Critic Reviews
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Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
Stephen King pits kids vs. killer clown from hell.
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Dan Fienberg, Zap2it.com
The first half is terrifying -- or was when I was younger. The second half has a bad special effect spider.
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Scott Weinberg, Apollo Guide
Too vanilla, too banal and too earnest to do the source material any justice.
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Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
Effective TV adaptation of King's novel
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Clint Morris, Moviehole
Top-Calibre horror
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Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
As made-for-TV horror, it lacks real bite, but still has a fine unsettling atmosphere. And let's face it: clowns are REALLY scary.
Read all 6 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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An effective, campy horror movie about seven children who are terrorized by a demonic clown (Tim Curry) who lives in the sewers, and how they make a pact to come together if the clown comes back later. Thirty years later, it does. Although it stumbles horribly at its conclusion and… More
An effective, campy horror movie about seven children who are terrorized by a demonic clown (Tim Curry) who lives in the sewers, and how they make a pact to come together if the clown comes back later. Thirty years later, it does. Although it stumbles horribly at its conclusion and the acting is extremely cheesy at parts, this movie is still watchable and likeable enough thanks mainly to the performance of Tim Curry, who creates such a unique, terrifying villain who you can't keep your eyes off of. Some aspects of the story are handled a little clumsily, but you still believe the friendship between these characters, and you are always kept guessing when the clown will pop up again. Not enough to fully recommend, but I can understand the wide appeal it has garnered, as well as the full-scale fear of clowns many people from my generation have as a result of this film.
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Pennywise: I'm every nightmare you've ever had. I'm your worst dream come true. I'm everything you ever were afraid of.
"Your every fear- all in one deadly enemy."
It is not a good movie at all. The acting is laughable at times and the direction is… More
Pennywise: I'm every nightmare you've ever had. I'm your worst dream come true. I'm everything you ever were afraid of.
"Your every fear- all in one deadly enemy."
It is not a good movie at all. The acting is laughable at times and the direction is clumsy at best. Still, this is one of those nostalgic movies for me. I've always liked It. I loved the film when I was a kid. It was the first horror film I ever saw and it scared the shit out of me. I still like watch it on occasion now, but it's obvious that it isn't the great horror film I thought it was when I was a kid. It has too many problems to count, so I won't try. Instead, I'll just admit that I'm still a fan of It.
Stephen King's It was a two part, made-for-TV movie in the 1990. Quite obviously, it is an adaption of Stephen King's horror masterpiece; one that I have read, and one that is one of my personal favorites from King. The movie changes a lot of details from the book, but that shouldn't be a surprise as the director is trying to make a 3 hour movie out of a 1,000 plus page book.
Part 1 is more about the story as it pertains to when the characters were young. We are shown the summer of 1960 and all the terror that came with it through the flashbacks of seven characters. One of them, Mike, still presides in Derry, Maine. After another killing, he calls his six friends and tells them"It" is back, and to see if they will make good on the promise they made 30 years ago. Part 1 is also much better than Part 2. I remember thinking this even as a kid. I always thought the first part was a lot scarier. The drain scene with Georgie was one that always stuck with me as a young lad trying to sleep. Part 2 brings the adults back to Derry to try to finish off Pennywise, who has started to kill again.
The acting as I said is pretty terrible from just about every actor involved. Tim Curry is the saving grace from the acting point of view though. He plays Pennywise the Dancing Clown with absolutely terrifying precision. Curry was a perfect choice to play the clown. His voice is perfect, his mannerisms are perfect, he is perfect. It's just too bad that he's perfect in a movie that is so far from perfect it is laughable.
The ending will surely piss you off. The first time we see the kids go down into the sewer, it is atmospheric and satisfying, even if the direction and acting is as sloppy down there as it was in the real world. The second time we see the adults go down is just terrible. That last scene is a good reason to hate the movie. But I guess there are a lot of reasons to hate it if you are looking at it for the first time from adult eyes. I just can't hate this film though.
It is one that will always be special to me. In the same way that I remember watching The Sandlot and The Wizard of Oz as a kid, I remember It. I remember turning the lights out at night and scaring myself to death with this movie. I remember not being able to sleep or shower. I remember walking by sewage drains and making sure there was no clown down there. Maybe it isn't a good movie, but it is one that I will always cherish.
