Movies

Stephen King's 'It' Early Buzz: A Terrifying Movie With Heart, True To The Spirit Of The Book

Stephen King's It Early Buzz
By Ethan Anderton

Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema's new adaptation of Stephen King's It won't hit theaters until September 8th. But in an effort to kick off positive word of mouth, some critics have already seen the film from director Andy Muschietti, and the first reactions have started to hit the web.

There aren't any full reviews available yet, but the embargo on social media reactions has been lifted, and the early buzz is through the roof. This adaptation captures the spirit of Stephen King's original book, assembles an incredible group of kids to play the Losers Club, and brings a terrifying new Pennywise to the screen. Check out the first Stephen King's It early buzz below.

Here's the round-up of social media reactions from critics who have seen the movie:

This is all overwhelmingly positive, but make sure you keep your expectations in check. In fact, if you're looking for a little more even-handed reaction, check out this thread from the first reaction above, from our our Chris Evangelista. While he loved the movie, he pointed out some flaws, such as using orchestral cues for jump scares a little too often, some unnecessary visual effects used for Pennywise here and there, and one moment involving one of the characters. But overall, he was still extremely satisfied.

These reactions also jibe with the footage that I saw at San Diego Comic-Con. The studio didn't go out of their way to scare us with a bunch of footage of Pennywise, but opted to show us how much chemistry and camaraderie there was between all of the kids playing the Losers Club. It looked like it was as much of a coming of age story as it was a horror movie, something that you usually don't see in movies like this. Plus, with a longer running time than we've come to expect from horror movies, it's clear there's no hurry to just scare the audience and run through the story.

For more from Stephen King's It, be sure to check out our reaction to footage from Comic-Con right here, and check out the most recently released theatrical trailer over here. Otherwise, we'll be back with even more early buzz when the review embargo for the movie lifts on September 5.

This adaptation of Stephen King's It stars Bill Skarsgård (Allegiant) as the horrifying Pennywise the Dancing Clown while the group of young misfits known as the Losers' Club is played by Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Olef, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs and Sophia Lillis.

Mama director Andy Muschietti is at the helm of the feature produced by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti with a screenplay from Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman.

New Line Cinema's horror thriller "IT," is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades.

When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.

It hits theaters on September 8, 2017.

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