So all those years of my childhood that I spent avoiding the book called "It" on my dad's bookshelf were pointless because "It" turns out to be Gohma from the Legend of Zelda. Wonderful.
Colin Parlett The book is actually pretty excellent (except this one scene near the end that's terrible and I still don't know why King stuck it in there). It's a classic for a reason. The miniseries just sucks balls.
I've never watched the movie or read the book, but... Are you seriously trying to tell me that the magical murderous clown's true form is basically a Legend of Zelda boss?
I guess having a magical murderous clown in LOZ would be a bit of a plot twist! ... but then again, there is Ghirahim, and I think he fits that description pretty well.
If i remember correctly the book didn't exactly make it a spider but yeah at the end its a monster. Steven King has a bad habit of doing things like that at the end.
tetsiga45XxX No you wanna creepy ringtone watch the movie crank when Jason statham calls his doctor friend that sounds alot better then the one youre talkin about
The plot makes sence, it's just that you don't really get it. The reason why Pennywise becomes a werewolf, a mumy, a dog and all the other things, is because he is the definition of fear. That's why he persues everyone differently. They all fear differente things. That's also why the battery acid and saying bird names worked. It's something that made them feel safe. The baloons are not scary because it's baloons. They are supposed to be signs of Pennywise. Kinda like that bees aren't scary until you're chades by the candyman.
Exactly! The balloons are a warning. Of course they're not scary by themselves, but when they're used several times as the alarm that says Pennywise is coming, you start shitting your pants when they appear. It's basic Pavlovian psychology. The dog didn't give a crap about the bell until he noticed that every time the bell rang, food followed. Same thing here. Balloons are awesome until you notice that every time they pop out of nowhere, soon that murderous clown will spawn. I like the Critic, but in some reviews, like this one, he seems to completely ignore or just don't get whatever's going on for the sake of an attempt at a funny comment via screaming. Hands down, though; the part with the balloons with eyeballs was unexpected and hilarious.
Ok, I usually agree with you Critic, but there's something I need to get off my chest here: The balloons aren't the scary part! Neither is "It" being a clown! The fear comes from the fact that this thing doesn't follow the rules of reality, hell, if it didn't care so much about fucking up their lives, and just killed them instantly, it would be literally unstoppable! When Mike turns around and sees the balloon, he isn't freaking out because it's a balloon, he's freaking out because he knows that It was in the room with him and he didn't even notice. If you were sitting in your room, and got up to go to the bathroom or something, you're gone for maybe a minute, and you come back to see that everything in your room has been moved around, is your reaction "Oh god, something's in my house?" or "Gosh darn it, I just cleaned this room last week." Admittedly, alot of the things you mentioned made sense, the flashbacks were pretty dumb, the spider thing was stupid, and Curry in the library was possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a long time, but god damn! This monster does something that goes beyond all sense of reality, bending time and space to scare these kids, and your reaction is "this is silly, why balloons?!?" ... Just really bugs me.
Jonadiah13 what used to freak me the fuck out was the fact that it could and would show up at any moment to torment you almost as if you were schizophrenic
***** have you ever heard of psychological horror thriller? While I have never read the book or seen this film I can definitely tell that they were going for that. Also, being the nicest person does not really fall into that. Sometimes the psychological bits come from expectations being melted into something it is not supposed to be. Like turning Sailor Moon into a horror thriller. Normally you expect it to be lighthearted and happy only to have that turned in the darkest direction possible as the show progresses . It's still bright and colorful and happy looking of the context and surroundings are not. (Heck, someone already did something like that to the magical girl genre which is normally for children.)
***** the show starts off light hearted but slowly becomes more twisted as it progresses. Characters are poppy and bright and and colorful. The show I am talking about is Madoka Magica. Go take a look at it to see what I mean.
I really want to know how they set that up in the book? Like, does she just fuck them out of j where. Or does she go over to each of their houses and get it on?
18:24 "Excuse me sir, do you have Prince Albert in a can? You do? Well, you better let the poor guy out. WA HEH! WA HEH! WA HEH!" Quite possibly my favourite Tim Curry performance. :D
This is by far my favorite NC episode. The Critic's comedy is just on point, and just kills me every time I see it. Not only that, but I loved this movie a lot as a kid.
***** lolol, I will keep the joke going, as sin, I thought the clown was inviting him to swim and if you keep most the air in your lungs, you can simply lean back with your arms open and float.
I really feel he's taking way to many shots on King's writing for stuff they did in the movie. First, Henry is evil, but he's not one dimensional, there are whole chapters on his point of view. Second, IT is explained in the book, and his origin is understood thoroughly Three, The Clown does try to kill the kids in the book, the movie ignored that for ratings purposes I assume. Fourth, the Town is supposed to be evil, that's why the kids are isolated and feel alone. Fifth, the flashbacks didn't even appear in the book in the same way. You can't blame Stephen Kings for these tropes.
yes you can. he had to review this and give permission for it to happen. Therefore he is the blame because he thought this was okay. People do not turn books into movies without the author's permission.
I dunno why NC is getting so upset over the flashbacks though. They're not necessarily annoying, and it's obvious King uses them to give each character some backstory before the last scenes, so I don't see the point in ranting about 'em without actually explaining why he doesn't like them so much.
you think the kids holding hands to survive the dead lights was bad, in the book the kids survived by having a gang bang with bev. Also every other chapter had bev getting raped, which explains why you shouldn't crank out novels while addicted to alcohol and amphetamines.
***** I have my own opinion on this.. well I think I felt what King wanted to say. Although extremely disturbing ,the moment when they have sex is the most intimate thing for them ,they are all virgins so this is something they could share and it will make them closer to each other emotionally. I remember that when I read it ,it reminded me of all the "Mother- Goddess" pagan religions , like Beverly was saving them by accepting them into her. That's what I understood ,at least.
Makisma Boeva or king was was just starting his alcohol/amphetamines bender, and hadn't hit rock bottom at that point. I know there was a huge stretch there where he had a pretty good substance addiction that was fucking with his head during which he dreamed up some really disturbing shit. Of course ever since the stand and salems lot he's been had a tendency to shoe horn in pointless sex scene which contribute nothing to the overall story.
kyriss12 Fun fact: He wrote Cujo entirely on a bender, and had no recollection of writing it, yet it manages to be one of the least supernatural books he wrote (although the book does have some elements there)
Aaron Cook the thing that makes it scary is that, well, IT'S THE SUPPOSED "MANS BEST FRIEND" THAT EVERYONE TRUSTS THAT'S KILLING THEM RUTHLESSLY! (do not read in angry, but rather terrified, voice)
That bathtub scene used to disturb the crap out of me, but now, thanks to this review, I can't get through that scene anymore without laughing hysterically.
DANTVSVERGIL I swear one day I felt a quick shower and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. (Nor was there any sprinklers or other water-source around me. It was actual RAIN from an empty sky.)
Brian Straight Yea I know what that's right, I remember during a competition that was being broadcasted on the Radio and he said "Where else but Kansas can you have a rainy day but still have the sun out?!"
Well, to put in other words, you're implying that the man behind Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Nigel Thornberry, dressed in a clown suit, would be the most frightening thing to see while you're in the shower. I beg to differ : big-ass spiders inside the tub that mysteriously disappear and lego blocks that some smartass put right outside of your shower are far more terrifying.
