Tomas Flores
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Background
“It” was originally released in 1986 as horror writer Stephen King’s 22nd book, which immediately gained popularity and eventually spawned a televised adaptation in 1990 starring Tim Curry as “It.”
Then, 27 years later, “It” was remade with modern technology for a more contemporary audience, and once again became a box office hit. This time, it starred Bill Skarsgard as “Pennywise” with a new look, much different from the 1990 version.
Both films follow the same premise of seven children who call themselves the Losers Club as they are being hunted by Pennywise and must band together to put a stop to It. The key difference between the TV miniseries adaptation and the most recent film is how the story is told.
Unlike the TV show, which goes back and forth between the Losers Club’s childhood and adulthood and eventual killing of It, the films were split into two. The first follows only the story from their perspective as children, and the second focuses mainly on them as adults with a few flashbacks here and there.
If you’ve read the book, seen the show, or watched the movie, you know that It does die, so then why is there a new show coming out? Well, “IT: Welcome to Derry” serves as a prequel that tells the story of Pennywise 27 years before the events of the first film. With that information out of the way, let’s dive into the first episode.
Episode 1
The first episode opens in an old-fashioned theater in 1962. We are met with a young boy who is watching the movie without paying, and is thus chased out of the theater. We quickly learn that the boy is all on his own and looking to hitchhike out of Derry, the fictional town in Maine where It has chosen to reside and call home.
Things quickly turn sour as we learn that the boy who is trying to escape is about to be Its next victim. The seemingly normal family starts acting unusually, and in a graphic scene, we see a live birth of It. The creature then lunges at the boy, killing him off-screen and leading us into a title card.
The rest of the film follows a similar format to the source material by introducing us to a group of children who have heard of the boy’s disappearance and who want to learn more about where he could have gone using the technology they have at the time.
There is a side plot that follows a man from out of town who is stationed in Derry’s army base. This side plot is likely to be elaborated on in future episodes; for now, it is there to show the audience that racism is heavily prevalent in this town during this time period, as the man is racially attacked for being a Black lieutenant.
Eventually, the children come to learn that the boy was last seen in the theater, so, as an attempt to retrace his steps, they, too, go to the movie theater. It is here that the biggest shock of the episode happens as we see almost every child brutally killed and eaten by It.
The episode ends with two of the five children being left alive, with one of the children screaming in terror after seeing her friends get murdered.
Review
Having high expectations going into this show, fearing that the shift from theatrical release to streaming would make the quality much poorer, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was not the case.
The writing was effective with its subtle humor that fans of the original will recognize. The action and CGI were also great, and for an episode that never showed It in Pennywise form, I never felt like I was watching anything different. I will definitely be tuning in weekly to see what happens next.
Future Plans
Speaking of what happens next, it has been confirmed that they have a three-season plan for the show. With each season acting as a prequel, we can expect to learn more and more about Its origin and what he was doing in Derry far before the first film ever happened.
Judging by the premiere episode, the season shows no sign of dipping in quality.