Stephen King's It (1990)

IT is a 1990 horror/drama miniseries based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. The story revolves around an inter-dimensional predatory life-form, which has the ability to transform itself into its prey's worst fears, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims. It mostly takes the form of a sadistic, wisecracking clown called "Pennywise the Dancing Clown". The protagonists are "The Losers Club", a group of outcast kids who discover Pennywise and vow to destroy him by any means necessary. The series takes place over two different time periods, the first when the Losers first discover Pennywise as children, and the second when they're called back as adults to defeat Pennywise, who has resurfaced.

It aired as a two-part television movie on November 18 and November 20, 1990 on ABC, and loosely follows the plot of the novel. The miniseries was filmed in New Westminster, British Columbia in mid-1990. The film's cast includes Dennis Christopher, Annette O'Toole, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Richard Masur, Michael Cole, and Tim Curry as Pennywise.

Since its initial television broadcast on ABC in November 1990, the miniseries has received mixed reception, praising Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise, the performances of the child actors, and Part 1 for being genuinely scary and very entertaining, but criticizing Part 2 for being too melodramatic and not as interesting or creepy as Part 1. For his work on the miniseries, Richard Bellis received an Emmy Award for his music score.

1960
In the town of Derry, Maine, six-year old Georgie Denbrough is lured to a storm drain when his paper boat drops down into it. When attempting to retrieve it, he encounters a seemingly friendly man dressed in a clown suit, who calls himself "Pennywise the Dancing Clown." Pennywise tempts Georgie closer with promises of candy and balloons, exclaiming that they all float down into the sewer. He says that Georgie can float too before revealing his true nature, grabbing him and viciously tearing his right arm off. His older brother Bill is overwhelmed with guilt for inadvertently sending Georgie to his death and is terrorized when his picture comes to life and bleeds.

He befriends several similar "misfits." One is Ben Hanscom, a loyal, determined, overweight and ingenious builder from a home broken after the death of his military father. He is terrorized by visions of his father trying to goad him into the sewer plant. Another is Eddie Kaspbrak, a hypochondriac, asthmatic boy who is frail and shy. Kaspbrak is taunted and harassed by Pennywise (who shows a strong dislike towards him for being "girly"), while attempting to shower at school.

The group later includes Beverly Marsh, a tomboy with an abusive alcoholic father and a dead eye with a slingshot. She believes Bill's stories when her bathroom is destroyed by a geyser of blood (courtesy of Pennywise) that he helps clean up before her father gets home. Richie Tozier is a comedic red head who isn't afraid to stand up to the school bully, Henry Bowers, and his friends. He is a movie buff, which prompts Pennywise to attack him as the Wolfman. Stan Uris, a Jewish boy scout and bird watcher, who is the next to see Mazi It in that summer when he is trapped by a mummy in an abandoned house. Mike Hanlon, an African American student facing a difficult time as a new student and resident of Derry, often finds himself in the crosshairs of the racist Henry Bowers as well. Mike is last to see It when his photography book comes to life showing him and the others Pennywise's history as he threatens the group.

As each of them face their greatest fears (as well as Henry Bowers's harassment), they vow to avenge the deaths of Georgie and every other child killed by "It." They reason that since Pennywise feeds off of the imagination of its victims that it may likewise be vulnerable to the weaknesses of the forms it assumes. Beverly trains with a slingshot using silver slugs made from a pair of earrings. The Losers travel into the sewers followed by Henry, Victor Criss, and Belch Huggins as payback for a rockfight a month ago. They enter in the main sewer hall and discover Stan is missing, as he had been pulled by Henry and Belch. Henry orders Victor to create an ambush on the remaining Losers but is killed by It. Meanwhile, just when Henry is about to kill Stan, a mysterious light bursts through a sewage pipe and both Stan and Henry watch in horror as Belch is dragged through the pipe and eaten. When the light returns, Stan escapes while Henry stands transfixed turning his hair white. Pennywise spares Henry's life and continues searching for Stan.

Stan reunites with the others and tells them the "deadlights" are far worse than Pennywise, and the losers agree not to stare into the lights. Pennywise catches the Losers and grabs Stan. Just as Pennywise is about to eat Stan, Eddie wounds Pennywise by spraying him with his inhaler which he imagines to be filled with battery acid and Beverly cracks open the monster's head with her slingshot, revealing the deadlights. Pennywise somersaults in the air and vanishes into the ground. Before he is completely gone, Bill pulls Pennywise's glove and the glove slips off It's hand revealing a three-fingered claw and then It disappears in the drain. With their job done, the seven vow to return some day if ever It returns. Meanwhile, Henry escapes the sewers, is arrested and sentenced to life in an asylum for confessing to the murder of all the children and his gang of friends.

