On September 8th, 2017, It was released to the big screen. It, the movie, is a film adaptation of the best-selling Stephen King book.

When I heard that It was being remade, being the horror buff that I am, I was ecstatic.

The 1990 made-for-television miniseries set high expectations for this remake. Initially, I was concerned that the director and producers would abuse the CGI capabilities that we are lucky to have in this day and age, turning this film into nothing more but yet another modern train wreck that gives the horror genre a bad name. I was also scared that Bill Skarsgård was not going to be able to fill in the shoes of the original Pennywise, Tim Curry.

However, this film overcame and exceeded every fear and expectation I had.

With down-to-earth actors, a great production team, and scares that made me stay up much later than I normally do, I can confidently rate this film a 9 out of 10.

Luckily, the film did not try to exactly recreate the genius captured in the first adaptation, but elegantly touched upon memorable moments from the miniseries. Although classic scenes like the rock fight seemed like they were kind of rushed or shoved into the film last minute, they were saved by moments like the bloody bathroom scene, which was perfectly, modernly recreated. (I thought the idea of Beverly buying tampons right before this scene was a nice touch.)

Bill Skarsgård did an amazing job with Pennywise. Personally, I’ve been a bit critical that Bill’s Pennywise is not as scary psychological as Tim Curry’s, considering the fact that Tim Curry was able to pull off looking and acting friendly to children while Bill Skarsgård wasn’t. I think the thing that makes the original Pennywise so scary was him so instantly turning into a child murderer after offering kids balloons. Bill’s Pennywise was still scary, nonetheless.

It was 100% worth my money and time. Be sure to go see it, but not by yourself, or you’ll float…. you’ll float… you’ll float!