This ABC miniseries based on Stephen King’s
best-seller about an entity that can turn itself into a person’s worst
nightmare.
The story starts with a little girl (Chelan Simmons)
mysteriously murdered in the small town of Derry, Maine, which gets the town
librarian Mike Hanlon (Ray Campbell from “Sister, Sister,” Tim Reid)
remembering back in 1960, when he and six other kids destroyed It, a frightful
entity that 30 years ago murdered several children of the town. “There is
something terribly wrong in Derry, and you know it,” Hanlon tells the police
chief, played by Terence Kelly.
Now Hanlon calls up the six others who as kids (the
late Jonathan Brandis, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizl, Seth Green, Ben Heller,
Emily Perkins, Marlon Taylor) weren’t too popular yet came together to beat It.
While Hanlon calls the others, night one of “It” is shown in flashback, showing
how the entity worked.
Miles Beller said in his review, “What we learn is
that the youngsters’ battle is literally an underground war, waged below the
city, in its drains and sewers, a struggle culminating in the alleged defeat of
It, which has made itself incarnate as a fanged circus clown called Pennywise.”
However, while the children have banished It, they
pledge to regroup if “It” ever shows up again.
In the second night of “It,” we have the adults
reuniting as a new cases of murders occur in Derry, Hanlon calling
screenwriter-horror novelist Bill Denbrough (Richard Thomas), Atlanta
businessman Stan Uris (Richard Masur), noted architect Ben Hanscom (John Ritter
from “Three’s Company”), famous comedian Richie Tozier (Harry Anderson), successful
designer Beverly Marsh (Annette O’Toole), and owner of a limo service company
Eddie Kaspbrak (Dennis Christopher).
Now finally and definitively defeat the fearsome entity,
surviving group members have to regroup themselves with one another, defeat
their own fears and return to the dark, rotten tunnels of doubt and terror
where Pennywise, played by Tim Curry, awaits. “I am your worst dream come true…I
am eternal.”
Beller noted, “A horror sci-fi miniseries these days
is as rare as moon rocks, as far and few between as known inhabited planets.
And make no mistake, It is a humdinger, one big kicky ride thanks to the
charismatic acting of Curry as savage, sneering malevolence.” On top of that,
the acting from Reid, Anderson, Christopher, Ritter, Thomas, O’Toole, and Masur
make for some of the pros in “It.”
Tommy Lee Wallace directed this miniseries, and
Lawrence D. Cohen wrote the script, and Cohen and director Wallace did a decent
job on the film, which looked good for the time.
Richard Leiterman was the director of photography and Robert
F. Shugrue and David Blangsted were the editors, who all did a decent job.
This ABC miniseries did give some good moments, like
the children actors are pretty good and Tim Curry being a lot of fun, but some
of the adults were bad. The plot can come off as confusing and convoluted, you
may say it is melodramatic, and you might see some Stephen King stereotypes
that get old and tiring. Especially with the overuse of balloons, as if they were trying to make that scary, but it failed. Now you might think that I don’t like this movie after
reading this, but no. I thought this film to be decent. It’s not terrible, but
just alright. The final showdown may come off as a disappointment for viewers,
which I can understand.
If you want to check this out on Max, you may, but be
forewarned, this is a three-hour movie. You will have to watch it in parts. I
don’t think anyone can sit through a three-hour movie in one sitting. You will
need to take breaks. This is a movie to watch around Halloween time, but I don’t
know how many people will love or hate it, as this is a mixed bag of a
miniseries. Just watch it and see for yourself. However, I don't recommend it for those who have a fear of clowns.
Look out for a few more reviews coming at you this
month.
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