Never having read the original book "It," I just assumed that it was an incredibly scary movie and therefore, I did not want to watch it. However, after being convinced to at least give it a try, I sat down and watched the movie. I expected to jump out of my seat and scream but that is not what actually happened at all. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I did not even scream during it once. Which leads me to the conclusion that the movie is really not as scary as it seems.
The scary clown
If you're afraid of clowns this movie is not for you.
I, however, am not and the clown did not really strike me as being scary. I mean, obviously the character was meant to exhibit fear, but to me, the clown just seems strange. He reminds me of the weird guy you meet off craigslist and he turns out to be a psychopath. In other words not really scary so much as threatening. Don't get me wrong, the clown is not exactly pleasant to look at and there are attributes that have been added to the clown to make him scary. However, even with those attributes, he does not strike me as terrifying.
(Spoiler Alert) Even the children in the movie eventually stop fearing the clown. I know that they are just actors, but if children can show no fear towards the clown, then it's not scary.
It's no more than a clown you would see at a birthday party for entertainment. If you don't find these clowns fearful than you will not find the "It" clown frightening. The only difference is that the "It" clown was designed to scare you, so he has some added components to his overall look, such as his sharp teeth and his intimidating voice.
However, he still is not really as horrifying as they hoped he would be, at least in my opinion.
A horror movie with a moral
When thinking about horror movies, often-times I would think about "Annabelle" or "The Ring" - movies that made me jump out of my seat or scream bl**dy murder. Those are the type of movies that I would consider horror movies since they truly cause fear.
However, throughout the "It" movie, instead of being truly horrified you are left in suspense, wondering what's going to happen next.
I believe the movie has a deeper meaning than just attempting to incite fear. I actually think that the movie might be opposed to fear. (Spoiler Alert) The reason that the kids are able to escape the clown, and defeat it, is because they are no longer afraid of it. Making the moral of the movie that you should not be afraid, but instead, you should stand up for yourself and look fear in the face without letting it overtake you was obviously missed by the producers.
