Stephen King’s IT (1990) Review

A strong cast competes against shaky material in this ground breaking television adaptation. Based on the famous horror novelist’s decades spanning story about a group of friends battling a mysterious entity in a small town. When murders resembling those from thirty years before begin, the group must reassemble to face what appears to be a killer clown. However, nothing is what it appears to be… But I  do promise a cameo by Godzilla.

Even a miniseries isn’t enough to cram in everything from a Stephen King novel and his 1985 novel IT manages to be even more daunting thanks to excessive metaphysical noodling contained within. Still, the story had the benefit of a young group of adolescents like King’s Stand By Me along with the striking visual of a clown for the villain. So it is no surprise that ABC television network got the rights to adapt the tome for a big event. Put together with great care by director Tommy Lee Wallace, the show was a hit featuring some memorable images.

But was IT any good?

Part 1 starts off the whole affair off with ominous music accompanying pages from a photo album showing seven kids from the late 1950s or early ‘60s before shifting to the current time. Well, “current” being the late ‘80s (1990 to be specific) which of course is almost a quarter of a century ago now. Inadvertently a double period piece for modern viewers, IT does show IT’s age. There will be both pompadours and big hair for you to decide which is the more frightening.

There are quite a few scary things in cinema and little kids riding tricycles have always set me on edge. Forget maniacal slashers chasing nubile coeds into closets, the moment I see a trike the hairs on the back of my neck go up. Guess what the show begins with?

Fortunately for me, a sinister clown approaches the girl from within sheets hung on the clothesline. Soon the police are involved, briefing the local department’s detective. Wait, he’s the town librarian? Since when are they privy to investigations?

Mike Hanlon, played by Tim Reid (Venus Flytrap from WKRP in Cincinnati), is the point man for the narration, not to mention the designated wise man of the tale. Soft spoken, kind, and patient, Mike starts making phone calls.

Phone calls from the blue… the other thing that scares me…

First to be contacted is horror novelist Bill Denbrough, who is totally not Stephen Kind self inserting himself into the story. Played by Richard Thomas (John Boy of The Waltons) he’s adapting his own novel into a screenplay for his actress wife Audra (Olivia Hussey) to star in. Totally Not Stephen King suddenly remembers the horrific murder of his younger brother George thirty years before.

He’d forgotten IT.

Like the girl decades later, George was lured in by the creepy clown who tears his arm off, though we are spared seeing or hearing the horrible demise. Calling himself Pennywise, the decidedly unfunny refugee from a circus utters a line guaranteed to haunt kids everywhere: “They float. You’ll float too!”

Tim Curry was an inspired hire for the part. Employing a raspy voice and blue collar accent, the actor projects overt malice every time he shows up. It is a far cry from Curry’s more famous roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Legend.

With this flashback, we are introduced to the younger version of Bill, this time portrayed by Jonathan Brandis (SeaQuest 2032) as a stuttering kid tortured by bullies and visions of blood that his parents can’t see.

Blood… nope, not afraid of that.

Photo albums, those are the other things that scares me. Ever notice how the eyes follow you?

Wait that’s paintings. They are another thing that frightens me… Freaky oil on canvas…

The pattern repeats with drunken architect Ben Hanscom played as an adult by John Ritter (Three’s Company) and Brandon Crane (The Wonder Years) as a twelve year old. Not taking the phone call well, his memories return as a bittersweet mix of persecution and first unrequited love. Formerly a fat boy, he had lost his father in the Korean War resulting in family troubles to deal with.

The new kid in town, Ben is an instant target of Henry Bowers (Jarred Blancard) and his pack of cronies. However, that bullying leads him to making friends with Ben and Eddie Kaspbrak (Adam Faraizl). It is the beginning of the circle of friends forming during an eventful summer.

An encounter with his dead father and a muck covered skeleton further initiates Ben into the strange goings on in the town of Derry. Truth to be told, Bowers is far more terrifying.