EVILW0LFgirl True, although if Nigel Thornberry the cartoon character was in my shower, THAT would be the most terrifying thing I could think of happening to me.
IAN 4000 Same. I laughed at Pennywise in almost every scene he is, whether it is his balloon fetish, him just being a dick to children, and especially the Library scene.
IAN 4000 Yeah, and not only that, but by the time they get to the library scene he's just become straight up likable, and that's not a good thing for a horror flick that wants to remain a horror flick until the climax, not to mention the whole thing about do we really want to make a child predator at all likable (I'm looking at you, Star Wars). I think after that point I actually started to have as much if not more empathy (not sympathy) with Pennywise than with the kids. Almost like "aww, he doesn't really hate them, he's just fucking around with them".
I love the book, but the ending sucks in both versions. Its worse in the book though, because your reaction goes from "WE WAITED THREE HOURS FOR THAT!?!" to "WE WAITED ONE THOUSAND FUCKING PAGES FOR THAT!?!"
Megalon Soccerbopper chapter 21 It may 1985 the explanation is very subtle, Tom saw It without forms (Masks) and died instantly with bleeding in eyes. (sorry for my english is little bad because i dont know all, i'm Brazilian)
the ending sucks in the book, but the lead-up IMO is so immersive. I love the way he describes the barrens and town and the kids lives. it makes me feel like a kid reading it
Why does a public library have a minifridge with beer (unless I misheard that)? Aren't public libraries ran by the county/parrish and isn't it illegal to have alcohol on city/government property?
Honestly, you'd have to read the book to understand a majority of this. Although I'm just glad the movie doesn't have THAT scene in it. If you read the book you know what i'm talking about
Jekyll /Hyde In the book, either before or after the children defeat pennywise, they get lost within the sewers and the boys begin to panic. As a result, Beverly has sex with them as a way to calm them all. Considering how old they are then it's weird and kinda disturbing
He makes a lot of the characters writers because he is projecting himself into the story. He writes lots of dark stories in general because he saw his friend get hit by a train when he was a little kid.
Well in my opinion I thought it was good, sure it got boring at times, but I like how he captures youth. I like how its very long because I like long books. I'm not saying his other books such as Carrie, Misery, The Shining or any of the other ones are bad. I love those books by him.
_It_ got its infamous reputation because, in the 70's it was controversial/stretched the bounds as being the scariest thing showed on television at the time, as a mini-series movie. And yes, fear of clowns spawned heavily because of this this film.
MadelineTopper Usually I would agree with you and I do in this case ;) but you never know with the Internet... people are a special kind of stupid these days.
Critic keeps complaining about how Pennywise didn't kill the kids, yet he explains it when he's inside Mike's book, and again in the sewers: He's trying to drive them crazy because A. He's a sadist, and B. They apparently "taste so much better".
here's a better drinking game code take a shot when ever you see a balloon take a shot when ever someone says "FLOAT" that is all, have fun and drink up!
To be far, the adaptations are almost never like the books. The novel It explains so much, the characters are deeper and it's a hell of a lot scarier. The spider is as close to It's true form as the human mind can comprehend and the deadlights cause people to die or go insane. Trust me Critic: read the novel. Oh, and please review the good adaptations like Misery, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile or Christine.
I'm sure he knows the books are better.. Also I think it's probably harder to review a good movie than it is to review a bad movie. I know he does do good reviews but they're very few and far between the bad reviews. I mean what would he say if he reviewed any of those movies you mentioned? Especially the green mile and the shawshank redemption. They're both movies that have already been given great reviews by just about everybody. That being said, I would like to see him review Misery. That is a good suggestion.
24:30 It's not that the town is in on it, it's because they're inside of IT's sphere of influence, so to speak. In Derry, people would see these bad things happening and overlook it because of a kind of hypnotism that effects just about everyone in Derry. They would see it, turn away, and not remember it again unless it was called to their attention, similar to the main casts apparent inability to recall IT before Mike called them and reminded them.
Yeah, this mini-series was kinda meh due to it being adapted pretty badly, the book was really good (and fucking terrifying). But I disagree when doug says King makes crap stories, just watch The Shawshank redemption and you'll se a very good example of birlliant story-telling.
Exactly. The Shining, Salem's Lot, Misery, IT, Bag of Bones, the Stand, The Green Mile, and, of course, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption all told great stories. Has Doug even read the books, or has just watched the movie adaptations?
I should point out Doug doesn't hate King. He does recognize that he can write great stories. Sadly, this mini-series was bad, as well as The Shining mini-series and The Langoliers. That, and King does tend to recycle quite a few plot devices (alcoholics, abusive parents, Maine etc), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It might even be better that King writes about things he knows/understands.
Huge fan of IT (more the book than the movie but hey) and this video had me laughing so much I needed to keep pausing it or I'd miss bits :) The bit with the flashback sound effects was a highlight! :D Hilarious!!!!
Like, Ritter doesn't even let Mike talk before freaking out and dropping the phone. For frick's sake he could have just been calling to catch up because they haven't seen each other in a while, i mean they were friends. Hell, what if it wasn't even Mike from when he was a kid?! "Ben, it's mike from the apple store, you're macbook is ready to be picked up"
What was the point of making It a clown that uses psychological torture, if it just turns into a spider? It defeats the whole purpose of having It a clown. Its like having a Arkham game have Joker turning into a massive-- Oh Yea...
I don't know why. But even till this day this damn movie freaks me out. I'm not even afraid of clowns but that damn clown gives me nightmares. they allll float down here!
It was explained. It was an alien spider that crashed into the earth in the Jurassic period. I don't know why anyone would find that confusing or obtuse.
Gamelover254 I could understand if he turned into images that were a lot more appealing to lure kids into a trap. So yeah, anything scary he turns into is more likely to be counterproductive.
as always, the movie does not include all details which are covered in the book. but as one who read it - its also not scary, and probably my least favourite of all my SK-books to date.
I can understand the people who are fans of Steven King don't love the review. Bad adaptions just suck since it makes the source material look bad. No comment on the book, but yeah this adaptation is pretty weak. A lot of weirdness, but not really scary. I get a good laugh from the review, but I didn't read that book so it's easier in that case. At least checking out the comments gave some insight into what was actually good in the book in comparison to...this.
I've noticed that criticized horror games and movies are constantly nitpicked on for "not being scary" But it's rather trivial since many aren't affected by the scares and still enjoy it including myself.
+Kiba Inuzuka No, but I've seen a couple videos on here and they do have a great spooky atmosphere. And thank you (it's Catbug, isn't it?). I love marshmallows too.
I think that what King tried (and... maybe failed) to show with the story was that childhood traumas stay with us all our lives as phobias. For example, the dog that attacks the mental hospital guy. King has a phobia of dogs, I think (see also: Cujo) so that's what he writes into his books. As well as alcoholic, terrible parents, terrible spouses, being bullied... it's pretty much autobiographical and cathartic for King. BUT, these fears can be fought through childhood innocence, as shown in the last scene where the near-cathatonic woman is revived by the sheer simple joy of riding a bicycle. "IT" would prey on those phobias by assuming the shape of that which scared you most, and a lot of people around the world (particularly kids) are terrified of clowns. The whole balloon thing is taking something that's normally joyous and fun and turning it into the prelude to something you fear. Plus the whole "they float" thing is a metaphor for death, I believe. Y'know, ghosts and all that? I did find it disappointing that IT was a creature from outer space and not something supernatural like a boggart or a poltergeist. That would've made more sense. The book does a better job IMO but I do agree... King's endings tend to be... really disappointing.
