The Blair Witch Project: A modern day classic?

There are films that are released with little to no expectation but for whatever reason, they go on to shape their respective genre in some way. The classics like Nosferatu, Dracula and Frankenstein are too obvious to put in that box. While they did huge things for the film world, more so than most others in the genre but they were all made during the golden age of cinema. A simpler time when technology had to be pushed or even invented to accommodate the vision of the filmmakers who were attempting to bring these literary characters to life.

Obviously there were many stories committed to celluloid prior to the three I mentioned above but you get the idea. Films that have changed the genre from which they were routed...

When we look at more modern entries onto this list, we have to look at films that shaped or changed the sub genre they belong to, films like Night of the Living Dead. A true masterpiece of cinema which gave birth to the version of the “Zombie” that most people envision when that word is mentioned. Obviously modern interpretations include more “Rage” infected beings who don’t slowly lurch towards their victims but chase them down with animalistic vigour. Granted, there are plenty of “zombie” movies to be considered prior to the release of the late great George A. Romero’s 1968 classic but his is widely regarded as the first to show the re-animated cannibalistic creatures we all know and love.

Moving swiftly on. Another film which deserves special mention is Halloween. While the 1978 slasher film was not the first of it’s kind, it was most certainly the most commercially successful and ultimately one of the most imitated; with its signature blend of suspense, brilliant use of its score and jump scares. 

John Carpenter definitely laid down the gauntlet with his entry. Following on from the success of Halloween, it spawned its own franchise which continues to this day with a new Halloween slated for release later this year (2018) as well as influencing numerous franchises like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and a whole host of other slasher films from the 1980’s which can all thank Halloween.

Jaws! How could we talk about genre changing films without mentioning the real life fear of a man eating shark. The film itself boasts a host of inspirational attributes making leaps in cinematography and special effects but one of the most important things about this film was its marketing and advertising strategies. 

I am not sure if you could definitively call Jaws the FIRST Summer Blockbuster but it is certainly one of the most memorable. 

Another strong inspiration on the horror genre was Alien. Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-if horror is still as powerful today as it was 40 years. It’s premise is fairly text book, an unseen presence in a claustrophobic setting. 

Scott turned that standard on its head by inviting viewers into possibly the most isolated version of that premise imaginable. Complete with an amazing tag line, “In Space, no one can hear you scream”. The sci-fi horror world has a lot to thank Mr Scott for!

Moving quickly forward to 1996. The slasher genre had seemingly had its heyday, with the aforementioned slasher craze of the 1980’s, many would be forgiven for calling time of death on the genre when franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street were churning out their 6th instalments and beyond. 

Then, a true master of horror having given us Freddy Krueger in the first place revitalised the genre and injected it with all the modern day plagues and single handedly redefined the slasher “rules”. Scream was a huge success and proved so at the box office, remaining the highest grossing slasher film in history taking $173,046,663 worldwide to date (Correct as of 2018 - Source: Boxofficemojo.com)

I’ll be right back!.........

There are many, many more films that could have made it into the opening of this piece but for the sake of time, I am going to move on to the subject at hand.

In 1999, a film was released which would not only change peoples opinions of horror, it would both divide hardened fans of the franchise and modernise and popularise the genre we tentitively refer to as “Found Footage”.

I don’t think anyone could have imagined when The Blair Witch Project was released that it would go on to have the impact that it had. Reported to have a production budget in the region of $60,000, it is pound for pound, one of the biggest earning films in history. As of this date, it has taken worldwide earnings of $248,639,099 not including home cinema release! A whopping 4,143 times it’s initial outlay!

The key to it’s success had to lie in its marketing strategy. It couldn’t have come at a better time. In 1999, the internet had evolved into an unwieldy behemoth, one which would only increase as the years passed by but 1999 was a simpler time; before Facebook, twitter and a host of social media outlets now at our fingertips. Back then you had to actually search for things. Asking Jeeves random questions before settling on a page for it’s interesting articles or informative content.