Did I mention I’m scared of greased back hair? Yeah, it’s the something I’m phobic about ever since Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire. People with petroleum in their hair are walking fire hazards.

Next to receive the call is Beverly Marsh, the red haired lone girl of the group. Played by Annette O’Toole (Smallville), she’s a successful fashion designer in an abusive relationship. Her past memories reveal just why that was likely to happen as her younger self deals with her tyrannical father. Emily Perkins (Juno, Ginger Snaps) puts in an impressive performance as the crush of all the boys.

Her dealing with amazing amount of blood and a bathroom makes for obvious metaphor, not to mention a graphic mess. King’s cruder side is manifest in the story, thankfully toned down compared to the book. The way he treated her character there was just as abusive as anything done to Bev by a character.

Joining the group of kids in the past are cutup Ritchie Tozier and Boy Scout Stanley Uris (Ben Heller). Constantly cracking wise, Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Robot Chicken) is something of a scene stealer amongst the younger cast. You could already see the actor had a bright future.

One of the nice period touches is the outing to a matinee of I Was a Teenage Werewolf. It also is a nod to the novel, which King wrote to include his favorite movie monsters, mostly the Universal ones. Given the money required to license those versions, Michael Landon’s werewolf is as close to the Wolfman they could get on a TV budget.

Dennis Christopher’s (Deadwood) adult version of Eddie is the third friend to get the call and may be the most neurotic out of the incredibly neurotic group. Still living at home with a possessive mother, he’s a germ phobic owner of a limo service. So of course his bad memory is that of the school showers going berserk.

Man. Shower heads. They just had to show shower heads. They, of course, are  things I can’t handle. Remind me too much of Daleks.

Pennywise shows up to terrify the adolescent hypochondriac in a scene using stop motion claymation. The limitations of effects at the time are rather glaring and come off as somewhat Tim Burtonesque. Oddly, it makes the scene creepier than if the effects had been 2014 state of the art Hollywood CGI. Go figure.

Speaking of Hollywood, that’s where the next phone call is made to. Class clown Ritchie Tozier has made it big as a standup comedian complete with a retinue. Harry Anderson of Night Court fame makes his dramatic acting debut with the role and is often a scene stealer – though not so much for being amusing. Instead, he’s the bitter voice of reason throughout the rest of the story.

His revisiting the forgotten past involves a trek into the dark bowels of the school building and running afoul of the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis). His being the principal of the school explains why weirdness is happening in Derry.

Am I right? I have to be. It makes too much sense.

Eventually it is Mike’s turn to revisit the past and  this depicts how he joined the group. A bookish nerd even at twelve, young Mike (Marlon Taylor) is the sole black kid in town. This obviously leads to racist persecution from Bower’s gang. Not so obvious is his asking for help leading to the group finding their collective strength during a standoff. The Lucky Seven is forged in fire, bound by the discovery that they aren’t alone in seeing strange things.

The last member to get his turn in the spotlights is Stanley (Richard Masur) the former Boy Scout. Now a wealthy lawyer living in a strangely decorated house, he doesn’t take hearing from Mike well. Why this is reveals much, for his memories are that of the final nightmarish confrontation they had with IT thirty years before.

So ends Part 1.

Part 2 is a very different beast almost exclusively focused on the adult versions of the protagonists. Beginning with Totally Not Stephen King returning to Derry to visit his brother’s grave, it wastes no time in getting the story rolling again. No doubt this was due to the need to get as much of the novel’s content into the limited amount of time allotted.

Pennywise also wastes no time in visiting his old foes to taunt them. Yet there is a subtle difference in his approach that indicates the memories of the past have affected IT as well.

Totally Not Stephen King finds he’s the local celebrity when he runs into a display of his works at the town library. It’s a very self referential thing that somewhat yanks one out of the story, though others will find it an amusing nod.

Bill and Mike’s reunion has a sweetness to it and focuses around an old bicycle. Strangely, the scene reminded me much of one in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It may be because bicycles are the things that alarm me.

Don’t ask, the childhood trauma never left me.

