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Description
It should be called the tale of the lazy-ass critter. And I summed up the damn thing in 3 panels...
If you're a Stephen King fan reading these words you might be disappointed. Much like Tolkien fans reading my words.
I am planning to see the new movie of course (HYPE AS HELL SON !), but now that I've read the novel, I really hope they'll iron out some of the weaknesses of the initial narrative.

My experience with King and adaptations of his work goes like this:
* Shining: I really prefer the Kubrick version. I identify with Nicholson's character on many many ways.... more than I could with the dude in the book. And the TC mini-series...NO COMMENT. THAT is why "Superficial faithfulness" is just as bad as shitting all over the material.
* Green Mile: BOTH are FANTASTIC. Both are tear jerkers and in a literal way in this case. The last act of the movie is still hard to watch for me!
* Misery: Both versions are good.

I've had IT for a long time somewhere eating dust, but I did not get around to read it (hohoho !) because I've had a lot of other stuff on the plate already, hands being tied and personal drugs to be consumed. The french edition I have cut the thing in 2 big books for practical reasons. I have gradually read it and IT is a pretty good book... FOR THE MOST PART. In fact, I believe it's a mistake to cut it in 2 movies but I will get to why...

Oh and no, I never understood the fear of clowns. Grow up already or get help. Yeah the Uncanny Valley and creepy imagery, fine I get that. BUT it's just an image. It's not gonna jump out and kill you. That is my job....

******************************************* SPOILERS (It's outta my hands now!) **************************************

PROS:

+ The parts with the kids in general are suspenseful and a page turner. Yup, I am talking about the book here and YES, even in the TV mini-series that characteristic is seriously highlighted. The kids were played by pretty good actors and portrayed very convincingly. Their friendship is damn heart-warming and it's very hard not to feel for them. They're very believable, sympathetic and relatable.

*Bill Denbrough- Suffers a speech impediment and later grows to be a novelist (self-insertion here ? Naaah ! Adult Bill is bald ! XD). Will suffer the grief of having lost his younger brother to the anthropophagic doucheback living in the sewer for most of the novel. As for his parents, I can't feel too harsh on them because they fucking lost their kid, man ! How can that NOT mess them up ?! I don't condone their behavior but it really feels they took the brunt of the trauma...
*Richie Tozier- ... there's a good reason he was played by Seth Green XD. Is generally damn funny.
*Eddie Kaspbrak- Doesn't get a break for most of the story and man is his mother an overbearing annoyance! If he weren't inthis story, he'd become Lionel Cosgrove...which would be admittedly awesome !
*Ben Hanscom- aka the Fat Kid and easily my favorite of the protagonists. He's just adorable.
*Beverly Marsh- MAN did she get the worst price at the bad luck lottery! Are we sure her dad's last is not really Krueger? Because THAT would be hardly surprising...
*Stan Uris- Mr Skeptic and ornithologist.
*Mike Hanlon- The last to join and most interested in the history of Derry. And man what a history, it puts Gotham to shame!

+ The historical parts are fairly good and emphasize the eerie atmosphere of the place. As long as It remains mysterious in them...

+ The town's populace. These fuckers are even worse than it. Their neglect and indifference stroke me as being ironically way worse than the actual monstrosity.

+ Patrick Hockstetter...Jesus fuck !

+ The mental degradation of Henry Bowers. From killing Mike's dog to carving Ben's stomach, this prick was 2 steps from growing into a Bible Black character.

+ Beverly's dad. What an asshole...

+ Pennywise ITSELF! www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1NBMy…
In the childhood parts of the book , it is simply a great boogeyman ! True, it takes various horrifying shapes (the leper, Nosferatu and various 50's Hammer movies monsters) but its clown shape remains the most memorable and for good reason. It takes something joyful and innocent like clowns and uses it to mock the kids ! And kudos to Tim Curry by the way ! The only major difference he has with the literary clown is that of costume color (the make-up is a bit vague in the book); Curry's is yellow with the blue jacket and arms while Book Penny has one clear silver uniform. The lines were ad verbateum and the delivery was perfectly accurate. In Clown form, It LOVES goofing around and has a jolly good time tricking the kids !
While not as prevalent in the book as one might presume, IT OWNS the scenery any time it pops up ! NOTE that I am praising its mystery factor and its boogeyman quality here...

+ If one rides a bicycle with a hot chick on it, it is a sure way to get a boner !

CONS :

- The adults part of the narrative... when the characters were introduced through their adult lives it was okay. Hell, at times, it was haunting. BUT the more it went on, the less I could care. I really was wishing it'd cut the crap with the flashback and simply stuck to the Kids' story. THAT is the major strength of it! Childhood ! The book would be shorter and waaay more visceral had King stuck to a group of kids confronting an evil clown looking fiend (more on that later). The adult years reeeaaally end up dragging things down !

- "This book was begun in Bangor, Maine, on September 9th, 1981, and completed in Bangor, Maine, on December 28th, 1985." I THINK this is where the problem lies...it has been said that he wrote himself in a corner with it and it definitely shows at some points. There is too much filler in the last third and even cuts in the middle of the final confrontation ! MAN did King desperately need an Editor with a tight grip !

