Chris here. We may not be the most horror movie focused here at The Film Experience, but some new films do get our curiosity whether it's because of strong reviews, exciting new filmmakers, or the revamp of known properties. This week we got a first look at long-developing remake of Stephen King's evil clown epic It. Apologies to any of our readers who fear clowns.
While It's early-90s miniseries lives in the infamy and closely-held sanctity of shared childhood nightmares, I'd wager that here is an example of story worth retelling. Tim Curry's original Pennywise may be one of our greatest and most terrifying horror performances, but if you rewatch now, everything around him doesn't really measure up. Perhaps it's time to do justice to the massive novel beyond its demonic villain while our fondness for King sees another pop culture resurgence.
Take a look at the trailer and we'll run down the Yes No Maybe So as we peek through our hands after the jump...
YES
- For starters, we get some truly terrifying moments. The slide show is an inventive update (this version will take place in the 80s) of Pennywise's haunting of old photos, and an outright slow motion spine tingler.
- Who knew Pennywise was so great at Instagram!
- The visuals. Chan-wook Park's usual DP Chung-hoon Chung is creating something classically beautiful and spooky here. A huge step up from the original's indistinct palor!
- The first reveals of character design we've already seen for Pennywise were a little iffy out of context. But seeing him in action here makes his Victorian influences quite unsettling. Thank heavens they're keeping it weird.
- No annoying"aw shucks"-ness towards the kids. Respecting their youth and not reducing them to precociousness is key to making this so viscerally scary. [side-eyes Stranger Things]
- Director Andres Muschietti has delivered one of the more underrated horror films in recent years: the Jessica Chastain starring Mama. We should expect a certain degree of humanity here.
NO
- There is a certain familiar conventionality here, right? In some ways it looks more of the universe of The Conjuring films.
- When this was in Cary Fukunaga's hands, it was proposed as a two film adaptation. There's no sign of the grown-up kids and no mention of a "part one" in the credits. Are they just lobbing off an entire half of the novel? Or waiting to see if this makes money? Give us clarity!
- Man, what Fukunaga could've created with this...
- Remember how solid the first trailers for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A Nightmare on Elm Street were? Didn't end up so well...
MAYBE SO
- Pennywise is used surprisingly sparsely here. We still have no idea how Bill Skarsgard sounds and lives as the legendary character and that's a good thing.
- There are some original visual takes on iconic moments - baloons, blood spouting from the sink, etc.
- Sure there are some jump scares, but this looks do mine its chills from a mix of mood, slow creep outsm and raging terror. Could they actually work for audience fear beyond making us jump?
I am a firm YES on the film and it leaped up the ranks of my most anticipated films of the year - let's hope we're not gearing up for a let down when it arrives on September 8. Are you YES, NO, or MAYBE SO?