I really wish he didn't blame all flaws of the adaptations on the source material. They're adaptations. A lot of stuff was badly translated or left out all together.
Way to address my point, whoever you are. If you wanna make a point that the original book has stuff you think is needless or stupid, fine. I don't like that scene either, it wasn't needed. My point is that it's wrong to blame flaws of the TV show, new stupid ideas or badly developed ideas, completely on the author of the original book.
Funny, IT didn't make me afraid of clowns as a child. It was Killer Clowns From Outer Space. My mom used to make me watch that shit and it'd give me damn nightmares lol.
for me it is and always will be the poltergeist clown, that made me and my siblings want to all sleep in the same bed when we were kids, we were terrified shitless, looking back im like "why did our parents let us watch that?" it was terrifying.
i thought the giant spider was stupid i watched the movie before the review and it was fucking stupid the clown was awesome but hte spider was fucking stupid
The interesting parts in the book (which i hope they do in the remake) is all the different ways IT killed the different kids. Ripping off the face of Butch, ripping the head off the kid as the monster from the black lagoon, eating henrys friend patrick alive, etc. If the remake does that, theyd be taking a big step toward doing things that most horror movies dont. Itd be interesting.
Yeah, I too used to be HORRIFIED by this movie as a kid, but now, I really do see it's kinda goofy. The book however, can still be very creepy and entertaining as hell. The movie had to leave A LOT of stuff from the book out, mainly because it'd probably be 12 hours long if it covered everything, as well as some parts just being...plain NSFW. Like the explanation that Pennywise is simply an otherwordly entity that feeds on human flesh, being particularly fond of kids. He taps into each kid's darkest fears, and turns himself into what they fear while stalking them, because the fear is like "salting the meat", simply using the clown form as a "base" or "standard" physical form. There's also: The very interesting character of Patrick Hockstetter, a psychotic, solipsistic kid who killed his baby brother, tortures animals to death, and gives the bully Henry a hand-job just to blackmail him into giving him a dollar. The various stories of how Pennywise has lurked in Derry for thousands of years and how he's affected generations of people over history. The scene where Beverly actually has sex with EVERY SINGLE one of the other boys while they're all down in the sewers to confront Pennywise to calm them down and keep them from giving up...among many other things. So yeah, people, you're better off just reading the book. Or if you can't for whatever reason, you can always look up an audiobook reading on RUclips or audible.com.
IT is good, I saw it when I was like 7 years old and yeah then it was scary. The thing is it's an alien in the end so that pisses all over it and secondly, why do we have to see them as adults? It's scarier when they're children being chased by what we assumed was a fear demon. That's fucking scary, but then he's an adult and it's a spider alien dressed like a perverted clown. That's just lame.
Clowns aren't scary, children are annoying, and aliens are just a stupid as fear demons. In fact aliens are just a type of monster people made up to symbolize their fears. It was boring, but scary at parts. I only really watched on request of my friend(a squeamish white girl easily scared by this type of stuff) So I should have expected it's nowhere near as suspenseful or terrifying as I thought it would be.
People did in the 50's. Ever hear of the Body-Snatchers? Aliens started out as a metaphor for communism during the Cold War(If I recall my history class correctly). Though at this point, I'd shit my pants if I ever came face to face with the Flood or a Necromorph.
It is... only kiiiind of an alien. It's more like Cthulu in that it's interdimensional, coming here since early in Earth's history, but existing since the beginning of this universe or even before. So, it's more godlike or just an "entity" of sorts. That's a given seeing how big of a fan Stephen King is for H.P. Lovecraft. Maybe his biggest fan. Really, to tell the difference between the kid's and adult's stories, you just kind of have to read the book. Another case of a movie just not doing the literature justice.
Will Jonassen I definitely need the book and yeah I see what you mean, but just watching the movie as stand alone you can't really tell. I think they should have focused more on the creature as what it's supposed to be instead of "hey look a funny creepy clown" and then near the end throwing in the godlike being.
You know, even though this review has been out for years, I'm starting to understand why the movie wasn't scary to Critic, and to many viewers. IT turns into what the kids fear the most. And unfortunately, the fact the audience would likely not be afraid of what the kids are frightened of, combined with the cheesy special effects, this ends up making IT's transformations look silly, especially the spider monster thing at the end. I mean, if IT were turn into my worst fears, it would probably be a mothman-like creature with plant vines and spirals on it. It'll look silly to most people. And that's the problem with the movie. In the book (which I have not read) it would have been scary because it's left up to our imagination what IT looks like based on the descriptions, here it looks silly.
when i saw this movie i was scared it was really good well at least to me but the ending with the spider was sooooooooooooooooooo fucking stupid it was fucking horrible
The book IT is even more nuts its awesome I mean A giant FUCKING COSMIC TURTLE I'm not making this up. As for the movie I might be one of the few kids I knew who LOVED this and didn't find this movie the least bit scary. Two things 1. about that girl sleeping with every member of the group..... And that isnt IT's real form the book states that's just the closest thing our minds can approximate.
Kira Lawlet I'm reading the book now and love it! I watch the movie when I was little and thought it was hilarious, haha. I'm not going to act like the book is a masterpiece since I haven't finished it yet, but I do feel it was scarier in book form.
When you read it you'll probably be like "oh okay" but out of context it sounds so insane. I could tell you about the turtle but I'd rather you read it.darwincity
And IT was trying to kill them on the first encounter. Plus, there wasn't a derpy shower scene with Eddie was supposed to be a leper. :P Would love to see this remade.
The movie, while I loved it, didn't do the book justice. They changed /so/ much or removed other things... though some of it they would definitely have a /very/ difficult time incorporating into a movie and having it accepted even at an X-rated level. However, just to clear a few things: in the book, there were much more background on EVERYTHING, but that's because the book had the time and availability for it. In a movie, you only have so much screentime and so much of a budget to incorporate things in, so you don't have the ability to 'stretch out your wings' with it nearly as much as with a book (Harry Potter, anyone?) Henry Bowers and his gang were the only group of bullies, but they were very well known, and you have to remember that Derry (where this story is set) is a rather small town, so having just one major gang of bullies isn't really out of the ordinary. As I said before, a lot of the things in the book get explanation, including all of the characters' backgrounds (including Henry Bowers, who has a very definite reason for being 'inhumane' and 'psychotic', as Doug puts it), as well as It's origin. As for Stephen King's repeated traits in his writing, he writes mostly horror fiction, and a lot of what he uses is prevalent in all horror fiction, not just his own stories, and to be honest, its very fitting. Having psychotic, angsty or otherwise 'negative' characters is kind of hand-in-hand with horror. The flashbacks in the movie aren't unfounded, in multiple ways. One, they are based on how the book itself was written. The book "It" wasn't written in a linear narrative; it went back and forth between times and characters, so too did the movie. Also, given the kids' experiences, having flashbacks of such times is not uncalled for. Lastly, since the movie follows the book in not being explained in a linear narrative, there's very few ways to visually explain the 'past' in the movie in a nonlinear way without having flashbacks. The clown didn't kill Henry because he knew that he had a very strong and specific grudge against their 'mutual' enemies, and would use him against them later. Also, for the clown's different forms and also (specifically) Stan's chanting of the birds' names: IT takes on the form of whatever you fear most, which in Stan's case was a mummy. To prevent fear taking hold of him, he concentrates and uses something to break that fear, which was the birds' names, and once his fear is at least temporarily broken, he manages to run away. But as much as I loved this movie, it was nothing compared to the book. The only thing it has over the book is Tim Curry.. and pretty much its only redeeming quality, aside from the kids. (Also, in the book: It is not really a spider. At all. Bad movie, bad.)