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This film ruined clowns for me. I saw this as a child becouse the VHS said PG. This is my first horror film and the only film to trully scare me. Tim Curry is one of the greatest character actors of our time.
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If you're looking for the worst Stephen King adaptation, here it is. Based on his bestseller of the same name, It is a terrible, unfaithful attempt at adapting King's awesome and terrifying story in a made for TV production. Stephen King's It joins the many films that… More
If you're looking for the worst Stephen King adaptation, here it is. Based on his bestseller of the same name, It is a terrible, unfaithful attempt at adapting King's awesome and terrifying story in a made for TV production. Stephen King's It joins the many films that tried to capture King's novels, but ultimately failed. This is a terrible film that fans of the book will despise. Not even Tim Curry's great performance as Pennywise can save this film from being an utter disappointment. What really bothers me about this made for TV film, is that it could have been a terrific film. However, it feels like the filmmakers took a few short cuts here and there, and made simply a terrible adaptation of King's work. The acting in the film, apart from actor Tim Curry, is terrible. Every actor I found to be painful to watch on screen. Even John Ritter was terrible. I found that there were too many corny moments in this film to truly make it n interesting horror film, which totally sucks because it could have been a great film. But unfortunately, the film misses its mark and ends up being one of the worst of all the Stephen King adaptations. Even if this was made for TV, I still think they could've put effort in creating something great on screen. I mean, the book is excellent and truly scary. But this adaptation is laughable.
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Scary and very well written. Creepy and intriguing. A must watch!
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A very scary movie, not recommended for people who fear clowns. The ending is a bit ridiculous, but other than that, this movie gave me nightmares for a month.
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i have a soft place for this film as it was a part of my childhood horror experience. the film has not held up well, but my sentiment holds it in a place of regard.
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There's nothing creepier than an evil clown, and Tim Curry's interpretation of one is both memorable and haunting. As a horror film though, it's not particulary scary. I might have had trouble sleeping if I saw it as a kid, but in my current age - not so much. Uneven… More
There's nothing creepier than an evil clown, and Tim Curry's interpretation of one is both memorable and haunting. As a horror film though, it's not particulary scary. I might have had trouble sleeping if I saw it as a kid, but in my current age - not so much. Uneven acting and a farfetched plotline (yes, even for a horror flick) keeps it grounded in mediocracy-ville. To mention one example as to why, almost all of the parent roles in the movie are either psychopaths or abusers. One or two might have been believable, but more than that is just pushing credibility past the limits. It also leaves a lot of unanswered questions, which made the wrap-up of the story somewhat underwhelming. The conclusive fates of the characters were quite satisfying, but I would have liked to have known more about the origins of "It". Was it an alien or some kind of interdimensional demon? I was wishing for an explanation, or at least a nice pay-off, but instead they give us what looks like a scene out of a B-horror movie from the 1950's. I almost burst out laughing it looked so bad. I mean, I stuck with the movie for 3 hours, just for it all to lead to a battle against a giant spider puppet? Geez-whiz! And the worst part is that it's actually derived from the original novel, so Hollywood can't really be blamed for it. In spite of said cheese though, it remains a pretty good film. I was just hoping for something more than inescapable averageness.
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The Goonies meet a child eating clown. Creepy, bloody, fun. I don't understand the ending, but who cares.. the rest of it was good enough.
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What a freaky film! Saw this back in 2006 during ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween with my family and we all got the living crap scared out of us!!!
It, which is based on a horror novel written by Stephen King, tells the story of a group of kids who are haunted by the… More
What a freaky film! Saw this back in 2006 during ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween with my family and we all got the living crap scared out of us!!!
It, which is based on a horror novel written by Stephen King, tells the story of a group of kids who are haunted by the devious, child-eating, clown known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Only kids can see this creature. After experiencing horrific flashbacks, the kids (now adults) must work together to stop Pennywise from terrorizing children.
It was a four-hour broadcast and I only caught the first two hours due to a Halloween party beng held that same night. I already knew this was good after two hours.
I plan to see the rest this Halloween. I'll edit the review when I do.
BEST SCENE: A girl hears noises coming from the bathroom drain. A balloon comes out of the drain. The balloon pops and tons of blood and gore are seen. Its so beautiful!
