IT Chapter One [2017] (5 Stars)

This is the first film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

What a fantastic way to kick off the 31st annual Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival. This could possibly be the best film of this year's festival. I don't think that Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise the Clown could ever be bettered, but Bill Skarsgard manages to at least equal him.

The children, on the other hand, are amazing. They're slightly older than the children in the 1990 version, 14 instead of 12 (based on their appearances), but that didn't worry me. (Does anyone know what age they are in the book?) This is most noticeable in the character of Beverly, the only girl in the Loser's club. In the 1990 film she's a child, but in the 2017 version she's halfway into womanhood. The boys can't stop staring at her, and she knows how to use her womanly wiles, as we see in a very creepy scene where she flirts with Derry's pharmacist.

The monster takes on other forms in this film, not just a clown. The person sitting next to me assured me that this is a more accurate presentation of the book.

Despite the bad circumstances surrounding the children, I couldn't help being overwhelmed by the beauty of childhood innocence. Seven young friends experiencing the best summer of their lives, and swearing that they would reunite if their town ever needed them again.