"missing member of the insane clown posse" i fucking lost it hahhahah
"The chorus from Grease" was funnier
+waterblonk "Bev...you need me. BEEEEEEVVVVVV!" LOL
"SCARING THE LITTLE GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I'm getting surprisingly aroused the more I talk about how much they float."
So all those years of my childhood that I spent avoiding the book called "It" on my dad's bookshelf were pointless because "It" turns out to be Gohma from the Legend of Zelda.
Wonderful.
Colin Parlett
Well thanks a fuckin lot colin... you let the god damn deku tree die... I hope you're happy.
Colin Parlett The book is actually pretty excellent (except this one scene near the end that's terrible and I still don't know why King stuck it in there). It's a classic for a reason.
The miniseries just sucks balls.
Colin Parlett well... which one oot? twilite ?
metal slug ....gohma. not armogohma... though armogohma would certainly make more sense.
*slowly walks away.*
(says in markiplier voice) ok bye
I have a message from Matthew Broderick.
He says *ahem*
"That's a lot of balloons."
THEY FLOAT!!!
OH YES,THEY FLOAT
+Zero Ryoko 999 DOWN HERE!!!
I've never watched the movie or read the book, but... Are you seriously trying to tell me that the magical murderous clown's true form is basically a Legend of Zelda boss?
That would be SOOOOOO cool!
I guess having a magical murderous clown in LOZ would be a bit of a plot twist!
... but then again, there is Ghirahim, and I think he fits that description pretty well.
Ghirawhat? Stop making up words!
If i remember correctly the book didn't exactly make it a spider but yeah at the end its a monster. Steven King has a bad habit of doing things like that at the end.
Nick Kerttula Ghirahim is one of the main villains in LOZ skyward sword
I see a clown anywhere that isn't a circus and I'm getting out of their faster then you can say nope!
Also at 4:24 am I the only one who finds that ringtone kinda creepy. :/
tetsiga45XxX Yes.
tetsiga45XxX No you wanna creepy ringtone watch the movie crank when Jason statham calls his doctor friend that sounds alot better then the one youre talkin about
I know some burlesque dancers who do clown acts, those count? There are clowns AND bewbs! Difficult choice? :P
The plot makes sence, it's just that you don't really get it. The reason why Pennywise becomes a werewolf, a mumy, a dog and all the other things, is because he is the definition of fear. That's why he persues everyone differently. They all fear differente things. That's also why the battery acid and saying bird names worked. It's something that made them feel safe. The baloons are not scary because it's baloons. They are supposed to be signs of Pennywise. Kinda like that bees aren't scary until you're chades by the candyman.
Exactly! The balloons are a warning. Of course they're not scary by themselves, but when they're used several times as the alarm that says Pennywise is coming, you start shitting your pants when they appear. It's basic Pavlovian psychology. The dog didn't give a crap about the bell until he noticed that every time the bell rang, food followed. Same thing here. Balloons are awesome until you notice that every time they pop out of nowhere, soon that murderous clown will spawn.
I like the Critic, but in some reviews, like this one, he seems to completely ignore or just don't get whatever's going on for the sake of an attempt at a funny comment via screaming. Hands down, though; the part with the balloons with eyeballs was unexpected and hilarious.
ok, i can understand all of that, but what's with pennywise's obsession with the balloons floating?
cyberman421 nah i don't really get that either XD But it makes hin feel a bit more twisted
Isaak Keidser Flygare i guess that makes sense.
I wonder how he'd pursue someone with hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.
I love this movie. Treated it like a nonsensical dark comedy flick.
Ok, I usually agree with you Critic, but there's something I need to get off my chest here:
The balloons aren't the scary part! Neither is "It" being a clown! The fear comes from the fact that this thing doesn't follow the rules of reality, hell, if it didn't care so much about fucking up their lives, and just killed them instantly, it would be literally unstoppable! When Mike turns around and sees the balloon, he isn't freaking out because it's a balloon, he's freaking out because he knows that It was in the room with him and he didn't even notice.
If you were sitting in your room, and got up to go to the bathroom or something, you're gone for maybe a minute, and you come back to see that everything in your room has been moved around, is your reaction "Oh god, something's in my house?" or "Gosh darn it, I just cleaned this room last week."
Admittedly, alot of the things you mentioned made sense, the flashbacks were pretty dumb, the spider thing was stupid, and Curry in the library was possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a long time, but god damn! This monster does something that goes beyond all sense of reality, bending time and space to scare these kids, and your reaction is "this is silly, why balloons?!?"
... Just really bugs me.
Jonadiah13 what used to freak me the fuck out was the fact that it could and would show up at any moment to torment you almost as if you were schizophrenic
***** Think of it like this: What is suppose to be kind and good feeling turns the opposite of that. It messes with the mind.
***** have you ever heard of psychological horror thriller? While I have never read the book or seen this film I can definitely tell that they were going for that.
Also, being the nicest person does not really fall into that. Sometimes the psychological bits come from expectations being melted into something it is not supposed to be. Like turning Sailor Moon into a horror thriller. Normally you expect it to be lighthearted and happy only to have that turned in the darkest direction possible as the show progresses . It's still bright and colorful and happy looking of the context and surroundings are not. (Heck, someone already did something like that to the magical girl genre which is normally for children.)
***** the show starts off light hearted but slowly becomes more twisted as it progresses. Characters are poppy and bright and and colorful. The show I am talking about is Madoka Magica. Go take a look at it to see what I mean.
***** I suppose you get a dark comedy.
At least it didn't include the weird sex between Beverly and each of the other kids in turn thing from the book.
Steven King really does have some issues.
Well, there's always the upcoming remake. ;-)
I really want to know how they set that up in the book? Like, does she just fuck them out of j where. Or does she go over to each of their houses and get it on?
They're in IT's lair, she decides she needs to have sex with each of them to bond them or something. It goes into great detail for about 4 pages.
18:24 "Excuse me sir, do you have Prince Albert in a can? You do? Well, you better let the poor guy out. WA HEH! WA HEH! WA HEH!"
Quite possibly my favourite Tim Curry performance. :D
This is by far my favorite NC episode. The Critic's comedy is just on point, and just kills me every time I see it. Not only that, but I loved this movie a lot as a kid.
the whole they float thing is referring to dead bodies I think.
which would you know... float... in the water
It makes sense in the book
the other ghost girl thats what I thought.
I always thought "float" referred to balloons.
***** lolol, I will keep the joke going, as sin, I thought the clown was inviting him to swim and if you keep most the air in your lungs, you can simply lean back with your arms open and float.
I'm EXTREMELY arachnophobic and even I don't find that monster scary. I think that says a lot...
AuroraKnux the clown wasnt even half that bad
AuroraKnux So am I and of course it didn't scare me. IT LOOKS LIKE A FUCKING CRAB! XD
AuroraKnux Same here friend, the Temple of Time boss from Twilight Princess scared me more than the spider in this
AuroraKnux What about Shelob (?) from Return Of The King?
