IT

Greetings, ‘IT’ is a 1990 television miniseries adaptation of the extensive Stephen King novel of the same name from 1986. It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace who had previously worked alongside John Carpenter on a few films such as ‘Dark Star’, ‘The Fog’ and ‘Halloween’. He had also directed ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch’, an instalment in which the horror franchise attempted to move away from Michael Myers. Due to the two part ‘IT’ series being set across different time periods, there is a large cast of actors and actresses involved in the programme including Tim Curry in a campy but fun iteration of Pennywise the Clown. Other cast members include Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O’Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid and Richard Mauser. The soundtrack was conducted by Richard Bellis who also composed music for numerous Disney theme parks and attractions such as those found in EPCOT.

The plot begins in May 1990 and is set in the town of Derry, Maine during the rumblings of a thunderstorm. A young girl by the name of Laurie is in her backyard while her mother is dashing back and forth between the house and garden, bringing her washing in before it rains. The mother calls her child into the house but unbeknownst to her, Laurie is mesmerised by a figure hiding behind drying out sheets hanging on the line. The imposing figure is a colourful clown who greets the child warmly. When Laurie doesn’t come inside as she was beckoned, the mother heads outside and is horrified to discover her child has been brutally murdered. The police later turn up to the scene of the crime and it also attracts the attention of an unnerved librarian called Mike. Fearing the return of a horrifying entity from his childhood, Mike gets in contact with his old school friends and warns them that Pennywise has returned to Derry as he always feared he would.

30 years earlier in the spring of 1960, a young child called George is playing outside in a heavy downpour with a paper boat made by his older brother Bill. The torrential rain causes the boat to quickly float downstream until it disappears down a storm drain. George is upset over the loss of his boat and quickly looks into the dark drain to see if there is any way he can retrieve it. As he gives up and is about to go home, he hears a voice call out his name. George turns his attention back to the sewer system and a brightly coloured clown has appeared, peering out of the drain. After an attempt to lure him in with balloons, Pennywise introduces himself to George as the boy was instructed not to speak to strangers by his parents. George agrees the two are no longer strangers after this and can therefore talk to each other. Pennywise holds up George’s paper boat and teases him to come closer. An elated George outstretches his hand which Pennywise suddenly seizes hold of and reveals a terrifying row of sharp teeth.

I had heard a lot of good things about this series before I sat down to watch it and the years of hype around it thankfully didn’t lead to disappointment as it easily could have. I’ve watched some other made for TV adaptations of King’s work around this period, such as ‘The Langoliers’, and ‘IT’ certainly holds up well after the many years that have passed since it first debuted. While both the child and fully grown actors gave great performances, Tim Curry is an obvious standout among them as he plays Pennywise with the perfect level of sinister comedy that further cemented him as a pop culture icon. The series wisely sidesteps the controversial elements of the novel with one moment in particular being skipped altogether. I do intend to read the novel at some point in the near future but I am a little daunted by the sheer length of it and have been told it rambles along.

Plot=8/10

Characters=7/10

Special Effects=7/10

Overall=8/10

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