1990
Mike had become the only member of the Losers Club to remain in Derry after the events of the 1960s. His memory of the events are still completely intact, and when he hears of the mysterious, unexplained death of a little girl who is murdered in her back garden (shown in the film's prologue), he begins to suspect It has returned. He calls up each of his friends, who have all become successful in their own right. Bill has become a horror novel writer married to a beautiful actress named Audra; Ben has become a famous architect as he'd always wanted; Beverly has become a fashion designer; and Richie has become a late night TV comedian. Eddie owns a successful limousine service and Stan has become a real estate broker. Having moved on into comfortable lives and having barely a glimmer of the memories of that summer, they are all traumatized by the memories awakened by Mike's phone calls. While they agreed to return as promised, Stan is unable to cope with the fear and kills himself, writing the word "IT" on the bathroom wall with his blood.

Upon the return to Derry, their reunion is lighthearted until terrifying events unfold that test their resolve. Beverly encounters a kindly old woman in her old home who tells her that her father is gone, but the woman is more than she appears. Pennywise locates Bill at the cemetery where he is paying a visit to Georgie's grave. There, the clown taunts Bill but the latter makes it known that he remembers him and does not fear him anymore. Ben sees the skeleton of his father, which is still trying to get him to return to the sewers; later, the group's reunion dinner comes to life and tries to attack them. Pennywise, unable to kill them because his influence over them as adults is limited, pretends to be Belch's ghost and sends Henry to do the job (after killing the asylum night guard). Henry manages to attack Mike and wound him, which forces Bill and others to consider another direct confrontation with the clown. Eddie and Ben manage to kill Henry in a struggle.

With Henry dead, It is prompted with the task of killing the Losers on its own. Meanwhile, Audra follows Bill to Derry but falls under the influence of It's "Dead Lights" and is made catatonic by him. As the five remaining "Losers" find their way to It's cave they are confronted by his true form: a massive, hideous spider-like creature that mortally wounds Eddie when he steps forward to save Ben and Bill's lives. Once again, Beverly is able to use her slingshot on the creature; this time the strike rings true and mortally wounds It. Eddie congratulates Beverly for the shot before passing away. In their rage, Ben, Richie, Bill and Beverly slaughter and dismember It. They are able to leave, taking Eddie's body and the catatonic Audra with them. They later bury Eddie in the Derry Cemetery.

In the aftermath, Mike marks his own fading memories of the past as a sign that It was truly destroyed that time, and the adult Losers Club can return to their lives as the memory of the traumatic events fades entirely, Richie gets a part in a movie and he partners up with a man that acts similarly Eddie, Beverly and Ben get married with Beverly quickly becoming pregnant, Audra, still catatonic from her encounter, is coaxed back to life aboard Bill's old bicycle "Silver" when he takes her to outrun It's fading influence. All as it was, they realize that they can now move on with their lives. As they leave Derry behind, Pennywise's evil laugh is heard one last time.

Broadcast history
It originally aired on ABC as a two-part television movie in 1990 on the nights of November 18 and November 20. Part 1 was the fifth highest rated program on Sunday nights with an 18.5 rating and watched in 17.5 million households. Part 2 was the second highest rated program on Tuesday nights with an 20.6 rating and watched in 19.2 million households.