Jekyll /Hyde the only clown to ever scare me is laughing jack
I really feel he's taking way to many shots on King's writing for stuff they did in the movie.
First, Henry is evil, but he's not one dimensional, there are whole chapters on his point of view.
Second, IT is explained in the book, and his origin is understood thoroughly
Three, The Clown does try to kill the kids in the book, the movie ignored that for ratings purposes I assume.
Fourth, the Town is supposed to be evil, that's why the kids are isolated and feel alone.
Fifth, the flashbacks didn't even appear in the book in the same way.
You can't blame Stephen Kings for these tropes.
yes you can. he had to review this and give permission for it to happen. Therefore he is the blame because he thought this was okay. People do not turn books into movies without the author's permission.
Yes I see. He should of learned his lesson and demanded to be apart of the production. The author for Twilight did this and she lives them.
*loves*
WilliamsBeMe i hate that girl to her guts just for writing that story
I dunno why NC is getting so upset over the flashbacks though. They're not necessarily annoying, and it's obvious King uses them to give each character some backstory before the last scenes, so I don't see the point in ranting about 'em without actually explaining why he doesn't like them so much.
I saw this show when I was little, on a VHS. I wasn't scared of it. Now I rewatched it... I laughed my ass off😂
Damn you have balls
This NC is a classic. Had to come back and watch it again. And the part where he's talking about Tim Curry in the library has me in tears.
you think the kids holding hands to survive the dead lights was bad, in the book the kids survived by having a gang bang with bev. Also every other chapter had bev getting raped, which explains why you shouldn't crank out novels while addicted to alcohol and amphetamines.
...gonna have to call Jackson because I don't have the urge to say "what the fuck"...REALLY?!
*****
I have my own opinion on this.. well I think I felt what King wanted to say. Although extremely disturbing ,the moment when they have sex is the most intimate thing for them ,they are all virgins so this is something they could share and it will make them closer to each other emotionally. I remember that when I read it ,it reminded me of all the "Mother- Goddess" pagan religions , like Beverly was saving them by accepting them into her. That's what I understood ,at least.
Makisma Boeva
or king was was just starting his alcohol/amphetamines bender, and hadn't hit rock bottom at that point. I know there was a huge stretch there where he had a pretty good substance addiction that was fucking with his head during which he dreamed up some really disturbing shit.
Of course ever since the stand and salems lot he's been had a tendency to shoe horn in pointless sex scene which contribute nothing to the overall story.
kyriss12 Fun fact: He wrote Cujo entirely on a bender, and had no recollection of writing it, yet it manages to be one of the least supernatural books he wrote (although the book does have some elements
there)
Aaron Cook
the thing that makes it scary is that, well, IT'S THE SUPPOSED "MANS BEST FRIEND" THAT EVERYONE TRUSTS THAT'S KILLING THEM RUTHLESSLY! (do not read in angry, but rather terrified, voice)
That bathtub scene used to disturb the crap out of me, but now, thanks to this review, I can't get through that scene anymore without laughing hysterically.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but first you gotta throw 'em"
-Nostalgia Critic
"The only black man in Maine". I died there for some reason XD
Maybe because there's not a lot of racial diversity in most Stephen King stories?
Tristan Hartup Maybe that's it. I don't know.
At least black guys don't die in his horror stories ^^
Tristan Hartup Maine is the whitest state percentage wise.
Spy Rex
I think the black guy in the Langoliers died. At least in the movie/series.
"...the sunniest rainy day in history..."
Only in Kansas, oh wait this is Maine.
DANTVSVERGIL I live in Kansas. The number of "sunny rainy days" you'll experience will boggle the mind.
Brian Straight
I know right?! Living in Kansas can be pretty cool sometimes.
DANTVSVERGIL I swear one day I felt a quick shower and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. (Nor was there any sprinklers or other water-source around me. It was actual RAIN from an empty sky.)
Brian Straight
Yea I know what that's right, I remember during a competition that was being broadcasted on the Radio and he said "Where else but Kansas can you have a rainy day but still have the sun out?!"
DANTVSVERGIL Hawaii :p
imagine you are taking a shower. Tim Curry walks in wearing a clown suit. how is that not the most frightening thing that could happen to you?
Watch Psycho.
Well, to put in other words, you're implying that the man behind Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Nigel Thornberry, dressed in a clown suit, would be the most frightening thing to see while you're in the shower.
I beg to differ : big-ass spiders inside the tub that mysteriously disappear and lego blocks that some smartass put right outside of your shower are far more terrifying.
EVILW0LFgirl
True, although if Nigel Thornberry the cartoon character was in my shower, THAT would be the most terrifying thing I could think of happening to me.
The cameras purrrrty!
It never really scared me. If Pennywise used his scary/funny routine, I'd just laugh, because he is genuinely pretty funny.
IAN 4000 They all float!
IAN 4000 hes actually pretty funny, it reminds me of the movie Leprechaun
IAN 4000 ya the only clown that scares me is laughing jack
IAN 4000 Same. I laughed at Pennywise in almost every scene he is, whether it is his balloon fetish, him just being a dick to children, and especially the Library scene.
IAN 4000 Yeah, and not only that, but by the time they get to the library scene he's just become straight up likable, and that's not a good thing for a horror flick that wants to remain a horror flick until the climax, not to mention the whole thing about do we really want to make a child predator at all likable (I'm looking at you, Star Wars). I think after that point I actually started to have as much if not more empathy (not sympathy) with Pennywise than with the kids. Almost like "aww, he doesn't really hate them, he's just fucking around with them".
I love the book, but the ending sucks in both versions. Its worse in the book though, because your reaction goes from "WE WAITED THREE HOURS FOR THAT!?!" to "WE WAITED ONE THOUSAND FUCKING PAGES FOR THAT!?!"
Megalon Soccerbopper Not really, no.
Megalon Soccerbopper chapter 21 It may 1985 the explanation is very subtle, Tom saw It without forms (Masks) and died instantly with bleeding in eyes. (sorry for my english is little bad because i dont know all, i'm Brazilian)
Megalon Soccerbopper You're welcome. I had to read it twice for have noticed this,
the ending sucks in the book, but the lead-up IMO is so immersive. I love the way he describes the barrens and town and the kids lives. it makes me feel like a kid reading it
Ok, in the book the characters all basically had a gang bang with Beverly after defeating Pennywise as kids. I don't know why no one talks about that.
I remember that! I didn't know how to react to it.
"My dream is finally realized! I- //sniff sniff// What smells like urinated whiskey?"
"You smell that? That's *death*"
"How's your sex life?" Oh no he's turning into Tommy Wisaeu
AuroraKnux “what’s your sex life?” Lol as creepy as Tim’s pennywise is, he still makes me chuckle XD
Why does a public library have a minifridge with beer (unless I misheard that)? Aren't public libraries ran by the county/parrish and isn't it illegal to have alcohol on city/government property?
ummm...it's a MOVIE
Well realism is important for things like these so....
I always knew this was a comedy. :D
Spider-It... Spider-It... Does whatever a Spider-It does...
"...sunniest rainy day ever"
In New Zealand, we call that Saturday.