The Internet played the biggest role in making this film infamous before it’s release. With a campaign that led the world to believe that the film was actually showcasing the real tragic events that befell three student filmmakers who went Missing, presumed dead. I believe IMDB even listed the cast as such for a period of time on the films initial release!

The Found Footage genre is one that can find much earlier roots, Cannibal Holocaust can probably claim to be the first of its kind but where that film was notorious for many other reasons, Blair Witch got the mix just right. Countless “copy-cat” or obviously inspired films are churned out every year by opportunistic film makers all searching for a repeat of what Blair Witch somehow accomplished some 20 years ago!

I am not sure if there are many films which can say they have divided opinions quite as much as The Blair Witch Project... I won’t go too far down this track as everyone is entitled to their opinions. Mine is firmly in the “This film is a piece of cinematic magic”! Enough said on that subject....

So to the film itself. Could there be a simpler film? Not sure… 3 student filmmakers set out in search of the Blair Witch of Burketsville. Things go bad, the kids never returned from the woods and we see the footage that was recovered following the search. There, thats it! 

We follow Heather, Josh and Mike as they make their way to the woods. A few quick interviews with some of the locals beforehand, then they set off with their gear and cameras in hand. 

In all honesty, the film itself is just as simple as it’s made out above. Nothing great in the way its filmed, there are no visual effects other than those created by the hand held camera’s themselves and the acting is not really acting at all. It would later be revealed that the actors actually filmed most of the movie themselves during an 8 day filming period where they were actually camping in the woods, only contactable by walkie-talkie. 

The simplicity of The Blair Witch Project is really what made it so brilliant. It may not have had the cultural impact it ultimately had if it hadn’t been for the simplicity and simpleness of it.

As I mentioned before, the film has split opinion from its day of release and people still argue over it to this day. One thing that no one can deny, is the impact The Blair Witch Project has had on the horror genre. If you doubt this impact, please refer back to it’s gross earnings to date as mentioned above!

It was almost inevitable after its success that a sequel wouldn’t be far behind. Sure enough; just one year later, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 was released. While this film didn’t carry the same weight as its predecessor, 

I enjoyed it. Book of Shadows follows a group of tourists who having seen the Blair Witch Project, travel to its locales in an attempt to discover some of the evidence and scenery for themselves. 

With the hype of The Blair Witch Project, people have been flocking to the woods around burketsville in the hope of solving its mysteries or catching a glimpse of the fabled witch for themselves. Jeffrey Patterson, played by Jeffrey Donovan has capitalised on the hype and influx of interest and runs a tour called the Blair Witch Hunt. The tour takes its paying adventure seekers deep into the woods to see first hand the locations featured in the found tapes of the previous ill fated travellers. 

In case you haven’t seen it, I’m not going to give anything away!

Book of Shadows was more of a traditional movie. It ditched the found footage angle and stuck mainly to by the numbers filmmaking. Because of this, it was able to branch out slightly into the special effects spectrum. Less practical effects and more standard horror techniques were employed. This did cheapen the experience slightly but only when viewed in direct comparison to its predecessor.

It may not have been received very well by critics but it performed quite well at the box office and I would be comfortable in saying it has a fairly strong cult following. Some very interesting Easter eggs and intense imagery help make this a more than adequate sequel but not one that ever had any chance of living up to the hype of the original.

16 years, teasers and a lot of rumours were to come and go before we were finally treated to a third instalment.

Blair Witch uses a lot of the same ideas from the original but in a modern setting, we are treated to all the mod cons that come with a film being made in 2016. Improved camera quality, high definition, mobile technology and even a drone, which was a very nice touch.

The film sees James, the brother of Heather, one of the student filmmakers who went missing in the original film. After he sees a video on the internet, he firmly believes he has found the key solving the mystery of Heather’s disappearance. His belief is so strong that he is adamant that wit his new information, not only will he be able to solve the mystery but he will also be able to find Heather alive and hopefully bring her home!

