Stephen King's It

(1990) ***1/2

I was aware that my quest to become an evil clown know-it-all would lead me face to face with Pennywise. So in the middle of September I downloaded and devoured the 45 hour audiobook of It to put me in the proper state of mind before taking on the movie. I assumed it would be easy (and fun!) to hate on an adaptation of a beloved horror novel. I was wrong.

Miraculously Stephen King’s It overcame the nearly insurmountable obstacle of using 2nd string sitcom actors in a made-for-frickin'-TV miniseries and it somehow managed to tell the tale in a compelling and effective manner. Most impressive was the fact that director Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season of the Witch) pulled this off in 1990, arguably the worst year of all time for horror films. A quick glance at the movies that were released that year reveals a pee stream of scareless garbage including a veritable who’s-who of generic assembly line sequels. Child’s Play 2, Texas Chainsaw 3, Psycho 4 and The Exorcist 3 all mark the embarrassing low points of their respective franchises. But enough about 1990.

“It” refers to a shape shifting evil life form that resides in the fictional small town of Derry, Maine. Frequently appearing in the form of iconic evil clown Pennywise, It preys primarily on children by using their beliefs and fears against them. Every 30 years or so It reappears and leaves a vicious string of deaths in its wake. Tim Curry proved himself worthy of donning Pennywise’s giant shoes and embodies everything an evil clown should strive to be – unpredictable, cunning and malicious. My worry that the book's sense of dread would be neutered by network television evaporated in the very first scene where Pennywise lured an adorable child to his death by dismemberment in a storm drain. Children are so gullible!

Kids: what do they know about life?

Two stories unfold 30 years apart. The first focuses on a group of seven prepubescent social outcasts who name themselves the Loser’s Club. After being picked on by sadistic local boy Henry Bowers and his cronies, they band together for protection and subsequently form a lifelong bond. (Actually “picked on” is too gentle - psychologically and physically tortured is much more appropriate.) These losers also use their collective strength to identify, confront and eventually defeat It... for the time being. Three decades later the group reunites after receiving word that the killings have begun again. Putting their real lives on hold, they will either dispose of It once and for all or die trying.

Condensing an epic 1,142 page novel into a coherent 3 hour miniseries was no easy feat. Naturally sacrifices had to be made. The rich and terrifying history of the town were reduced to a couple of short segments. The intricate back stories of the seven protagonists were merely hinted at or omitted altogether. Major themes and story arcs were whittled down into nothingness. The grossly inappropriate pre-teen gang bang was also noticeably absent. But fortunately the book’s most memorable moments and key plot points were preserved.

The children (including a young Seth Green) were well cast but the adult leads don't quite measure up. John Ritter as former fat kid Ben was a welcome surprise but the guy from Night Court's portrayal of wisecracking Richie was decidedly unwelcome. While I'm complaining - the decision to give stuttering Bill the sensitive pony tail man treatment was truly tragic but hey, it was 1990 so we'll forgive that too.

The biggest drawback is the final half hour which fails to culminate in a satisfying or even explainable way. If you haven't read the book then it will appear as though it was whimsically conceived. The cringe-worthy special effects do not help.

The breakdown:

Scariness: **
Transition from book to movie: **1/2
Overall entertainment factor: ***1/2
Evil clowniness: ****