Each of the circle of friends get a personal welcome from Pennywise when they enter town. The scares are tailored to their emotional weaknesses in order to make them turn around. Balloons, blood, and mockery are the main weapons deployed by the demonic clown in escalating nastiness.

Eventually the old friends gather together and all the boys are still crushing madly on Beverly. Of course she makes a beeline for the one she liked most, Bill. Yeah, no wish fulfillment fantasy there, Mr. King.

The dinner party is great fun until they overstay their welcome in what was a shocking scene for prime time television back then. Rattled, tired, and dispirited, the group bickers about what to do or not do. Mike is determined that they need to finish what they started decades ago, but won’t force anyone to help him. Ritchie wants out of town now.

IT isn’t content with sowing the seeds of discord and recruits another old foe of theirs, Henry Bowers. Now insane and played by Michael Cole (Mod Squad), Henry is set loose on a special mission in a confusing sequence of events that begins with a full moon.

Man… nothing more scary than a full moon. Can’t handle them, all that bright light illuminating all the corners when it is supposed to be nice and dark.

While most of the second part focuses on the adults, a key flashback of Stan’s encounter with an homage to the Mummy is rather memorable. Not only does it riff on another Universal monster, it brings in the missing haunted house setting so integral to many a horror movie.

The threats continue and another showdown with IT must happen if the deaths of the community’s children is to cease. But how do you defeat something that knows all your innermost fears?

Thoughts

Spanning two nights and having two dramatic endings made for a strange feeling of watching a movie and then its inferior sequel. Stephen King’s IT is a mixed bag due to both the changes made for TV and the uneven quality of the original material. It was an interesting exercise watching it 24 years after the first broadcast. I can remember being excited to see how they adapted what I considered an inadaptable book.

My memories of it being excellent did not match up with my reaction now. Somewhere along the years my ability to discriminate between quality and dreck improved. That’s not to say this is dreck, it simply didn’t pack any scares or emotional involvement this time around.

I know other people who saw it and won’t watch it again because it scared them that much. A big part of my problem is that I don’t scare easily, if at all. In fact, I can safely say no fiction is capable of evoking that particular feeling. That’s a big handicap reviewing the miniseries since it thematically is primarily about fear.

Other themes present are bullying, alienation, and child abuse of all kinds. Thankfully, things are toned down greatly from the novel, which was the beginning of me becoming disenchanted with King’s writing. IT was when he started to go off the rails with disorganized, sloppy structure and allowing more of his extremely screwed up sexual fantasies to creep in.

Even so, IT still had one of his strengths on display. That would be the ability to channel authentic portrayals of adolescent thought and emotions. So it is no wonder the best parts of the adaptation are the scenes set in 1960. The first hour and a half is good to great, especially the finale where the kids face their mysterious enemy.

Then comes the second half which stumbles around until it ends. That ending is disappointing and the epilogue cheesy hokum that betrays the tone of the entire story previously presented. Since the cast gives uniformly excellent performances, it is the story itself at fault. If I recall correctly, King had taken control of editing his own manuscripts or was allowed far too much leeway by this point and his novels began suffering from bloat.

Not that they were ever short…

Compounding the problem is that the ending of the book was unfilmable. It would have made 2001: A Space Odyssey’s ending look sane by comparison. What was substituted made sense and worked in classic B-movie fashion, yet suffered greatly from the television budget.

The miniseries contained more blood than had been seen in prime time to that point. I’d rate the show at PG-13 if it were released in theaters today. Many a parent made the mistake of seeing promos featuring a clown and thought it was suitable for children. That was a huge mistake and still is.

Due to the deaths, copious amounts of blood, racial slurs, sexual themes, and intense imagery the show is not suitable for kids. Double digits are mandatory and really it is something for ages twelve and up.

Recommended for Stephen King fans, horror movie buffs, and to people looking for a disturbing film for Halloween viewing. Everyone else can pass on it.

I nearly forgot! Here’s the Godzilla cameo promised earlier:

That’s what he looks like on a late ‘80s television budget.