With this confidence, he sets off with a group of his college friends and heads towards Burketsville. 

The group track down the video’s origin, a young couple called Lane and Talia had uploaded some footage to the internet. After some convincing, the couple agree to help the group. In exchange for their assistance they must take them along on their journey through the woods. The group reluctantly agree’s and under the impression that the young couple know where they’re going, they set off!

Things quickly go down hill as the group are tormented by a seemingly endless run of bad fortune, or is it the curse of the Blair Witch!?! With things looking bleak, the group begin a similar cycle that befell the original trio. Getting lost in the vast woods, going in circles and encountering strange occurrences. Not even all their modern technology can help them!

Adam Wingard (V/H/S, You’re Next) creates a worthy accompaniment to The Blair Witch Project with an extremely capable follow up. Some may not agree but I immensely enjoyed Blair Witch. 

The characterisation which is built over the short course of the movie is good enough to conjure up empathetic feelings when things aren’t going so well. The characters themselves are ably played by a good and relatively unknown young cast of actors. All in all, Blair Witch may not have lit the world on fire, if it’s IMDb rating is anything to go by but from my perspective, it was a thoroughly enjoyable film with some good innovative techniques and a very good ending.

Perhaps the fact that I inadvertently had my own personal screening of the film having pre-booked on a convenient night for me to watch it. It just so happened that no one else fancied a trip to the cinema on that night and so I sat, alone, in a large cinema screen watching this film! I loved it!

What do you think of the franchise as it currently stands? Three films in, all dividing opinion... Not quite old enough to call it a classic and not quite revered enough to call it a cult classic. Some may agree with my opinion, the Blair Witch Project is a brilliant movie in its delivery and execution. Its follow up was a poorer sibling but still had its moments and the third instalment breathed life back into the story. What ever side you're on, I'd love to hear from you....

Twists and Shocks: 9 Random Horror films that keep you guessing

Some horror films fizzle without the spark. Some meander along their duration with minimal expenditure. Some fail in any reasonable attempt to muster any more than a meh… 

In general, most give us light enjoyment at best but they’ll never live up to your movie brain expectations with the delights you crave.... 

There are a select few which give us more, a few shining beacons which will have you firmly rooted to the edge of your seat, some will leave your fingernails at risk of being chewed and some will cause toe tapping anxiety.

Then there are the ones that include all of the above emotions and feelings with the added bonus of staying with you long after the credits have rolled. Those special films are the ones you’ll be thinking about for days, weeks or even months!

While not all the films on this list may be earth shattering entrants to the genre, one thing is for certain, they keep you guessing and make you think. They will make your brain whirl and sometimes even hurt…. whether you want it to or not.......

I am also going to show that with good writing, direction and that all important twist, which can help make a film just as successful than a huge production summer blockbuster. Maybe not in terms of bankroll but in the entertainment they provide. 

In no particular order, please enjoy my list of 9 films that will keep you entertained, full of thought or even cringing for many nights.

*** WARNING - SPOILERS ***

SAW

When Saw first hit the big screen in 2004, I have to admit, I did not go rushing to see it. I suppose the main reason for that was the hype! Hype is one thing I don’t like to get caught up in. It can severely interfere with your perception or reception of a film and as such, I tend to keep my distance until the hype has died down.

With that being said, I managed to avoid all spoilers for this film until I eventually got the opportunity to watch it for myself.

The film follows two strangers who awake in a dim, dank bathroom, each chained up with little to no memory of how they got there. Accompanied by a dead body in the middle of the room, just out of reach of both of them, they slowly regain their memories and begin to piece together how and why they have found themselves in this strange and extremely compromising position.

It transpires that the dead body in the room is not dead at all. He is in fact the puppet master of the whole ordeal and announces himself right at the end of the film in a moment that will make you wish you’d believed your own mind when you said “I bet its the guy lying on the floor pretending to be dead!”