''The book starts to have the time of the month'' OMG I DIED XDDDD
Honestly, you'd have to read the book to understand a majority of this. Although I'm just glad the movie doesn't have THAT scene in it. If you read the book you know what i'm talking about
Ben Wasserman im not gonna read it so u might as well tell me
Jekyll /Hyde In the book, either before or after the children defeat pennywise, they get lost within the sewers and the boys begin to panic. As a result, Beverly has sex with them as a way to calm them all. Considering how old they are then it's weird and kinda disturbing
Thus leaving that scene out of the movie and the manner in which the movie is told makes it better narrated than the book
Ben Wasserman wait so a little girl has sex with all the little boys........thats weird
Jekyll /Hyde Exactly. That's usually why I prefer the movie
"didja get that audience? Ok here we go" XD man he is funny!
So many of his story's have main characters who are writers. It gets old after a while, Considering how many careers are out there to choose from.
He makes a lot of the characters writers because he is projecting himself into the story. He writes lots of dark stories in general because he saw his friend get hit by a train when he was a little kid.
Adam Peretz Damn that must have sucked.I mean I was worried sick when my friend had concussion last week, so that would literally kill me inside.
The book is actueally really good. It explains a lot, like wear pennywise came from and other stuff
In the book, it said that these kids did this ritual called the ritual of Chüd. Did they ever do it in the movie? Just curious.
Oh ok. Sorry I just didn't know.
Well in my opinion I thought it was good, sure it got boring at times, but I like how he captures youth. I like how its very long because I like long books. I'm not saying his other books such as Carrie, Misery, The Shining or any of the other ones are bad. I love those books by him.
The critic has to admit this movie is best watched from 15 and under.
Gave me nightmares and was scared of the drain for weeks.
I watched when I was 8-9 years old and found it hilarious. But, that's just me. XD
_It_ got its infamous reputation because, in the 70's it was controversial/stretched the bounds as being the scariest thing showed on television at the time, as a mini-series movie.
And yes, fear of clowns spawned heavily because of this this film.
Rhett Gedies this miniseries was in 1990, not the 70s.
70's? This was made in 1990.
Keep in mind, guys, that he is drunk. Also, Doug is entitled to his own opinions.
You know he's not really drunk... He's acting. Just in case you aren't joking ;)
he puts it on a bit i was cringing a lot when he was doing the drunk jokes
MadelineTopper Usually I would agree with you and I do in this case ;) but you never know with the Internet... people are a special kind of stupid these days.
SNAKE PLISSKEN I know it's an act. Give me some credit. But, he did say he invented this drinking game to calm everybody's nerves
HeroOfDarkness13 It's all good, see my last message ^ :D I can't help it sometimes... must not look at comments lol
"They all float. You will too." The balloons are the souls of the children It devoured.
Critic keeps complaining about how Pennywise didn't kill the kids, yet he explains it when he's inside Mike's book, and again in the sewers: He's trying to drive them crazy because A. He's a sadist, and B. They apparently "taste so much better".
I think that the mummy was so confused by what he was doing that it stopped to try to understand it.
It's funny how many people are saying Critic is wrong here. You all realize what an opinion is, right?
here's a better drinking game code
take a shot when ever you see a balloon
take a shot when ever someone says "FLOAT"
that is all,
have fun and drink up!
You know, you are going to become a serial killer If you tell people to do that.
bythewaysubscribetomychannelbeattherush!
the "whaaaaat,,, why,,,,?" part killed me
I actually played the drinking game... i still have a hangover.
a giant, fucking spider was IT. are you serious? and its got a GIANT GLOWING WEAK POINT ON ITS STOMACH like a fucking VIDEO GAME.
Spiders! A giant legion of Spiders!
What the fuck it looks like a fucking spider and a crab o_o
In the book is so much more. Read it
If I ever come across the book, I will read it
Yeah its not really a spider. At all. It is so much more. Not gonna ruin it but yeah, definitely not what you think.
Of course they were high. There balloons, they float c:
What is wrong with supernatural horror that is never fully explained or understood?
EVERYTHING
This was one of the first NC reviews I ever saw, and to this day it is still one of my favorites!
To be far, the adaptations are almost never like the books. The novel It explains so much, the characters are deeper and it's a hell of a lot scarier. The spider is as close to It's true form as the human mind can comprehend and the deadlights cause people to die or go insane. Trust me Critic: read the novel. Oh, and please review the good adaptations like Misery, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile or Christine.
I'm sure he knows the books are better.. Also I think it's probably harder to review a good movie than it is to review a bad movie. I know he does do good reviews but they're very few and far between the bad reviews. I mean what would he say if he reviewed any of those movies you mentioned? Especially the green mile and the shawshank redemption. They're both movies that have already been given great reviews by just about everybody. That being said, I would like to see him review Misery. That is a good suggestion.
umm, what are you talking about?
puffnisse Who, me or him?
him
Oh cool.
I mean, all things aside, Tim Curry's a good actor IMO.
+Evilbelgium Oh, He is. His ham is awesome in this, though, and he's more funny than anything. It's fantastic.
A good actor with either a Russian roulette approach to selecting roles or a disastrous agent...
24:30
It's not that the town is in on it, it's because they're inside of IT's sphere of influence, so to speak. In Derry, people would see these bad things happening and overlook it because of a kind of hypnotism that effects just about everyone in Derry. They would see it, turn away, and not remember it again unless it was called to their attention, similar to the main casts apparent inability to recall IT before Mike called them and reminded them.
I love it when Critic's drunk in reviews - he's got a great style of playing a drunk person. I died at 'the camera's pretty'.
huh, props to NC for not taking shots at the conservative christian family. thats a surprisingly sad rarity among internet celebrities....
Totally agree. One of the many reasons why Doug is awesome
Agree!
I don't think there ENOUGH people hating on conservative christians...
rabbitmaskedman hey, found the douchebag atheist!
Xarazel lol, nice assumption.
It was a three hour episode of goosebumps
Looks like the Critic slapped Bill so hard he felt it till adulthood.
One of your best Doug!🤣
Yeah, this mini-series was kinda meh due to it being adapted pretty badly, the book was really good (and fucking terrifying). But I disagree when doug says King makes crap stories, just watch The Shawshank redemption and you'll se a very good example of birlliant story-telling.
Exactly.
The Shining, Salem's Lot, Misery, IT, Bag of Bones, the Stand, The Green Mile, and, of course, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption all told great stories.
Has Doug even read the books, or has just watched the movie adaptations?
elcap22 Well, he IS a movie critic...
***** HOLD IT!
CplEthane Um, yeah sure. You do know that the adaptation left out fucking half of the book, right?
I should point out Doug doesn't hate King. He does recognize that he can write great stories. Sadly, this mini-series was bad, as well as The Shining mini-series and The Langoliers.
That, and King does tend to recycle quite a few plot devices (alcoholics, abusive parents, Maine etc), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It might even be better that King writes about things he knows/understands.
Huge fan of IT (more the book than the movie but hey) and this video had me laughing so much I needed to keep pausing it or I'd miss bits :) The bit with the flashback sound effects was a highlight! :D Hilarious!!!!
SCARING THE LITTLE GIRL?? LADY!!
Like, Ritter doesn't even let Mike talk before freaking out and dropping the phone. For frick's sake he could have just been calling to catch up because they haven't seen each other in a while, i mean they were friends. Hell, what if it wasn't even Mike from when he was a kid?! "Ben, it's mike from the apple store, you're macbook is ready to be picked up"
I just got finished reading the book and I have to say, the movie is so inferior it almost doesn't deserve to be called "It".
