It is a 1990 supernatural horror drama miniseries directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, starring Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O’Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid, and Richard Masur.  Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the story revolves around a group of outcast kids who discover Pennywise, a predatory shapeshifter which as the ability to transform itself into its prey’s worst fears, who vow to destroy him by an means necessary.

This is a pretty long movie with the first half focusing on the interactions between Pennywise and the Losers as kids and the second half with the Losers as adults. The two part format allows audiences to see the lives of these seven characters and how they interact with each other, something a lot of horror films overlook these days. But this can be problematic as it can affect how slow the pacing is (and I admit it can get pretty damn slow). The second half is probably where most of the tension dissipates. After all, Pennywise’s threatening demeanor goes into these goofy hijinks. One of my criticisms revolves around how much the ending was kind of a let down. Pennywise turned into this large spider-thing and I expected more of a fight, a game of high-and-seek, or something more memorable. Also, there’s a surprising lack of subplots. You’d think a story with this many characters would have more interesting side stories but it really doesn’t. The story’s good although it does begin to lose its steam during part two and its disappointing ending. (3 out of 5)

If there’s one thing that Stephen King does well it’s establishing and fleshing out characters. And in this adaptation, his characters are brought to life with depth and emotion with realistic personalities and lives. The main cast consist of Bill, Ben, Richie, Stanley, Mike, Beverly, and Eddie. We follows these seven characters from their youth to their adulthood and how their friendship and experiences with Pennywise have shaped who they are. I liked the characters, who I thought were well-rounded, interesting, and relatable. The one character I didn’t like was Mike Bowers because there’s literally no exposition of the character, why he’s the way he is, or his home life. Of course, the star of the show is Pennywise. He’s other dimensional being with all kinds of crazy powers, an affinity for eating children, who just loves morphing into his clown appearance. He’s menacing but goofy, and is just a total dick. (5 out of 5)

It features a good ensemble cast with good to decent performances.  Tim Curry is awesome as Pennywise the Dancing Clown and definitely steals everyone of his scenes. I like that you can see that he’s having fun with the role. He was practically born for the role. The other main cast includes Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O’Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid, Richard Masur as the adult versions of the Losers Club.  Their child counterparts of the Losers are Johnathan Brandis, Seth Green, Emily Perkins, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizi, Marlon Taylor, and Ben Heller.  Their performances range from good to okay to overly dramatic. The supporting cast includes Michael Cole, Jarred Blancard, Gabe Khouth, Chris Eastman, Olivia Hussey, Frank C. Turner, Tony Dakota, Ryan Michael, Tom Heaton, and Chelan Simmons. (3 out of 5)

The special effects are decent but laughable at times. Pennywise’s make-up and costume design is cool, giving this ancient character a very modern look. The stop motion effects are hilarious and have not aged well at all. There’s a moment where the Losers’ defeat Pennywise as kids and he leaps into a storm drain and it’s one of the worst effects I’ve seen in my life. During the finale Pennywise’s true form is revealed and it’s laughable. The stop motion is funny and the creature effects are stiff (although I can understand due to finances). The kills are pretty lame with no violence, blood, or gore. Instead we get these drawn out slow motion sequences. But a lot of these problems are the limitations of its time and budget. (3 out of 5)

The music is okay and aside from Pennywise’s theme, I can’t really remember any of the other music. Richard Bellis does a good enough job but the music never really conveys any sense of tension. (3 out of 5)

One of the things that stands out about the film is how well Tommy Lee Wallace’s direction keeps the movie engaging.  He has such a good relationship with the actors that the characters are worth rooting for.  Also, there is a good balance of drama, horror, and comedy.  The writing is good but there are moments where it definitely could’ve been better, especially when it comes to the atmosphere (there is none). A lot of the scares don’t necessarily feel scary and have a serious lack of tension, more between the Losers and Bowers than with Pennywise. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out if Pennywise is just being an asshole or if he’s actually trying to kill them.  Pennywise seems to pose no real threat except threatening them and baring fangs. There are moments where the film does slow down to a crawl dispersing any real sense of suspenseful buildup. It makes me wonder if the writer and director had an actual vision for how they were going to end the movie. Still, it’s good enough to be quite an entertaining film. (3 out of 5)

In the end, It is a pretty fun and entertaining horror miniseries. Despite it being an older project, many of the themes that make it a classic still hold up today. That’s not to say that the miniseries doesn’t have its share of problems (cause it does). Some of the acting is subpar, some of the special effects is shit, ending was lackluster, and it loses steam into the part two. However, it’s an interesting story with likable characters, a great antagonist, some good performances but especially by Tim Curry. For any Stephen King fans or fans of horror or Tim Curry fans this is a definite watch. It gets 3 out of 5.