Twist Score: 10

Shock Factor: 8

THE MIST

Being an avid fan of Stephen King, this film was immediately on my radar. However, this film was not only one of the harshest mainstream films I saw in 2007, it is quite possibly the harshest mainstream ending ever! 

Following a freak storm, a small town is plagued by a strange mist which brings with it a host of weird and wonderful monsters with a taste for human flesh! Starring Thomas Jane, he, his son and a small group of survivors hold up in a supermarket in an attempt to survive the carnage going on all around them.

There were probably two things to get this film on this list so I’m going to talk about the first chronologically. One that annoys me more than anything, the scene I’m talking about see’s the most ridiculous display of interspecies violence imaginable. The "radicals" decide it would be a good idea to turn on their fellow survivors instead of banding together to battle the giant creatures thats have overrun the town!!!

Ok, so that part I can sort of forgive. You are always going to get some idiots who are intent on putting their own beliefs and thoughts on any situation but the big twist, which is probably more of a colossal shock comes right at the end of the film. 

In what is probably one of the most gut wrenching final scenes to any film, Thomas Jane uses his last remaining bullets to give an easy ending to his son and a few other survivors before letting the monsters devour him. As it would transpire, moments after the fatal shots, he awaits his own demise only to be confronted by the army as they sweep through on their rescue mission! The scream of a father who has just put his son out of his misery only to realise if they had waited only a few minutes more, all of them would have been saved! 

Heartbreaking and brutal to say the least!

Twist Score: 7

Shock Factor: 10

THE SIXTH SENSE

Well, what can be said about one of the best known thrillers of all time? A young boy who is plagued by visions of spirits, ghosts, whatever you want to refer to them as, he see’s dead people to paraphrase one of the most infamous, regurgitated, satired and mimicked lines in movie history. Bruce Willis shines as Dr. Malcom Crowe, a child psychologist employed to assist with a troubled young boy named Cole. Dr Crowe is somewhat reeling from a failed case which bares a striking resemblance to that of Cole’s. He strives to help this boy in a way that he was unable to in his other case but things may not be quite what they seem.

While the film itself is gripping and more than adequately entertaining, it keeps you thinking all the way through. With plenty of spook and jump scares to maintain it’s horror stamp. This is the ultimate showcase of what M. Night Shyamalan does best. A thriller with heart and atmosphere plus a mammoth twist to top it off. 

While there are very subtle clues which become more and more obvious on further viewing, it is revealed at the climax of the film that Dr. Malcolm Crowe is in fact a ghost himself and has been the whole time! His previous failed case which ended up with him receiving a bullet wound turned out to be fatal. In a way that can only be described as brilliant, Dr Crowe is completely oblivious to his life impairment and all the little hints along the way are easily misconstrued as everyday issues. Brilliant!  

Twist score: 10

Shock factor: 7

THE VILLAGE

Another M.Night Shyamalan film, another head scratcher and yet another twist! While this film follows a totally different path to that of The Sixth Sense, it does have that same feeling that comes with an M. Night film. 

The Village is about a small isolated community of god fearing people. They follow a strict set of rules and believe that leaving the village would be fatal as the monsters beyond the tree line would not appreciate their infringement and would mercilessly kill them. In a rural setting sometime in the 19th century, the village appears rustic and picturesque but one occupant suspects there is something more so sets out to prove his theory.

While this twist is impressive and gives the sense that what is seen should not always be believed, it is somewhat lacking in its delivery. It turns out the 19th century, rustic, idealistic town is actually a safe haven set up to protect a way of life and shelter the people from the outside world. In reality, they have created a level of control that is only rivalled by a dictatorship. As outside the boundary walls, the “real world” is actually modern day…

Twist Score: 7

Shock Factor: 5

THE OTHERS

The Others is about a woman, Grace and her young children Anne and Nicholas who are riding out the harsh times of 1945 in a mansion in Jersey. As the Second World War draws to a conclusion, Grace anxiously waits for her husband to return from battle. 

