IT: Book vs Movie - Stephen King/Andy Muschietti

Horror

Rating: 8/10

As I have stated elsewhere in this blog, I am very critical of movie adaptations of books I have read.  All the more so if I have loved those books.  So, I decided that I would offer up a brief comparison and review of It as the second chapter hits the theatres.

You might think that a book that is a sprawling forty-five hour listen on audio would lose something in the translation to screen, even with two films. But it doesn’t.  Nothing intrinsic to the story is missing.  And that my friends, is a stellar achievement.

The changes that were made were astute, they either improved the story for modern audiences or condensed it to fit the shorten attention span.  

When King writes he precisely layers every conceivable element of minutiae from the bottom up in order to bring flesh and blood and bone to his characters.  It’s by this technique that he pushes the reader to experience the palpable sense of tension and fear.  An absolute must in horror that is written on the page, no so for that which is filmed. If well framed, directed and edited, the essence of a lengthy chapter can be captured in a flicker.  

The casting is also tricky, the actors chosen need to imbue the characters that we readers have come to know.  For the kids I have no problem, but the adult casting leaves me with one lingering concern.  Jessica Chastain (Bev Marsh) didn’t feel right for me.  That aside I will say the casting of Bill Skargaard as Pennywise was inspired.

I am sure that by this point you know that I approve of this adaptation, possibly more than any other of King’s works.  For that reason, in closing I will provide some best and worst rankings! For the horror stories only!

The Best:

It (New Version)

Misery

Carrie

The Shining

Needful Things

The Worst:

Christine

Hearts In Atlantis

Pet Sematary (First Version)

The Cell

Cujo

The Maybe’s (I thought they were good at the time…:

The Dead Zone

Firestarter

The Dark Half

Salem’s Lot