- Patrick is infinitely scarier than Henry and King wastes him in a few chapters. It would have made more sense if IT manipulated HIM instead of Henry. hell, there would not be even any need to manipulate him, just steer him in the right direction !

- The whole fucking Macroverse explanation and pfff... the "true" form. THIS is similar to why I prefer Kubrick's Shining over the novel version. OVER-explaining Horror can kill Horror ! Pennywise worked waaaay better as a man-eating Mxyzptlk. We knew the clown was not its true form BUT we never needed to get too close to said form. The moment the whole deal turned into "so it was a spider with its ballsack", It pretty much lost its intimidation cred (if you don't believe me , I refer to the above !). Hell the mini-series second part blows (Tim Curry aside...) because that pay-off was weak even in the book. Special effects aside, they didn't really have much to work with ! No wonder Cary Fukunaga wanted the final shape to be Lovecraft's Starro !
No, I don't give a fuck about the universe-creating Turtle! This is like turning the visceral horror, desperation and dread (like Alien 3) into a goofy shoot'em up (like Aliens)... and the story was the poorer for it. Just to make things SIMPLE :
a) Stick to the clown as the default shape
b) make its past vague as fuck. Hell, have it be a spectre, that's more than enough !
c) The kids kill the fucker with the Chud ritual without it turning into some pregnant spider stuff
d) END IT THERE !

- The final fight between Bill and It really goes like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTCPeq… . I am not even joking, it's a hilarious note to end the battle on and it's followed by an MK fatality !

- "a bunch of eleven-year-old children having a gang bang in the sewer" ... When I reached THAT part, I was like this www.sideshowtoy.com/mas_assets… . I mean, WHAT ? What the fuck is a shota/loli hentai doing here ?! And it's in the last few pages and UTTERLY UNNECESSARY ! If someone tries to justify that shit, call the cops...

- And in the end, everybody forgot about each other. Fuck you amnesia ! Can't anybody get anyone else's phone number anymore ?!

There it is folks. Was It a good book ? YES for the first 2 thirds, nope for the last chapters and FUCK NO for the epilogue ! Can an adaptation improve IT ? YES. Hell even the mini-series proved that, STICK TO THE KIDS PART AND KILL THE FUCKER THERE. Just.ONE.Confrontation. Just the Ritual exorcism style, No space turtles, No Gang-bangs, No Overwrought monster backstory. Like the first Alien, just kill the son of a bitch. END OF STORY.

Description
It should be called the tale of the lazy-ass critter. And I summed up the damn thing in 3 panels...
If you're a Stephen King fan reading these words you might be disappointed. Much like Tolkien fans reading my words.
I am planning to see the new movie of course (HYPE AS HELL SON !), but now that I've read the novel, I really hope they'll iron out some of the weaknesses of the initial narrative.

My experience with King and adaptations of his work goes like this:
* Shining: I really prefer the Kubrick version. I identify with Nicholson's character on many many ways.... more than I could with the dude in the book. And the TC mini-series...NO COMMENT. THAT is why "Superficial faithfulness" is just as bad as shitting all over the material.
* Green Mile: BOTH are FANTASTIC. Both are tear jerkers and in a literal way in this case. The last act of the movie is still hard to watch for me!
* Misery: Both versions are good.

I've had IT for a long time somewhere eating dust, but I did not get around to read it (hohoho !) because I've had a lot of other stuff on the plate already, hands being tied and personal drugs to be consumed. The french edition I have cut the thing in 2 big books for practical reasons. I have gradually read it and IT is a pretty good book... FOR THE MOST PART. In fact, I believe it's a mistake to cut it in 2 movies but I will get to why...

Oh and no, I never understood the fear of clowns. Grow up already or get help. Yeah the Uncanny Valley and creepy imagery, fine I get that. BUT it's just an image. It's not gonna jump out and kill you. That is my job....

******************************************* SPOILERS (It's outta my hands now!) **************************************

PROS:

+ The parts with the kids in general are suspenseful and a page turner. Yup, I am talking about the book here and YES, even in the TV mini-series that characteristic is seriously highlighted. The kids were played by pretty good actors and portrayed very convincingly. Their friendship is damn heart-warming and it's very hard not to feel for them. They're very believable, sympathetic and relatable.

*Bill Denbrough- Suffers a speech impediment and later grows to be a novelist (self-insertion here ? Naaah ! Adult Bill is bald ! XD). Will suffer the grief of having lost his younger brother to the anthropophagic doucheback living in the sewer for most of the novel. As for his parents, I can't feel too harsh on them because they fucking lost their kid, man ! How can that NOT mess them up ?! I don't condone their behavior but it really feels they took the brunt of the trauma...
*Richie Tozier- ... there's a good reason he was played by Seth Green XD. Is generally damn funny.
*Eddie Kaspbrak- Doesn't get a break for most of the story and man is his mother an overbearing annoyance! If he weren't inthis story, he'd become Lionel Cosgrove...which would be admittedly awesome !
*Ben Hanscom- aka the Fat Kid and easily my favorite of the protagonists. He's just adorable.
*Beverly Marsh- MAN did she get the worst price at the bad luck lottery! Are we sure her dad's last is not really Krueger? Because THAT would be hardly surprising...
*Stan Uris- Mr Skeptic and ornithologist.
*Mike Hanlon- The last to join and most interested in the history of Derry. And man what a history, it puts Gotham to shame!

