#It : #TheKneeJerkCritic Movie Review

“Maybe there aren’t any such things as good friends or bad friends – maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you’re hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they’re always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that’s what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.”
– Stephen King, It

This is my most favorite quote from It. In fact, it is my favorite from any of books i have ever read.

And i love this quote too.

“But God favors drunks, small children, and the cataclysmically stoned.”

Saka ito.

“Ate: Tara nood tayos sine. Yung. I.T., maganda raw yun…

“Kuya: Ning, It yun, It. HIndi I.T.”

Char. true story pero Char!

 

I think I finished reading Stephen King’s It when i was about 15, fresh into college. Kakagraduate ko pa lang sa Mills and Boons at Sweet Valley High ng sisteret ko and i was ready to find my own genre na more mature than the Hardy Boys series.

Makapal na libro ang It but that didn’t faze me. By that time, nabasa ko naman na ang Gone With the Wind at Roots by Alex Haley. I’m not saying naintindihan ko ang full scope ng mga novels na ito. Sinasabi ko lang, nabasa ko. I was a nerd like that.

It was supposed to be a horror novel, but for some reason, i never saw it as  horrifying. Maski na bongga sa body count yung novel, and there were gory details, I found it heartwarming instead.

I’m not well.

Basically ang kwento, in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, cyclically, something cataclysmically tragic happens every 27 years.  And the thing that causes that cycle of tragedy is an alien-like  creature who feeds on fear, mainly young people’s fears. With the ability to shapeshift and read minds, the monster manifests into what its intended victim is deathly afraid of. And then It feeds.

And the monter’s most common manifestation is the clown who called itself Pennywise.

Bakit Pennywise?

Ma.

Bakit clown?

Bakit hindi?

Naborkot kaya ang clown. Especially yung badly made up clown.  Yung nanggigitata at nahuhulas yung white base make-up. Saka smellany marquez yung rarely washed clown costume. Tapos sasabihin ng mommy, go to the clown anak, lapit ka sa kanya.

Yaaak!!No!!!

At malakas ring makabother yung painted on perennial grin. Bakit kailangan unli-ang grin? Parang may iniisip siyang gawin na ayaw ipahalata sa iyo. May tinatago. Never trust a guy with a constant grin on his face, i say. Especially kung ang pangalan mo ay Bruce Wayne, o Dick Grayson or basta taga-Gotham City ka. Or Derry Maine for that matter.

Anyways, so nagigising nga si evil Pennywise every 27 year at naghahasik ito ng lagim for 12-16, nagpapakabusog sa sangkabagetstan ng Derry tapos borlog ulit. Siesta baga until the next 27 years. Ang kalorki, after each tragic event na kumikitil sa lifesung ng maraming jogets and adults alike, aba parang walang shutayang naganap. Forgetfulness agad ang mga taga Derry sa kaganapan.

Parang mga Pinoy lang de ba? Matapos tayo pagnakawan ng milyones, at naconvict sa pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan, forgetfulness ulit,  iboboto natin ulit sa pwesto.

Parang tanga.

Ubo*gloria*ubo*erap*ubo*marcos*ubo… hay naku magkakaTB ako sa kakaubo

Teka, hindi kaya wala sa Derry si It, at nasa Malacañang Kogreso at Senado pala?!

Charot lang! Peace mga trolls. Este mga ‘tol. Peace.

Anyways balik sa kwento.  Matapos ang several cycles na waging-waging si Pennywise sa paglafang sa residents ng Derry Maine, finally he met his match in The Losers. The Losers is a group of seven adolescent kids, caught midway between childhood and adulthood during the 50’s in the book, and the 80’s in the movie.

The Losers is made up of a trio of old time friends: the quiet kid with a stutter, the smart ass, and the hypochodriac. Plus several loners they picked up along the way: the fat kid, the jew, the black kid, and the good girl with a slutty rep — outsiders all.

Parang di nalalayo dun sa grupo ng mga bida sa Stranger Thing no? Which is not suprising since Stranger Thing is said to be a tribute to old 80’s horror genre so possibleng na-influence ng It ang recent TV hit.

Personally, I feel that yung mga bida ng  It are the expanded version ng group of friends in another Stephen King novella “The Body” which was turned to a coming of age film called “Stand By Me” starring the late River Phoenix.

Parang similar rin lang ang It. Coming of age film. Mas mataas lang ang body count dahil merong monster na pumapatay-ever. Nang madugo. Dugodugo ever.

Pero the heart of the movie is about friendship, love and innocence. And I think ito ang nagresonate sa audience, yung solidity ng friendship rather the horror that they faced.

I think lahat naman tayo felt like an outsider at one point in our lives. Ikaw, never? Eh di pakyu ka, baka ikaw yung pahirap na bully sa buhay namin dati. Shetyu.

But i mean it in a nice way dahil baka nagbago ka na rin naman. Pero pakyu ka pa rin in the past, ok?

I believe rin that everyone has that special group of friends in life, espcially during childhood, or even just for that one special summer, when everything was perfect.  Patintero sa daan. Taguan-pung sa liwanag ng buwan pag brown out. Habulan sa talahiban. Magpaparactice ng sayaw para sa pakontest sa piyesta.Biking. Hiking. Tulakan sa pilapil ng palaisdaan. Magnanakaw ng bunga ng santol at bayabas. Mamimitas ng bulaklak ng gumamela panggawa ng bubbles.

Of course memories ito ng isang Gen X’er. Before the time ng hindotang Dota na yan. Ewan ko if the younger generation got to enjoy the wonders of exploring the great outdoors that was your neighborhood alongside your peers na walang yayavonel na nakasunod. If not you’ve missed a lot.

I guess this review is less about the movie but more about the feelings and memories the it managed to elicit from the viewers, me in particular.  It is probably the only horror movie I have watched where I went out of the cinema wistfully smiling.

And of course the movie was good. No question. Scary at the right moments. Not to gory. Suspenseful. Thrilling.  Billy Skarsgård’s smile was difinitely menacing and his Pennywise delivered the scares. He should should have that scary-ass smile insired. With the kids, ifever the kids should ever be up for an award, they should be nominated and win as a group because it was a laudible ensemble effort. Bravi.

It is definitely the “it”movie of the season.