22:48. I honestly didn't expect eyeballs lol
What was the point of making It a clown that uses psychological torture, if it just turns into a spider? It defeats the whole purpose of having It a clown. Its like having a Arkham game have Joker turning into a massive-- Oh Yea...
Monsieur Awesome Inc. Because a clown can entice children lol, a great big fuck off alien spider isnt exactly going to go down well with kids lol.
OMG the acting in the last bit was ball churning. BRAVO!
European Swallow! Anyone know the air speed velocity of an unladen one?
Monty Python ftw
I don't know why. But even till this day this damn movie freaks me out. I'm not even afraid of clowns but that damn clown gives me nightmares. they allll float down here!
It's a beautiful Tim curry out tonight aaaaaaaahhhhh
"This is turning into a stand up at Jeffrey Dahmer's house" ROFL, I seriously just died
Is this "It" or "the Clown Knight Returns" (to be fair, I also considered the "WatchClown")
I would also accept "The Killing Clown" or "The Man Who Clowns". Or maybe even "A Serious Clown in Serious Maine".
***** HOLY SHIT! A NERD! I HAVE FOUND ONE OF MY OWN!!!
the Comic Nation 108 Till the day I die :D
I always thought Clowns of the Galaxy would be more fitting...given that...the book has a giant cosmic turtle
the only thing I think of when I hear that is a derp turtle
It was explained. It was an alien spider that crashed into the earth in the Jurassic period. I don't know why anyone would find that confusing or obtuse.
Why does he turn into a clown? Pointless really.
Gamelover254
I could understand if he turned into images that were a lot more appealing to lure kids into a trap. So yeah, anything scary he turns into is more likely to be counterproductive.
as always, the movie does not include all details which are covered in the book. but as one who read it - its also not scary, and probably my least favourite of all my SK-books to date.
He turned into a clown because it was a fear the kids had it takes a form of your fears that's why he was a clown
BillyKatze really, worse than needful things? man that book sucked.
I can understand the people who are fans of Steven King don't love the review. Bad adaptions just suck since it makes the source material look bad.
No comment on the book, but yeah this adaptation is pretty weak. A lot of weirdness, but not really scary. I get a good laugh from the review, but I didn't read that book so it's easier in that case. At least checking out the comments gave some insight into what was actually good in the book in comparison to...this.
I love this movie, but Doug's review makes sense. And yeah, I was scared of the clown when I was a kid but now that I'm an adult he's not scary.
I've noticed that criticized horror games and movies are constantly nitpicked on for "not being scary" But it's rather trivial since many aren't affected by the scares and still enjoy it including myself.
Only games that scared me were the old Resident Evil's and Silent Hill 1.
+Kiba Inuzuka No, but I've seen a couple videos on here and they do have a great spooky atmosphere. And thank you (it's Catbug, isn't it?). I love marshmallows too.
I think that what King tried (and... maybe failed) to show with the story was that childhood traumas stay with us all our lives as phobias. For example, the dog that attacks the mental hospital guy. King has a phobia of dogs, I think (see also: Cujo) so that's what he writes into his books. As well as alcoholic, terrible parents, terrible spouses, being bullied... it's pretty much autobiographical and cathartic for King.
BUT, these fears can be fought through childhood innocence, as shown in the last scene where the near-cathatonic woman is revived by the sheer simple joy of riding a bicycle.
"IT" would prey on those phobias by assuming the shape of that which scared you most, and a lot of people around the world (particularly kids) are terrified of clowns. The whole balloon thing is taking something that's normally joyous and fun and turning it into the prelude to something you fear. Plus the whole "they float" thing is a metaphor for death, I believe. Y'know, ghosts and all that?
I did find it disappointing that IT was a creature from outer space and not something supernatural like a boggart or a poltergeist. That would've made more sense.
The book does a better job IMO but I do agree... King's endings tend to be... really disappointing.
The spider thing actually looks more like a King Crab than a spider in my opinion. Mabye it's a joke, Stephen King, King Crab?
12:18 - 12:25, Am I the only one who thinks that's just how Tim Curry tries to pick up people at clubs?
i knew it was the balloons from the start, they didnt fool me
I don't care what anyone says, this is my favorite Stephan King thing, EVER!!!!!
I really wish he didn't blame all flaws of the adaptations on the source material. They're adaptations. A lot of stuff was badly translated or left out all together.
Way to address my point, whoever you are.
If you wanna make a point that the original book has stuff you think is needless or stupid, fine. I don't like that scene either, it wasn't needed.
My point is that it's wrong to blame flaws of the TV show, new stupid ideas or badly developed ideas, completely on the author of the original book.
***** The movie was definitely goofy. I actually liked the book; it certainly had some more disturbing elements in my opinion.
Funny, IT didn't make me afraid of clowns as a child. It was Killer Clowns From Outer Space. My mom used to make me watch that shit and it'd give me damn nightmares lol.
***** I mean...we had one tv back then and people didn't complain about every little thing either.
for me it is and always will be the poltergeist clown, that made me and my siblings want to all sleep in the same bed when we were kids, we were terrified shitless, looking back im like "why did our parents let us watch that?" it was terrifying.
Ha killer clowns from outer space was funny like that scene where it says"another door another door"
+frank ponds The clowns from Killer Clowns From Outer Space are decidedly alien. Probably a factor there... :D
Killer Clowns is great
The spider is not pennywise's true form just a manfestation of a common fear as the naked eye cant actually comprihend its true form
This isn't even my final form
Exactly :)
i thought the giant spider was stupid i watched the movie before the review and it was fucking stupid the clown was awesome but hte spider was fucking stupid
Wait, if that's the case, then how could they kill it so easily? That makes even less sense.
cause if you watch the movie they say it feeds off our fear the kids killed it cause they arent scared
actually the balloons where a warning so in (some) ways it was a bit tad creepy. O_O
Lol Sweet Transvestite part
The interesting parts in the book (which i hope they do in the remake) is all the different ways IT killed the different kids.
Ripping off the face of Butch, ripping the head off the kid as the monster from the black lagoon, eating henrys friend patrick alive, etc.
If the remake does that, theyd be taking a big step toward doing things that most horror movies dont. Itd be interesting.
Aw yeah, weird clown music! Turn it UP!
Gat It Is Like A GOOSE
I died laughing when the explosion came out and he went "spiders! Spiders! A giant legion of spiders!" Lmbo!!!!
Yeah, I too used to be HORRIFIED by this movie as a kid, but now, I really do see it's kinda goofy.
The book however, can still be very creepy and entertaining as hell.
The movie had to leave A LOT of stuff from the book out, mainly because it'd probably be 12 hours long if it covered everything, as well as some parts just being...plain NSFW.
Like the explanation that Pennywise is simply an otherwordly entity that feeds on human flesh, being particularly fond of kids. He taps into each kid's darkest fears, and turns himself into what they fear while stalking them, because the fear is like "salting the meat", simply using the clown form as a "base" or "standard" physical form.
There's also:
The very interesting character of Patrick Hockstetter, a psychotic, solipsistic kid who killed his baby brother, tortures animals to death, and gives the bully Henry a hand-job just to blackmail him into giving him a dollar.
The various stories of how Pennywise has lurked in Derry for thousands of years and how he's affected generations of people over history.
