Most people probably want to beat the “it” out of me when I share my thoughts on these often-praised films, but after watching the original and new versions, I can give my honest opinion: Both movie interpretations of Stephen King’s It were as impressive as Pennywise was attractive.

 

   In the film, a shapeshifting monster which often presents itself as a clown named Pennywise, torments the town of Derry, repeating these killings every 27 years, making the release date of the recent rendition very appropriate. So, logically, seven adolescents set out to the sewers to look for the children who had “disappeared,” along with the source of the mysterious exodus.

   The entire storyline from the last two hours of the original was cut out of its newer counterpart, leaving many unanswered questions- the most significant, perhaps, being whether the new movie’s purpose was to be a prequel or a remake. The whole concept of the “deadlight” in the original movie (the sole contributor to It’s fear-matching shapeshift abilities) was missing altogether in the new version, besides the six seconds of unexplained light protruding from Pennywise’s esophagus.

Instead, there were bits of humor added in that were almost as out of place as their modern haircuts.

 

   The original movie lacked dramatic effect, coupled with a 3-hour-long awaited, extremely anticlimactic ending that would never take place, even in a universe in which a light force can take the form of a monster clown. The special effects were just a hair short of disastrous on many occasions, and this version left questionable endpoints as well, such as whether the script was overdramatized or if the actors/actresses were just that bad.

 

   There were also many uncomfortable moments wherein the lead girl kisses many of her childhood friends, one of which was married. In the beginning of the movie, it was very difficult to differentiate between which scenes were flashbacks and which were the current story.

 

   My original plan was to decide which version I believed better than the other, but I had high expectations that lead up to both versions of this movie being great disappointments. More than disappointments: Disasters. These films were simply a great author’s story being torn to shreds like one of It's victims.