‘It’ praised as ‘scary and faithful’ Stephen King adaptation in first reactions
It, an adaptation of the first half of Stephen King’s novel of the same name, has screened for some of the press. After the social media embargo lifted last night, critics tweeted out their first reactions, and they have been overwhelmingly positive.
Everyone has unanimously agreed that It delivers on its scares. But critics have also said that the film is “surprisingly funny” and “adorably romantic.” Praise has also been handed out to Bill Skarsgård, the actor who plays Pennywise, with one critic deeming the character the “Freddy Krueger of a new generation.”
Another Stephen King adaptation, The Dark Tower, released earlier this year on August 4 to lukewarm reception. That film currently holds a 16% on RottenTomatoes after 194 reviews and a score of 34 from 46 reviews on Metacritic. Currently, the film has made only $74 million on a $60 million production budget. Factoring in theater take and marketing costs, The Dark Tower will almost certainly end up losing money.
So the initial positive reception of It will likely be a relief to Stephen King fans, and fans of the horror genre as well. And the box office also looks to fair much better. Last week, Variety reported that It is poised for a $50 million domestic debut — more than The Dark Tower has made domestically after one month — according to early tracking numbers. According to Forbes, It has a production budget in the range of $35-$40 million.
Look below for critics’ Twitter reactions to It:
Just saw IT. Really well done. Cast were all great with some twisted visuals. Going to make a ton of money. Ready for the sequel tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/XYTEG39YCX
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) August 26, 2017
#ITMovie is everything I hoped for & more. Has heart, laughs & TONS of incredible scares. Fell in love w/ The Losers. Didn't want it to end.
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) August 26, 2017
I love the #ITMovie. It's everything I wanted. Scary as shit, Skarsgard nails Pennywise, and the Losers are perfection.
— Haleigh Foutch (@HaleighFoutch) August 26, 2017
The amount of violence and horrific imagery in regards to children is SHOCKING. They didn't hold back. It's great. #ITMovie @ITMovieOfficial
— Drew Dietsch 🎈 (@DrewDietsch) August 26, 2017
Bill Skarsgard is putting in a performance that is going to turn him into the Freddy Krueger of a new generation. #ITMovie @ITMovieOfficial
— Drew Dietsch 🎈 (@DrewDietsch) August 26, 2017
#ITMovie: a carnival funhouse of a film; loud, scary, funny. And best of all: it has heart. #It
— Chris Evangelista (@cevangelista413) August 26, 2017
LOVED #ItMovie. Captured the spirit of the book & still created something new. Perfect combo of dark & fun. & The Losers Club was PERFECT! 👌 pic.twitter.com/ipkKlAORyt
— ✨ Rachel Heine ✨ (@RachelHeine) August 26, 2017
#ItMovie was spooktacular. Great cast, surprisingly funny, and genuinely unnerving scares. You'll still be freaked out when you get home. 🎈 pic.twitter.com/n5EQpbk53N
— Dan Casey (@DanCasey) August 26, 2017
Happy to say #IT is an effectively scary & faithful adaptation of (half) @StephenKing's novel. Walked out very satisfied. @ITMovieOfficial
— Eric Walkuski (@ericwalkuski) August 26, 2017
IT is creepy, bloody, super funny, adorably romantic and hands down among my favorite movies of the year pic.twitter.com/tYpaNFHOsu
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) August 26, 2017
It is set to release on September 8 and comes from Mama director Andrés Muschietti. It stars the aforementioned Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher (St. Vincent, Midnight Special), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Sophia Lillis and Nicholas Hamilton (Captain Fantastic, The Dark Tower) among many other young actors, all of whom the critics are very excited about.
The film was originally attached to Cary Joji Fukunaga (season one of True Detective, Beasts of No Nation), who also originally wrote the film with Chase Palmer. Fukunaga left the project in 2015 due to creative differences, but the two still have writing credits on the film.