Differences between the novel and the film

 * In the film, we learn that Ben's father is a former U.S. military officer who was killed in action during the Korean War. However, Ben's father is only mentioned in passing as having given Ben his Silver Dollars.
 * In the film, Victor and Peter seem to be less morally sympathetic and more willing to go along with Henry's psychotic deeds towards the "Losers".
 * The film puts more emphasis on It's "Pennywise the Clown" form as he plays a fairly larger role than he does in the novel.
 * In the novel, "It" takes the form of Victor Criss when it visits Henry Bowers in the Mental Hospital, however, in the film, "It" takes the form of Belch Huggins instead.
 * The novel takes place in 1957-1958 and 1984-1985. In the mazi film, the story takes place in 1960 and 1990.
 * Georgie's death is more violent and explained in the novel. In the film version, George is pulled into the sewers by Pennywise and the next scene cuts to George's funeral.
 * In the novel, It is revealed to be a female after laying eggs. In the film, this part is omitted.
 * The Adrian Mellon murder is left out, instead It comes back killing a little girl.
 * The scene where Beverly has sex with all of the boys in the novel, is left out in the TV film. The oath of fellowship is however made when each of the Losers take turns taking a puff from Eddie's inhaler.
 * Henry Bowers's death is more violent in the novel. In the film, he is impaled through the chest by his own switchblade.
 * Some characters such as Beverly's mother, Patrick Hockstetter, Gard Jagermeyer, Eddie Corcoran, Adrian Mellon, Don Hagarty and the Turtle were left out in the TV film.
 * The Turtle story entirely was cut out of the film, including the macroverse, the edge of existence, what "It" exactly was, and the force beyond It and the Turtle.
 * The downtown part of Derry gets destroyed in the novel.
 * In the novel, Eddie Kaspbrak is married to a woman named Myra, who is exactly like his mother. But in the film, Eddie is single and still living with his mom.
 * The rockfight is more violent and explained in the novel. But in the film, only Henry, Bev, Victor, Belch, Peter, and Moose get hit by rocks and the rest of the Losers don't get hit by rocks.
 * The novel contains more strong language than in the film version.
 * In the novel, Richie plays a significantly more important role, in addition to being closer to Bill than any of the other "Losers", he was one of two (along with Bill) in the final fight with It, he also saves Bill's life from the Deadlights. In the film, he is sort of unappreciated.
 * In the movie, Richie is present at Georgie's funeral, this is not mentioned in the novel.
 * In the novel, Eddie breaking his arm and being in a cast is a significant part of the story, but is left out of the film.
 * In the novel, Ben sees the mummy and Stan sees waterlogged corpses; in the film, the encounters are switched.
 * In the novel, Eddie sees the leper, but in the miniseries, he sees Pennywise while taking a shower at school.
 * In the novel, Richie sees a werewolf at the house on 29 Neibolt Street along with Bill. But in the TV film, Richie sees the werewolf at school while in the janitor center.
 * Tom Rogan has a bigger role in the novel. In the novel, he chases Beverly to Derry and is driven by It to capture Audra, Bill's wife and later in the novel, Tom drops dead in shock after seeing It in the form of the Deadlights. In the TV film, Tom stays behind in Chicago without going after Beverly.
 * Henry's father, Butch Bowers, doesn't appear in the miniseries. He is however, mentioned by Henry a couple of times.
 * The little girl on the tricycle, Laurie Anne-Winterbarger, is attacked and killed by Pennywise in the opening scene of the film, which makes her death start the chain of movie events. In the novel, she is another victim of It, but her death doesn't start the 1984-1985 string of murders.
 * Instead of being killed by It as Frankenstein's Monster, Victor and Belch are killed by Pennywise in the form of the Deadlights.
 * In the novel it is described for Beverly Marsh and Audra Phillips to both have auburn hair, in the film they're a brunette.
 * Bill is described as having red hair, blue eyes and being the tallest of the group in the novel, while in the film he has dirty-light brown hair and is the same height as the rest of the Loser's Club.
 * The snobbish girls that mock Beverly Marsh are named Greta Bowie and Sally Mueller in the book, but in the film one is named Loni and the other's name is unknown.
 * Eddie and Bill are described as to be balding as they get older in the book, while in the film they still have a lot of hair.
 * Ms. Kaspbrak is described as being very overweight in the book, while in the film, she's very slim and attractive.

Reception
Stephen King's It received generally mixed reviews from critics and television viewers. Tim Curry's performance as "Pennywise" has received universal critical acclaim and praise for capturing the novel's interpretation of the character. The film currently has a 64% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was also praised of the performances of child actors, Jonathan Brandis, Marlon Taylor, Seth Green, Adam Faraizl, Emily Perkins, Brandon Crane and Ben Heller. Part 2 has also been criticized by many critics and King fans for being too melodramatic and not as interesting or creepy as Part 1, with commentators agreeing that while the film's special effects are dated, Part 1 is still genuinely scary.

Home media
The film was released on VHS in early 1991 after the film's initial broadcast. The original VHS release had two separate tapes, one with Part 1 and the other with Part 2. A later VHS release (circa 1997-1998) part of the now-defunct "Warner Bros. Hits" line contains the entire film on one tape. All VHS releases of the film are out of print.

The film was released on DVD in 1999 on a double-sided disc with Part One on the front and Part Two on the back. The "To be continued..." and the 1st set of closing credits at the end of Part One and the 2nd set of opening credits at the beginning of Part Two (unlike the VHS release) were removed. The DVD version of It also features an audio commentary by the director and cast members. The film's aspect ratio has been cropped to give it a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Both the DVD version and the Blu-ray version have had the runtime trimmed by five minutes, while the VHS release retains the original runtime.

In 2013, Warner Home Video released a DVD set called "Triple Terror Collection" that contains It as well as two other Stephen King productions: Salem's Lot, and The Shining.

Re-adaption
On September 8, 2017, another film adaptation of the novel It by Stephen King was released. The film is the first part and features the story of the children from the book. A second part, set 27 years later and featuring the adult versions, was released on September 6, 2019.