Madison Lyda
Staff Writer
Beyond the many adaptations, sequels and neoteric horror flicks smashing the theaters in late Summer 2017, an adaptation of a classic horror film has ultimately floated above all the rest.
Among dozens of novels written by the legend Stephen King, “IT” has plagued and inspired the film world, becoming an adaptation for director Andy Muschietti.
The adaptation and controversy surrounding King’s jolting horror classic, “IT”, is truly remarkable.
Muschietti, having only filmed one movie during his career, took on a task nobody dared to: recreating the 1990 version of “IT”. When the original adaptation aired on ABC Network it was an instant success. The premiere of the prestigious horror novel attracted millions of viewers worldwide.
Muschietti’s adaptation amounted to a box office record of $117 million on premiere night, trailing slightly behind Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2”.
Not even films such as the 2017 sequel to the original “Annabelle”; (Annabelle Creation) or the infamous “Paranormal Activity” can amount to even half of the profit that “IT” brought to the box office.
A triggering film to watch, the work of Muschietti brings to life a whole new world of terror that the original 1990 version could not achieve.
Though the 1990 version was restricted on gory substance and traumatic content, the latest adaptation did not refrain and haunted the audience full throttle, leaving the crowd with a lingering feeling of paranoia and irrational childlike disposition.
King’s novel comes in at a whopping 1,347 pages. Released in 1986, “IT” instantly became a major success in stores worldwide, much like the 1990 adaptation, and the 2017 film no less.
The story plays with the idea of childhood and the underlying innocence that corresponds with it, along with the misfortune of having it ripped away through trauma and horrific neglect.
The movie begins with the famous scene of a young boy, Georgie, chasing after a small paper boat down a dirty street pooled with rain water.
Side by side, the scene is almost an exact replica of the original version’s scene, envoking nostalgia. Georgie chases the swiftly moving boat until it inevitably disappears into a street sewer.
Within seconds, Georgie comes face to face with death. The killer clown Pennywise appears before him with bright, fiery, orange hair and a ghoulish white complexion, complete with bright yellow eyes that glow in even the darkest of nights.
“We all float down here,” Pennywise often says, “You’ll float too.”
Six months after the death of young Georgie, the town of Derry exceeds over six times the national average of missing children, resulting in a 7 p.m. curfew. One that brings a misfit gang of seven kids together, who call themselves “The Losers”.
With an investigative knack and simple childlike curiosity, the gang sets out with the total belief that they can solve the mysterious disappearances of the Derry missing children cases.
Curiosity takes them through a whirlwind of inevitable and traumatic terror.
Fresh horror graces the screen seemingly every fifteen minutes.
The likeness of Pennywise builds the audience’s terror and discomfort within the theaters as he splashes through streams, peaks through bushes or stands ominously in empty rooms holding only a red balloon.
Pennywise plays an important role in this classic not only as the demonic entity itself that the classic was based on but as the trademark behind a growing population of worldwide phobia.
Muschietti’s adaptation is already becoming known as one of the most brilliant on-screen adaptations of a cult horror classic to have hit the box office this year.
The extraordinary reincarnation of the famous novel already has its audience anticipating the on-screen arrival of Chapter 2.
Watch the reincarnation of your childhood fears come to life, and you’ll float too.