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Just a terrible made for TV movie that has almost no sense of what makes a powerful story. They completely butchered Stephen King's masterpiece of horror and turned it into this cheesy coming of age story. There is not one part of this movie that is scary or even close to being… More
Just a terrible made for TV movie that has almost no sense of what makes a powerful story. They completely butchered Stephen King's masterpiece of horror and turned it into this cheesy coming of age story. There is not one part of this movie that is scary or even close to being suspenseful, the director clearly had no grip of the genre and didn't know how to accomplish a fairly simple task.
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It had its moments, but the final minutes are just excrutiatingly disappointing.
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The first time I saw "It" I just fell in love with the Movie and the actors I tell you. Unforgetable Horror. I agree it is actually not a scary, sort of Mystery and even Humor in it. Well I was not at all scared, but amused though some Scenes were a tiny bit eeww. lol
This… More
The first time I saw "It" I just fell in love with the Movie and the actors I tell you. Unforgetable Horror. I agree it is actually not a scary, sort of Mystery and even Humor in it. Well I was not at all scared, but amused though some Scenes were a tiny bit eeww. lol
This was a Mini Series? So far if my poor memory is not lacking I watched it in one Piece meaning a Movie. There is something weird in the Movie, the actors talked in sort of accent, I dont know if anyone noticed but their english had sort of mmm accent or something.
R.I.P John Ritter
R.I.P Jonathan Brandis
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An old favourite and quite good considering it was made for TV. Pennywise is a scary character and Tim Curry really brings him to life!
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Who's afraid of a big bad clown?? LOL.. The book was a lot more frightening then the movie. But my sister is horrified of clowns because of this movie, which for me is halarious. I did like this movie a lot though. Thought it did the book justice. Wonder if anyone will ever redo… More
Who's afraid of a big bad clown?? LOL.. The book was a lot more frightening then the movie. But my sister is horrified of clowns because of this movie, which for me is halarious. I did like this movie a lot though. Thought it did the book justice. Wonder if anyone will ever redo this movie. Probly would be better with more money on it??
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It is essentially 2 films. The first deals with a group of children taking on a demonic clown. It's fantastic and mixes the best of Stephen King. The understanding of youth (as demonstrated in Stand By Me) and shit wetting terror. Curry is sinister, creepy and pure evil.… More
It is essentially 2 films. The first deals with a group of children taking on a demonic clown. It's fantastic and mixes the best of Stephen King. The understanding of youth (as demonstrated in Stand By Me) and shit wetting terror. Curry is sinister, creepy and pure evil. It's a blistering performance and like Lector in Manhunter/Silence of the Lambs, The Joker in The Dark Knight or Beetlejuice, he isn't overused. The second half messes up. Now adults the gang must return home to confront their old nemesis. The main problem here is a surprising one. The adult actors pale in comparison to their younger counterparts. Sometimes the adults are downright laughable. The film also suffers by trying to cram in a lot of story strands without exploring them to their full potential. Such as Pennywise's helping hand and the history of the town. It certainly doesn't seem like 3 hours though and it's still better than so much horror being released. I'd give the first half 4 stars and the second 2.5.
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If you know someone who is scared of clowns this is probably why! Great story if way too long at around 3 hours!
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This started very promising and intriguing. Tim Curry as the clown was perfect, although he wasn't extremely petrifying, he's creepy enough to put you off clowns for sometime. The first scene where he appears down the drain is spooky and shocking enough to keep you watching.… More
This started very promising and intriguing. Tim Curry as the clown was perfect, although he wasn't extremely petrifying, he's creepy enough to put you off clowns for sometime. The first scene where he appears down the drain is spooky and shocking enough to keep you watching. The child actors were all very convincing and in my opinion performed better than the adult actors in the second half of the film. It was more interesting watching their little gang take on Pennywise than the pathetic clichéd older gang.
As the film progresses you get more annoyed at hearing the rants and whimpers of the lead characters who all individually receive a visit from Pennywise.
Overall, it's okay, in no way brilliant. You laugh a lot more than you scream and the ending is extremely disappointing and ridiculous. Watch this, if only for the performance of Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown.
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Freaky stuff! My friends and I enjoyed it right up until the random spider craziness sorta broke the spell of the movie. If you have a dislike/fear of clowns, do yourself a favor and do not watch this one alone.
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Uh. I think it sucked. I don't remember.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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