IT (2017)

 

When it was announced that Stephen King's very popular novel IT was being made into a feature film, there was almost no end to the hype.  People were very excited about it, and the reviews ended up pretty favorable.  My favorite movie critic, Richard Roeper, gives the film four stars.

However, I see almost no redeeming qualities to the movie.  It has one very disturbing image after another.  The movie about a supernatural killer clown apparently comes from a very dark place in Stephen King's psyche.  We see children constantly in danger and facing gruesome and gory events that seem to go on without end.

A group of preteen boys take it upon themselves to fight this danger, however unrealistic this may be.  They are also plagued by bullies who are far more sadistic than what would seem plausible, along with some uncompassionate adults who are a bit sadistic themselves.

One problem that I have with Stephen King is that he treats American characters as stereotypes, often cruel ones, that are not believable.  There is the crazy religious woman in "The Mist", a movie that didn't work at all for me.  His novel, Under the Dome, is full of stereotyped "good old boy" characters that aren't realistic for Americans anymore.  It is almost painful to read.

When I watched the movie Jurassic Park, I didn't like seeing children in mortal danger.  I have the same problem here.  Nor is it realistic that children would rise to the occasion to take on the mortal threat.  After everything that happens in this movie, these children should be experiencing severe post-traumatic stress.

The movie omits a scene from the book where a teenage girl has sex with six preteen boys as a way of bonding with them.  Very dark indeed.

At no point is it explained where this supernatural killer clown comes from.  Reportedly there was a scene filmed that might have explained it, but it was cut because it was too disturbing.  Given how disturbing the rest of the film is, that's saying something.

I thought that I liked Stephen King novels, like "The Dead Zone" and "The Stand".  I may have to rethink this.

Rating:  D.