I vividly remember being caught off guard by the keys of a piano being played while walking in front of my TV, I was 6 and I had not ever been drawn into a movie based off of the sound track before that time. I couldn’t believe that such pretty music was being played on this movie and I thought to myself, “this will probably be a wonderful movie.” While I was correct in my thinking, I had no idea what was in store for this horror movie. Until that point my family had mostly kept me away from scarier movies always telling me that I would not like it and suggesting that we just turn something else on.

IT was based off of Stephen King’s novel and while I still have not read the book I have to wonder if it is my own fear stopping me from doing so. Not the fear that the book will scare me but instead the fear that reading the book will ruin the connection that I have had all my life with the movie. It is commonly believed that the movies are never as good as the books and with all other instances I have faced this has been true for me as well.

My mother did what she could after this to keep me away from horror movies but I had been sucked in completely, I started looking for more scary movies that would give me the same thrill as IT. To be able to follow these kids from being full of fear and worried about the future to seeing them all grown up, successful and with managing life well and ultimately being able to kill their demons.  This search had carried over into my adult life, the biggest difference from then to now is that I have my mother to go with me to these movies and to search for this feeling of awe and thrill right beside me instead of trying to help me stay a child and enjoy the part of my life that was before horror.

While seeing this movie recently, I realized that it was the nostalgia of seeing actual acting and real passion being used by the cast instead of relying more on special affects or computer work. I love that the cast had to actively imagine more of these situations rather then having them put in after the filming was complete. Acting has always been a rather hit or miss issue for me, and it as well comes from the writing. no matter how amazing an actor is, if the righting is not good, then the acting will not be good either.

The relationship between Georgie and Bill was one that resonated most closely to me in the sense that I had siblings and while they have not passed away there is space between us that I wish was not there, I had always hoped growing up that my siblings and I would be close and I am sad daily for the loss of the relationships I had. Beth’s relationship with her father was one I knew all to well. The first time I watched this movie after pursuing counseling for the abuse I suffered at the hands of my own father I was taken right back to my own living room watching a younger version of myself be yelled at and hit by my father and being thankful that I was able to get away from him.

While watching this movie again I see how some of the things I thought as a child are wildly different then what I think now. As a child I was able to run around with my friends much more freely then I probably should have been able to, much as “The Losers Club” was able to as well and now as an adult with my own children I see that it is a double edged sword in the sense that children now have more ability to communicate with the use of cell phones and other electronics but it is also harder for me as a parent to let my children wander around on their own as the use of drugs and alcohol rise and all I am able to do is hope that they trust me enough to come to me when they have a problem. Unlike the children from the movie who seemed to have no support from adults in general as shown when Ben was being bullied and the adult raking his yard did nothing and instead turned away from him.

While looking up reviews online I noticed that there is no clear cut answer for if this movie is a favorite or if people hated it. The reviews are almost completely half and half with people whom didn’t care for it, as said by one reviewer who gave this movie 1/10 “It is by far the worst book-to-movie adaption I’ve ever seen” and this review is the complete sum of why I am scared to read the book, because since I have not read the book I do not know what I am missing. however, after i have had more time to think ad consider i can admit now that i went out and bought the book. It has taken 19 years for me to work up the courage to go out and get the book, and now i just need to actually read it.

However, another reviewer gave the mini series a 10/10 because “overall the kids who play the part are great actors, with a good script and beautiful cinematography.” So all in all it really seems as if your history with the book, mini series, or new remake of the movie will determine how you feel about the 1990 adaption of IT. I have still refused to even acknowledge that there has been a remake of this movie. I heard from many people and online sources that when this movie was made it went from being more in your mind thriller to a blood bath, and in a time when we are being surrounded by live action remakes or follow up movies to some of our favorites, such as IT, Aladdin, and The Lion King; i feel that i need to be even more picky in what i consider to be a great movie or not and what i want out of all of these remakes. It seems that like so many other book-to-movies the book is the reigning champion. That of course comes as no surprise since Stephen King is still one of the most popular horror authors to write books.