It’s Coming…No, Really. “IT” Is Coming

The motion picture remake of Stephen King’s It hits theaters this year. September 8, 2017 to be exact.

(Just in case you hadn’t heard. Which unless you’ve been totally unplugged from social media, I’m not sure how you could not know this.)

What’s It About?

Let’s just say it’s not deviating too far from the book:

In the small town of Derry, Maine, seven children come face-to-face with life problems, bullies and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise.

It Left More Marks Than One

I don’t know about you, but It affected me in a couple of ways. My favorite story to laugh about is from when I was a sophomore in college.

Instead of doing homework one night, I was trying to read It. It was near Halloween. I was totally enthralled in whatever part I was on. (Don’t remember exactly which one, but I was maybe only a quarter way into the book. It was a Pennywise part though. That I do remember.)

I was vaguely aware of people running along the corridor outside my room, but I wasn’t really paying them any mind –until all of sudden they went silent.

It was that eerie, filled-with-anticipation kind of silence when you hold your breath because you know something is about to happen…or at least it could.

I looked up, kind of aware they had stopped outside my room. When nothing happened, I went back to reading.

That’s when they banged so hard and loud on my door I thought they were trying to break it down.

I screamed and threw the book across the room and ran into the closet.

Five-ish (or so) minutes later, I came out of the closet. The book, however, stayed put until Thanksgiving break.

I wouldn’t touch it. I was that creeped out by it. Because the bang normally would’ve startled me, but the book had put my nerves on too high of attention. (I think I finally picked it back up, and then finished it, during Spring Break.)

And of course grates…

I have never looked at grates on storm drains the same way again same since reading It.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I never even paid any mind to them before It. But you sure as hell can believe I don’t walk anywhere near them even still to this day.

Big (Clown) Shoes to Fill

It has to be my favorite Stephen King novel. (“The Mist” from his collection of short stories in Skeleton Crew, is probably my all-time Stephen King piece of work, though.)

But let’s be serious. Even though I favor some of King’s things more than others, I’ve yet to read anything of his and say, “OMG! That was a disaster. Why do I think he’s a good author again?”

But there was just something about It…

I also felt the ABC television mini-series version of It was very well done. As far as translating a book into a movie, which as we all known can go spectacularly wrong. (To this day, my husband still teases me about Maximum Overdrive.)

But, again going back to “The Mist,” I really thought Frank Darabont nailed the screenplay version of that one.

I wasn’t too surprised my husband didn’t like it (he’s not a horror fan), but I was stunned to hear people laughing and mocking it as we left the theater. They all especially hated the ending, which I thought was brilliant and an improvement on the original story’s.

Oh well. Can’t win them all.

Weigh In

What do you think? Which Stephen King book is your favorite? (Use the poll to let us know or leave a comment.) Which Stephen King book terrified you most?

And what about movies? Do you have any favorite Stephen King movies? Which ones do you think did not translate well from the book to either the silver screen or TV mini-series?

And by all means let us know about It? Are you excited to see it hit the silver screen, or do you fear it’ll be a big bust?

Poll