Grace and her children live in almost complete darkness due to photosensitivity disease the kids suffer from. The condition means that if they are subjected to the harsh rays of sunshine, they will be badly hurt. Struggling to cope with the stresses of raising two children with such restraints, she enlists the help of a housekeeper, a maid and a gardener but things in this already fragile and darkened environment take a turn when Grace becomes convinced that their home is haunted.

Things in the house develop further and the story begins to unravel as more and more strange things start to happen which makes Grace question everything. She even begins to question her own sanity!

The twist in this film while initially coming as a shock, makes more and more sense when elements are deconstructed. It is revealed that the spirits which have been seen by Grace and the children are actually living people performing a seance and the ghosts who occupy this house are themselves. 

Grace regains her memory and having been so grief ridden after actually losing her husband to the war, she lost her mind and killed her children. When she realised what she had done, she killed herself!

Twist Score: 9

Shock Factor: 7

THE WICKER MAN

The Wicker Man is one of those films that everyone should see. It may be very well known/notorious for obvious reasons but if you strip it down to it’s rawest form, The Wicker Man is a very unsettling film indeed. It very much has that 1970’s British vibe to it and it plays on some very real concerns for the outer reaches of the country. Ones which may at the time have gone unnoticed by the authorities. After all, who could police the small, rural islands when they are so out of sync with the everyday occurrences of the mainland.

Sargent Howie travels to Summerisle, a small Scottish island just off the mainland to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Upon arrival, no one is very helpful. In fact, he can’t even determine whether the information he has is genuine as no one admits to even knowing the missing girl. He soon realises that there is a lot more going on in this small township than he can handle and after meeting Lord Summerisle, played excellently by the late great Christopher Lee, he becomes entangled in pagan rituals bordering on occultist. 

After suspecting that the missing girl is to be offered up as a sacrifice during one the towns pagan rituals, Sargent Howie unwittingly allows himself to be offered up. In a scene that invokes pure dread on a disturbing level, we see the poor sergeant burnt alive inside a giant wicker man. The locals hold hands and sing folk songs, totally unflinching as the horror unfolds.

Twist Score: 7

Shock Factor: 9

THE DESCENT

A great entrant on to this list is none other than British made The Descent. I emphasise the British as being from Blighty myself, I do enjoy when something worthy, enjoyable and successful is gifted to the genre I love. The UK has supplied many scares over the year, The entire Hammer franchise is one that has lit up more than a few screens the world over and more recent forays include the hugely successful 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead. 

Having gained moderate success with the brilliant Dog Soldiers, Neil Marshall takes us into the depths of the earth in this eerily claustrophobic thrill ride which is sure to send shivers down the spine.

The main character Sarah, having gone through a horrific incident just a year ago, is invited by friends to go on a caving adventure. Tensions have flared because of the series of events that led up to the incident a year a go but this could be the bonding sessions a few of them need to right a few wrongs. As they venture deeper and deeper into the cave things take a nasty turn. With their exit blocked, they must travel deeper still into the cave to search for a way out. With supplies running low and tempers fraying, the group must try to work together to survive but…. They are not alone!

The twist with this film is more one of false hope. The real fear of this film could be argued. Is it the “friend” with whom you entrust your life that you should be scared of or is it the cave dwelling monsters who feed on human flesh? You don’t have to be a film major to appreciate the metaphors here! After a tense struggle between two of the survivors and with hordes of the flesh eating monsters closing in, Sarah escapes the cave and runs like hell to her car! Joy soon turns to agony as we soon learn that the whole escape had been nothing more than a figment of Sarah’s imagination. She never escaped the cave, she never reached her car and she was not on her way to freedom! She is in fact still in the cave. Her realisation that maybe all hope is lost! She closes her eyes and pictures happier times as the sound of the creatures closes in……. It must be noted that the US version actually has her escaping, I assume this was to set things up nicely for the sequel.