+ The historical parts are fairly good and emphasize the eerie atmosphere of the place. As long as It remains mysterious in them...

+ The town's populace. These fuckers are even worse than it. Their neglect and indifference stroke me as being ironically way worse than the actual monstrosity.

+ Patrick Hockstetter...Jesus fuck !

+ The mental degradation of Henry Bowers. From killing Mike's dog to carving Ben's stomach, this prick was 2 steps from growing into a Bible Black character.

+ Beverly's dad. What an asshole...

+ Pennywise ITSELF! www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1NBMy…
In the childhood parts of the book , it is simply a great boogeyman ! True, it takes various horrifying shapes (the leper, Nosferatu and various 50's Hammer movies monsters) but its clown shape remains the most memorable and for good reason. It takes something joyful and innocent like clowns and uses it to mock the kids ! And kudos to Tim Curry by the way ! The only major difference he has with the literary clown is that of costume color (the make-up is a bit vague in the book); Curry's is yellow with the blue jacket and arms while Book Penny has one clear silver uniform. The lines were ad verbateum and the delivery was perfectly accurate. In Clown form, It LOVES goofing around and has a jolly good time tricking the kids !
While not as prevalent in the book as one might presume, IT OWNS the scenery any time it pops up ! NOTE that I am praising its mystery factor and its boogeyman quality here...

+ If one rides a bicycle with a hot chick on it, it is a sure way to get a boner !

CONS :

- The adults part of the narrative... when the characters were introduced through their adult lives it was okay. Hell, at times, it was haunting. BUT the more it went on, the less I could care. I really was wishing it'd cut the crap with the flashback and simply stuck to the Kids' story. THAT is the major strength of it! Childhood ! The book would be shorter and waaay more visceral had King stuck to a group of kids confronting an evil clown looking fiend (more on that later). The adult years reeeaaally end up dragging things down !

- "This book was begun in Bangor, Maine, on September 9th, 1981, and completed in Bangor, Maine, on December 28th, 1985." I THINK this is where the problem lies...it has been said that he wrote himself in a corner with it and it definitely shows at some points. There is too much filler in the last third and even cuts in the middle of the final confrontation ! MAN did King desperately need an Editor with a tight grip !

- Patrick is infinitely scarier than Henry and King wastes him in a few chapters. It would have made more sense if IT manipulated HIM instead of Henry. hell, there would not be even any need to manipulate him, just steer him in the right direction !

- The whole fucking Macroverse explanation and pfff... the "true" form. THIS is similar to why I prefer Kubrick's Shining over the novel version. OVER-explaining Horror can kill Horror ! Pennywise worked waaaay better as a man-eating Mxyzptlk. We knew the clown was not its true form BUT we never needed to get too close to said form. The moment the whole deal turned into "so it was a spider with its ballsack", It pretty much lost its intimidation cred (if you don't believe me , I refer to the above !). Hell the mini-series second part blows (Tim Curry aside...) because that pay-off was weak even in the book. Special effects aside, they didn't really have much to work with ! No wonder Cary Fukunaga wanted the final shape to be Lovecraft's Starro !
No, I don't give a fuck about the universe-creating Turtle! This is like turning the visceral horror, desperation and dread (like Alien 3) into a goofy shoot'em up (like Aliens)... and the story was the poorer for it. Just to make things SIMPLE :
a) Stick to the clown as the default shape
b) make its past vague as fuck. Hell, have it be a spectre, that's more than enough !
c) The kids kill the fucker with the Chud ritual without it turning into some pregnant spider stuff
d) END IT THERE !

- The final fight between Bill and It really goes like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTCPeq… . I am not even joking, it's a hilarious note to end the battle on and it's followed by an MK fatality !

- "a bunch of eleven-year-old children having a gang bang in the sewer" ... When I reached THAT part, I was like this www.sideshowtoy.com/mas_assets… . I mean, WHAT ? What the fuck is a shota/loli hentai doing here ?! And it's in the last few pages and UTTERLY UNNECESSARY ! If someone tries to justify that shit, call the cops...

- And in the end, everybody forgot about each other. Fuck you amnesia ! Can't anybody get anyone else's phone number anymore ?!

There it is folks. Was It a good book ? YES for the first 2 thirds, nope for the last chapters and FUCK NO for the epilogue ! Can an adaptation improve IT ? YES. Hell even the mini-series proved that, STICK TO THE KIDS PART AND KILL THE FUCKER THERE. Just.ONE.Confrontation. Just the Ritual exorcism style, No space turtles, No Gang-bangs, No Overwrought monster backstory. Like the first Alien, just kill the son of a bitch. END OF STORY.