The scene where Beverly actually has sex with EVERY SINGLE one of the other boys while they're all down in the sewers to confront Pennywise to calm them down and keep them from giving up...among many other things.
So yeah, people, you're better off just reading the book. Or if you can't for whatever reason, you can always look up an audiobook reading on RUclips or audible.com.
Probably got the beer beer from the tavern tavern
Nice profile pic and name I love Gunter "wack!"
One.... This movie gave me the fear of clowns. Two, your making it less scary. :3
This movie actually helped me get past my weird fear of clowns. Tim Curry really made me laugh.
The this is Halloween joke with the moon was actually really clever. I like it.
IT is good, I saw it when I was like 7 years old and yeah then it was scary. The thing is it's an alien in the end so that pisses all over it and secondly, why do we have to see them as adults? It's scarier when they're children being chased by what we assumed was a fear demon. That's fucking scary, but then he's an adult and it's a spider alien dressed like a perverted clown. That's just lame.
Clowns aren't scary, children are annoying, and aliens are just a stupid as fear demons. In fact aliens are just a type of monster people made up to symbolize their fears.
It was boring, but scary at parts. I only really watched on request of my friend(a squeamish white girl easily scared by this type of stuff) So I should have expected it's nowhere near as suspenseful or terrifying as I thought it would be.
14megasxlr Who the hell finds aliens scary?.
People did in the 50's. Ever hear of the Body-Snatchers?
Aliens started out as a metaphor for communism during the Cold War(If I recall my history class correctly).
Though at this point, I'd shit my pants if I ever came face to face with the Flood or a Necromorph.
It is... only kiiiind of an alien. It's more like Cthulu in that it's interdimensional, coming here since early in Earth's history, but existing since the beginning of this universe or even before. So, it's more godlike or just an "entity" of sorts. That's a given seeing how big of a fan Stephen King is for H.P. Lovecraft. Maybe his biggest fan. Really, to tell the difference between the kid's and adult's stories, you just kind of have to read the book. Another case of a movie just not doing the literature justice.
Will Jonassen I definitely need the book and yeah I see what you mean, but just watching the movie as stand alone you can't really tell. I think they should have focused more on the creature as what it's supposed to be instead of "hey look a funny creepy clown" and then near the end throwing in the godlike being.
Oddly enough; this show-movie thing actually made me stop fearing clowns.
"oh hey, its a beauitful Tim Curry out tonight EEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRH"
+Scott Hill "im the shadow of the moon at night, filling your dreams to break with fright"
You know, even though this review has been out for years, I'm starting to understand why the movie wasn't scary to Critic, and to many viewers. IT turns into what the kids fear the most. And unfortunately, the fact the audience would likely not be afraid of what the kids are frightened of, combined with the cheesy special effects, this ends up making IT's transformations look silly, especially the spider monster thing at the end.
I mean, if IT were turn into my worst fears, it would probably be a mothman-like creature with plant vines and spirals on it. It'll look silly to most people. And that's the problem with the movie. In the book (which I have not read) it would have been scary because it's left up to our imagination what IT looks like based on the descriptions, here it looks silly.
when i saw this movie i was scared it was really good well at least to me but the ending with the spider was sooooooooooooooooooo fucking stupid it was fucking horrible
Spiders FTW
charles capote But at least we got to see the spider guy again.
SPIDERS! A TERRIBLE LEGION OF SPIDERS!
in the book is better...
but there is another out of nowhere thing that ruins the ending
charles capote I didn't get the spider thing either.
The book IT is even more nuts its awesome I mean A giant FUCKING COSMIC TURTLE I'm not making this up.
As for the movie I might be one of the few kids I knew who LOVED this and didn't find this movie the least bit scary.
Two things 1. about that girl sleeping with every member of the group.....
And that isnt IT's real form the book states that's just the closest thing our minds can approximate.
Kira Lawlet I'm reading the book now and love it! I watch the movie when I was little and thought it was hilarious, haha. I'm not going to act like the book is a masterpiece since I haven't finished it yet, but I do feel it was scarier in book form.
Kira Lawlet So Gamera was in the book?
Pretty much exept this one TALKS
+Kira Lawlet "Cosmic Turtle"? Hot damn, I never thought Stephen King could be that irrational...
When you read it you'll probably be like "oh okay" but out of context it sounds so insane. I could tell you about the turtle but I'd rather you read it.darwincity
And that why the book is ALWAYS better than the movie/series. In the book you get to know what is the clown.
And IT was trying to kill them on the first encounter. Plus, there wasn't a derpy shower scene with Eddie was supposed to be a leper. :P
Would love to see this remade.
***** Sounds interesting...
"We waited THREE FUCKING HOURS for THAT?!!?"
That has got to be one of the most perfect line deliveries I've ever heard in my life! Lmfao!!!
The movie, while I loved it, didn't do the book justice. They changed /so/ much or removed other things... though some of it they would definitely have a /very/ difficult time incorporating into a movie and having it accepted even at an X-rated level.
However, just to clear a few things: in the book, there were much more background on EVERYTHING, but that's because the book had the time and availability for it. In a movie, you only have so much screentime and so much of a budget to incorporate things in, so you don't have the ability to 'stretch out your wings' with it nearly as much as with a book (Harry Potter, anyone?)
Henry Bowers and his gang were the only group of bullies, but they were very well known, and you have to remember that Derry (where this story is set) is a rather small town, so having just one major gang of bullies isn't really out of the ordinary.
As I said before, a lot of the things in the book get explanation, including all of the characters' backgrounds (including Henry Bowers, who has a very definite reason for being 'inhumane' and 'psychotic', as Doug puts it), as well as It's origin.
As for Stephen King's repeated traits in his writing, he writes mostly horror fiction, and a lot of what he uses is prevalent in all horror fiction, not just his own stories, and to be honest, its very fitting. Having psychotic, angsty or otherwise 'negative' characters is kind of hand-in-hand with horror.
The flashbacks in the movie aren't unfounded, in multiple ways. One, they are based on how the book itself was written. The book "It" wasn't written in a linear narrative; it went back and forth between times and characters, so too did the movie. Also, given the kids' experiences, having flashbacks of such times is not uncalled for. Lastly, since the movie follows the book in not being explained in a linear narrative, there's very few ways to visually explain the 'past' in the movie in a nonlinear way without having flashbacks.
The clown didn't kill Henry because he knew that he had a very strong and specific grudge against their 'mutual' enemies, and would use him against them later.
Also, for the clown's different forms and also (specifically) Stan's chanting of the birds' names: IT takes on the form of whatever you fear most, which in Stan's case was a mummy. To prevent fear taking hold of him, he concentrates and uses something to break that fear, which was the birds' names, and once his fear is at least temporarily broken, he manages to run away.
But as much as I loved this movie, it was nothing compared to the book. The only thing it has over the book is Tim Curry.. and pretty much its only redeeming quality, aside from the kids. (Also, in the book: It is not really a spider. At all. Bad movie, bad.)
Im gonna comment on your comment to aplaude the time you put in your comment congragulations you win
"To prevent fear taking hold of him, he concentrates and uses something to break that fear..."
Hmm.
EXPECTO PATRONUM! See you later Pennywise.
Aaron Gutcher Better spell for it: Riddikulus!
Guys lets just respect both the book and the movie
Cian Carberry You can still respect something while critiquing it.