Twist Score: 6

Shock Factor: 8

SCREAM

When Wes Craven decided to breathe new life into the slasher genre, he did it the right way. 1996 saw the release of Scream. A film that would not only reinvigorate a sub genre that had become very stale but would ignite my initial love for the Horror genre as a whole. 

Scream follows the turbulent lives of a group of teenagers as they are stalked and killed off by a masked killer. As the one year anniversary of the death of Sydney’s mother approaches, a person dressed in a ghost mask starts terrorising the small town of Woodsboro. Sydney and her friends must come to terms with their current plight and try to solve the mystery of who is causing so much strife.

The twist in this film is somewhat different… There is obviously the whodunit twist which inevitably comes with any mask based slasher but for the purposes of this post, the twist I am concentrating on is the shock opening scene! 

We are first introduced to Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore. She is at home alone one evening getting ready for her boyfriend coming round to watch a scary movie. She receives a phone call from the killer who promptly invites her to “play a game”. After coming to the belated realisation that this is not a prank call and it most certainly is not one of her friends playing a joke, she has no option but to play the game.

After witnessing her boyfriend being killed, a very intense game of cat and mouse ensues and young Casey finally meets her maker. All of this unfolds in the opening scene. It is not so much how the killer goes about his business, although his line of conversation is very entertaining.

It has a lot more to do with the fact that who could have predicted that the most sellable star in this film would not see more than 12 minutes screen time?!

Twist Score: 7

Shock Factor: 8

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

George A. Romero’s classic zombie film I hear you say? Yes. The very same! This is widely credited with revolutionising the horror genre and without doubt bore the classic zombie which we all now know and love as being reanimated, flesh eating monsters. While the word Zombie is never uttered in this film, it has been cited as the beginning of a new age of zombie films. Previous incarnations of the “Zombie” were Haitian slaves, appearing in films like White Zombie.

Night of the Living Dead follows seven people as they hold up in a farmhouse after being set upon by a group of undead flesh esters. There isn’t much else I can say about this film without devoting too much time to breaking it down and micro analysing every facet of it…. So that is something I will do in another post!

The twist with this film is beyond shock… As a posse of gun wielding men move in to clean up the mess left by the hordes of zombies, they come across the farmhouse which had played host to the seven unlucky souls seeking refuge for the night. Lone survivor Ben, makes his way to the fresh light of day having survived the horror of the night. Mistaking him for one of the undead, the posse shoot him without warning, killing him with a fatal headshot. Ben’s body is piled up with those of the undead and burnt.

Bleak, I know. There is so much to say about this film that a follow up post is essential! Just another excuse to re-watch this film…

Twist Score: 6

Shock Factor: 8

So there we have it. A selection of films with some great twists to get your horror juices flowing. I am in no way calling this a definitive list or a list of top films containing the best twists, this is simply a small selection of films with some interesting, impressive and sometimes shocking twists.... I would love to hear from you if you have any thoughts on my list or think I should have included others over these.

Movie Review: IT (2017)

While my love for horror films may have wavered over the last few years... Hence my recent Hiatus... I have re-found that love and I suppose it all comes down to finding my happy in this world.. Something which gives me the strength and want to do anything and everything I've always wanted to. Well enough of the soppy shit. 

Last year a film was released which garnered the kind of public interest usually reserved for huge scale, large budgeted superhero movies... IT. Who doesn't enjoy a good scare at the cinema every now and then.

So off I went with my happy to the movie theatre to watch a scary film. The room was very near full. To say that after the film had already been out a week, in our small corner of the world is a huge coup for the local cinema and the coffers it laps up!

Anyway, on to the film!

