Stephen King books are some of the most famous in pop culture history. King is best-known for his horror and none of his works are more dark and terrifying than his 22nd book from 1986, IT.  

IT is about 7 children who come face to face with a killer clown. The book was well received upon release and scared most of its audience. The book was then adapted into a TV movie in 1990 with Tim Curry playing the clown Pennywise. Tim Curry gave a great performance, but the rest of the movie does not hold up well.

The 2017 film strays far from the 1990 version, having a darker tone similar to the book and changing the setting to the 1980s. The film stars many young actors, most notably Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things). Bill Skarsgard (Atomic Blonde, Allegiant) plays the clown Pennywise this time around and the director is Andy Muschietti (Mama).

IT is a fantastic coming-of-age horror movie. The acting from all the kids and Bill Skarsgard is perfect, the scares are well-executed and the banter between the cast is laugh-out-loud funny.

You can really feel the bond between the kids in their excellent ensemble performance. Huge praise should go to the writers for writing believable kid characters. Each of them talks and acts like a normal kid which is incredibly uncommon in movies and television these days.

Led by Finn Wolfhard, all of the kids are likable and make you care about them when things hit the fan. Bill Skarsgard delivers a knockout performance as the demonic clown Pennywise. Everything about him is creepy and unsettling: his appearance, his voice, the way he has each eye looking a different direction.

For a horror movie to succeed, it has got to be scary and IT really delivers on that front. The director and the cinematographer create an eerie atmosphere that masterfully builds tension and keeps you on edge.

IT is one of the scariest movies of the year, but also one of the funniest. Every kid has a comedic moment to shine, and even Pennywise had a few moments that had the audience rolling. The comedy never detracts from the overall dark tone, with the exception of one comedic moment that feels out of place in a horror film.

This movie is definitely worth seeing on the biggest and loudest screen you can find, especially if you like good horror movies or Stephen King’s books.

Score 9/10