Overview
A group of kids confront their deepest fears as they battle an ancient evil lurking in their town.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- dread-filled
- eerie
- visceral
- halloween night
- group horror viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the young ensemble, Bill Skarsgård's sinister Pennywise, and the film's effective blend of coming-of-age emotion with supernatural horror, though some found it overlong or reliant on familiar scares.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bill, Ben, Beverly, Richie, Mike, Eddie, and their friends unite against It despite fear and social isolation.
Derry's neighborhoods, Barrens, and abandoned house are repeatedly associated with disappearances and hidden evil.
Pennywise's clown appearance, balloons, and grotesque transformations make childhood imagery into a recurring threat.
The children encounter manifestations shaped around personal anxieties, bullying, grief, and vulnerability.
Films like It, and why
The Goonies
shared small town horror, child protagonists, supernatural menace, and coming of age themes
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
shared children confronting an otherworldly threat through friendship, courage, and suburban adventure
The Conjuring
shared supernatural horror, haunted locations, vulnerable young characters, and escalating dread
The Mist
shared Stephen King adaptation, small town unease, childhood trauma, and psychological horror
Movie Details
- Director
- Andy Muschietti
- Release Date
- 2017-09-06
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (20713)
Cast
- Jaeden Martell
- Jeremy Ray Taylor
- Sophia Lillis
- Finn Wolfhard
- Chosen Jacobs
- Jack Dylan Grazer
- Wyatt Oleff
- Bill Skarsgård
- Nicholas Hamilton
- Jake Sim
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is It about?
- A traumatized group of Derry children turns friendship into a weapon against a shape-shifting evil clown.
- What is It like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of It as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is It violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in It as graphic.
- What did critics think of It?
- Critics broadly praised the young ensemble, Bill Skarsgård's sinister Pennywise, and the film's effective blend of coming-of-age emotion with supernatural horror, though some found it overlong or reliant on familiar scares.
- Which films are like It?
- Films with a similar feel include The Goonies, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Conjuring, and The Mist.
- How long is It?
- It runs 135 minutes.
- Where can I watch It?
- In United States, It streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC, HBO Max.
