On Friday, Sept. 8, renowned horror novelist Stephen King’s “IT” made its big-screen debut. A remake of the 1990 two part television miniseries, the new “IT” relates even more to the book than the first, and its perfect combination of humor and terror makes it one of the best horror movies this year.  

Taking place in 1989 in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, the movie starts off the same way as the original 1990 version, with a teenage Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) creating a toy sailboat out of newspaper for his younger brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). Taking the sailboat outside, Georgie sails it in the neighborhood streets in the pouring rain. To his dismay, the sailboat ends up floating into a sewer drain.

And this is where we’re introduced to the film’s antagonist: the demonic clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). Right away, there are many differences to Skarsgård’s persona of Pennywise than Tim Curry’s version in 1990. Curry sounded more human, talking in a somewhat friendly and lighthearted voice to Georgie. Skarsgård, on the other hand, had a completely different tone. His appearance was more ominous and eerie, due to the fact that he had a lazy eye and was drooling. He had a terrifying smile adorning his face throughout the exchange as he eventually lured Georgie into the sewer and killed him.

This fateful encounter launches the film’s plot as we’re introduced to Bill and his group of friends who have given themselves the title of “The Losers Club.” Each member of the group have realized they’ve all had encounters with Pennywise, just in different forms. Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), who is a hypochondriac, sees Pennywise in the form of a leper, and Bill sees him as a morbid version of Georgie. The group of friends coin the name “It” for this unknown entity, seeing as it appears in front of them in different forms and turns out to be their individual worst fears.

After doing research in the town’s local library, the children learn more about Pennywise and realize that he reappears every 27 years to Derry to terrorize and kill children. Wanting to avenge Georgie and prevent future killings, the kids decide to find and kill Pennywise once and for all.

Throughout the course of the movie, there were several incredible shots and scenes. The scene where Bev (Sophia Lillis) was in her bathroom and blood erupted from the sink was shot phenomenally. With Lillis’s realistic horrified screams combined with amazing camera angles of the blood, this scene was enough to give me nightmares for a week.

There were also many scenes that were shot all in one take. For example, when the children confronted the clown in an old abandoned house in Derry. It showed them walking through the house and exploring all the rooms in many single shots. Another great shot was at the beginning of the movie when the kids were tormented by school bullies. The camera focused on each kid as someone shoved or harassed them, giving a very real connection to the scene. There was also an amazing soundtrack composed by Benjamin Wallfisch. It was perfectly fitting for the movie, having eerie and dramatic music in all the right spots.

Along with having incredible shots, the cast of the movie was outstanding. The directors really emphasized the relationship between the kids, especially through the hilarious jokes they made. The writers did an excellent job incorporating authentic (and sometimes profane) one liners into the kids’ dialogue. At one point, Richie (Finn Wolfhard), the only one who hadn’t seen Pennywise, exclaims “What, do you have to be a virgin to see him or something?” The jokes they made added a very realistic aspect to the movie.

Another notable feature was the intricate detail the costume designers put into Pennywise’s costume. A stark contrast from the first film series, the costume for Pennywise in this movie was inspired by the Renaissance. Giving Pennywise an antique look really enforced the terrifying realization that Pennywise has actually been around for hundreds of years.

Overall, this new version of “IT” has an outstanding cast and plotline. This movie really narrowed in on the kids’ individual fears, something that’s highlighted frequently in the book but was left out on in the original miniseries. It also did an excellent job of injecting humor without crossing the line or being too corny. The visual effects really enhanced the horrific parts of the movie, but without being overbearing. To put it simply, this movie was one of the best horror movies to be released in years, and will be one of the best for many to come.