We follow Bill, Richie, Beverly, Ben, Mike, Eddie & Stan, a group of young kids dubbed the losers club. The group must band together to battle the woes of growing up in a cruel and harsh world. The only problem is, they're growing up in Derry, Maine. A town plagued by disappearances.

After the disappearance of Bill's brother Georgie, the small town is once again thrown into disarray. Bill struggles to come to terms with the disappearance of his little brother and strives for answers. As the kids face adversity from all angles, they must come together to battle their worst fears. Individually and as a group. The fear I speak of takes many forms but it’s preferred embodiment is that of Pennywise, the dancing clown.

What can we say about this film that hasn’t already been said somewhere?

IT is a modern day take/adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel of the same name. I have to admit, being a fan of the novel and having somewhat enjoying the original 1990 made for TV “mini-series”, I was slightly apprehensive before watching this modern version. Not least because the original Pennywise was masterfully portrayed by one of the greatest character actors in history, Tim Curry!

Tim Curry’s on screen display was enough to muster the inner most primal fears in any person. It did help that when I first saw the original I was about 9 years old and having already read the book, I had a picture in my head. As is the case with most books but the reality of the on-screen portrayal far exceeded my imagination! I was fully in awe of his performance. As for the rest of the original film, it had its moments but I wont be the first person to say it trailed off towards the end.

So, my initial apprehension was purely based on how they could possibly manage the great expectation of following Mr Curry as the happy/crazy clown...

If I was to say that Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of said clown was the brightest beacon in this film, would you argue? I would love to hear if you disagree...

This film was funny, I mean laugh out loud funny as the quick whit of some of the child characters, notably Eddie, carry the film rather well. It has a good level of atmospheric build up and some good graphic scenes along with the occasional jump scare.

The modern take on the story was a good element. Moving it from a 1950’s setting to the late 80’s. In some way this small change makes it feel much more relevant and allows the viewer to associate a lot more with the surroundings and cultural references. Who doesn’t love the 80’s?

One of my favourite aspects of this film was the initial shock factor. I know, I know... Spoilers but lets face it, most of the world has seen this movie and if you haven't. Stop reading now...

Within the first 10 minutes of this film, we are treated/exposed to some mindless child cruelty as something very unusual for mainstream films takes place in front of our very eyes. Poor young Georgie is innocently talking to a stranger in a clown costume, in the sewer... This takes stranger danger to whole new level! He is viciously assaulted and loses his arm... While frantically trying to claw his way from the danger and being trailed now by a huge pool of blood, he is whipped back towards the storm drain and disappears! 

I understand that in the modern day, films must push the boundaries of what is socially acceptable and one thing that is very rarely seen on the silver screen, is children in any kind of real danger. This film thrusts that upon us from the word go. Something which as well as being quite poignant is very graphic but in its own little way, it is not detrimental to the style of the film and in no way is it in poor taste... at least I didn't think so.

One of the only negative things I can realistically say is IT was the film is about 30 minutes too long. At least in a cinema setting. The run time of 135 minutes is a big ask for any horror film. Maybe in the comfort of a home cinema, this would be more bearable. I appreciate that there is a lot of story to get through and the producers must have wanted to see how it would fare before green lighting the obvious follow up but... and that is a pretty big but! This film would have benefited massively from being just that little bit more prompt. 

To totally contradict my statement above, an extended directors cut would be brilliant as some characters would definitely have benefited from more screen time. *ahem Mike *ahem, mentioning no names…But there we go!

If you haven’t seen this film yet, I would wholly recommend watching it. It is easily one of the best horror films of recent years and as I touched on earlier, the portrayal of Pennywise is movie magic in its most rawest form. Worth watching just for that.

Quietly optimistic about Chapter 2 however it will be difficult. As anyone who knows the book or has seen the original, the second half focuses on the Losers club after they have all grown up! Lets just hope that the end product does chapter one justice and improves on the 1990’s effort.

8/10 (An extra point for Pennywise!)