It is one of Steven King’s most known creative masterpieces. The novel of over 1,000 pages was published in 1986 and a new movie adaptation came to theaters this September.

Within its first weekend at the box office, It has broken numerous records. According to IGN.com, It broke the record for biggest horror movie opening weekend with an estimated $123 million made during opening weekend.

The horror story follows seven children who discover a strong evil force in their hometown of Derry. The evil being has an ability to disguise itself into anyone’s greatest fear so It can hunt down prey. It’s main and most common form is a clown named Pennywise. Every 27 years It comes out of hibernation to terrorize children of the town.

The story follows two timelines. One exists in the years 1957-58 and then 27 years later in the years 1984-85. After traumatic experiences with Pennywise, the seven children make a blood pact that if It ever returns to the town of Derry, they would return and defeat It once and for all. 

Each of the children has a very unique backstory and characterization. They are all well written throughout the novel and I felt as though I knew the characters personally.

The best part of the movie was the portrayal of the teenagers and their chemistry together. Watching them interact on screen made the movie very enjoyable.

One of the biggest problems I had with Steven King’s novel was the jumping from different perspectives and different timelines. This made the book difficult to read and hard to comprehend. I understand the reasoning for this stylistic choice, but this along with the length of the novel made my reading experience less enjoyable.

This was not the scariest movie I’ve ever seen or the best written book I have ever read, but I recommend both the book and movie to those who enjoy horror and good storytelling.