Technical

I recently stumbled upon the DVD from Warner Home Video in the checkout lane of a local store and purchased it for my annual Halloween reviews. This edition is the 2010 one, which is identical to the 2002 release I believe.

One disc holds both episodes, but you have to flip it to get Part 2. That’s an old way of using dual layer DVDs, which is why I think it is the 2002 master reissued.

Video quality is pretty good, though soft, grainy, and with visible scratches and specks here and there. Color saturation is very good and contrast excellent. However… The screen ratio is not the original format.

Presented in 16:9 ratio rather than 4:3, it appears to have been cropped at the top and bottom to create a widescreen image. There is a possibility it was “opened up” from original negatives, but given the budget issues of the production cropping is more likely. Fortunately, it is a skillful crop and never looks like it is omitting vital details.

Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround according to the case. If the cake is a lie, the case is a liar. It is actually 2.0 Stereo Surround and the back channel didn’t seem to get much of a workout, if any. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

The only extra is a commentary track featuring the director Tommy Lee Wallace along with actors Richard Thomas, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid, and John Ritter. The latter three recorded together and had a blast doing it. In fact, I enjoyed the commentary more than the real soundtrack.

A lot of good background information on why things were changed and what happened on set make this a lot of fun. A poignant moment was hearing the late John Ritter talking about how he won’t let his four year old see the DVD and how he can’t wait to show it to her when she’s old enough. He died a year after recording the commentary.

BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my book, the light coming through the perforated pipe was wonderfully sinister and the best moment of the miniseries. Amazing what simple effects can accomplish and I wish more film makers understood this. Belch being immobilized and lifted in the air then folded into the pipe is the stuff of nightmares. Way better than Frankenstein’s monster killing him in the book.

Am I alone in thinking the wounded Pennywise looked like the Phantom of the Opera? Another horror movie tribute is my suspicion.

Probably the most remembered line of the movie was original to the screenplay. “Kiss me, fat boy!” was perfect in the context of the scene. Even the cast loved it and had buttons made with the line on them. It was Ritter’s idea to have Curry’s lipstick smeared to add that extra ick to the reveal.

I was annoyed to see the token black guy get taken out so easily and prevented from joining the final battle. Reid was disappointed by this too and never did get to see the robotic puppet used to portray the monster.

Anderson refused to take part in the group hug and improvised the caustic line about singing Kumbaya. The director reluctantly went along with him and realized it was a much better scene as a result. Despite Ritchie seeming more damaged than the rest, it was a rare adult moment in the story that I appreciated.

The return to the sewer tunnels just didn’t have the impact of the first expedition in Part 1. By this point Pennywise was losing his effectiveness as a threat, reflecting the concept that IT was now afraid of the heroes. Budget issues restricted what the director wanted to do and I don’t think the CGI of the time was quite up to the needs anyway.

One bit that worked was the paper boat and George’s appearance during the telepathic attack on the group. The boat being used to track the monster back to IT’s lair made no sense, though.

They all float turned into bodies suspended in webbing was a valiant try at altering the novel’s surreal take into something more tangible. Execution was the downfall for it simply didn’t look convincing. Audra being unnecessarily shoehorned into the story didn’t help.

Also not convincing is the stop motion demonic spider. It would have taken Ray Harryhausen to pull that one off. Quite disappointing.

The deadlights were a little lacking as well. Poor Eddie, the childlike faith failed rather spectacularly and this time he didn’t save the day.

King and his silver bullets. I’ve sometimes wondered if he was a Lone Ranger fan growing up. This was a nice shot even if Bev missed the vitals the first attempt.

The narrated epilogue gave closure to the surviving characters. Of course Ben and Bev got together after she finally realized he was the author of the love poem three decades ago. She’s a wee bit slow on the uptake, isn’t she?

What’s really painful is the way Bill gets his wife Audra out of her catatonic state. The power of the childhood bicycle going really fast downhill does the trick. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Really, I can’t say enough bad about that scene, so I won’t even try.