It’s October 1985 and twelve-year-old Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberther) makes a paper boat for his six-year-old brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott), who sails it in the rainy streets of Derry, Maine until it falls down a storm drain. He tries to get his boat back, but he sees a figure in the drain:
a creature in a clown-costume who calls himself Pennywise (Bill Skarsgaard). As Georgie comes closer, Pennywise bites his arm off and drags him into the sewer.
The next summer, Bill and his friends Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), and Stan Uris (Wyatt Oleff) find themselves threated by the local bullies—Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton), Belch Higgins (Jake Sim), Patrick Hockstetter (Owen Teague), and Victor Criss (Logan Thompson).
Bill is still haunted by Georgie’s disappearance and wonders if his body might have washed up in a marsh called The Barrens. Hoping against hope that Georgie is still alive, he and his friends begin a search. A new friend, Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor) learns that the town has been plagued by child disappearances for hundreds of years. Harassed by the bullies, Ben flees into the Barrens and meets up with Bill’s group. They find a sneaker belonging to a missing girl named Betty Ripson, but Patrick, searching the sewers, is killed by shrivelled creatures.
A girl named Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), who is bullied because of her alleged promiscuity, joins the group and both Bill and Ben develop feelings for her. Later, the group also befriends an orphan named Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) when they rescue him from Bowers. It turns out that every member of the group has been scarred by visions of Pennywise. Ben was chased by an undead boy, Beverly was attacked by a blood-spewing sink only children can see, Eddie was chased by a rotting leper, Stan saw a painting of a woman come alive, and Bill is haunted by a terrifying phantom of his dead brother.
They call themselves “The Losers Club” and believe they were all stalked by the same creature, whom they call “It.” It appears the being is awakened every 27 years to feed on the children of Derry and then it goes into hibernation. It seems to be drawn through the sewer lines leading to an old stone well hidden in an abandoned house on Neibolt Street. Pennywise attacks them when they try to confront him in the house, and they are separated and terrorized. As pennywise gloats, they attack again and Beverly impales Pennywise through the head, forcing it to retreat. The group escapes but Bill and Beverly are determined to destroy the creature utterly.
Weeks later, after Beverly confronts and incapacitates her abusive father, Pennywise abducts her. The Losers Club returns to the abandoned house to rescue her. Bowers, who has murdered his own abusive father after being driven insane by Pennywise, attacks them. Mike pushes him down the well. The Losers enter the sewers and find Pennywise’s lair, full of broken circus props and children’s belongings, with the bodies of children floating in the air.
Beverly is found catatonic and is awakened by Ben’s kiss. Bill finds Georgie, but it is really Pennywise in disguise. Pennywise takes Bill hostage, offering to leave the others alone if they abandon the boy. But the Losers gather their courage and attack it. It is defeated and moves deeper into the sewers. Bill finds Georgie’s raincoat and comes to terms with his brother’s death. Beverly has a vision in which they all battle Pennywise again as adults. They sign a blood oath to do this if Pennywise returns. Beverly and Bill kiss.
The film, called It, Chapter One, was directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Furnaga, and Gary Dauberman, based on the first part of Stephen King’s long novel and Lee Walker’s 1990 miniseries. It was produced by New Line Cinema. It was filmed largely in Toronto and Port Hope, Ontario, and released to critical success as the highest grossing horror film of all time. It was praised by critics and won awards and nominations from Critic’s Choice Awards. It received 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Part Two was released in September 2019.
Bill Skarsgaard, Stellan Skarsgaard’s son, fashioned his compelling performance on that of Tim Curry in the made-for-TV miniseries in 1990, which was riveting. He created a character that was part child and part demon and dressed in Renaissance and Victorian clothing. Some people thought the balance between comedy and horror didn’t work well, but many did, and some called it The Goonies meets Nightmare on Elm Street. The sewers and the haunted house were like characters in the movie.
Cues were taken not only from Stephen King but from Clive Barker and John Carpenter. The creators studied Stephen Spielberg when it came to the children. Their performances were brilliant, and the cinematography was brilliant. The imaginative horror contrasted beautifully with the charming camaraderie of the young demon-fighters. The child actors were all lovable and compare favourably with the Goonies, the boys of Stand By Me, and the rescuers of E.T. But this is not Stand By Me or E.T; it is relentlessly creepy and Pennywise is fascinating and utterly
horrible.