a high 85% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned over $371 million worldwide in its first two weeks. And as many will tell you, it certainly deserved all of the praise.

It is a wonderfully executed horror film with a heartfelt story, decent scares, fantastic characters, and strong direction. The movie definitely has it’s flaws and it does stop it from being something fantastic. For one, the movie isn’t that terrifying as a whole. It can certainly be scary in certain areas, but for a movie based on a novel that has been known to absolutely horrify, it could have been a bit more scary. There are also some editing errors like inconstant continuity. But as a whole, It is still a very suspenseful movie with so much under its shell.

What the movie truly does phenomenally are develop the characters and overall themes in the story. The acting from all of the child actors is near flawless. Each child has their own fear they have to conquer together and each of the characters are well developed and manage to stay interesting throughout. One of the best things about the writing is that the Losers Club is written as if they were real kids in a situation like this.

But really, the thing that people were most excited to see was the next interpretation of Pennywise, The Dancing Clown. Safe to say, Bill Skarsgard absolutely killed in this role. He is genuinely terrifying and sometimes funny in this role. Despite not being in the movie often, he felt like a real threat and challenge to the Losers Club. Bill Skarsgard should really be a contender for Best Supporting Actor for the Oscars.

The whole movie is also masterfully made, boasting with beautiful, yet fluid cinematography and astonishing direction from Andy Mushietti. The music was also something to behold. It can be heartwarming, scary, and sad. Because of that, It creates true emotion.

The thing that made me love this movie is the messages that It contains. Themes of growing up, confronting fear together, abuse, and friendship from the novel are presented in the movie so effectively.

Now It may not be all that scary, but there are just so many great things about this that it almost doesn’t matter in the end. So definitely check it out if you haven’t already.