Brief Story Line
Set in the year 1962 in the small town of Derry, Maine, Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo - Babylon, 3 Body Problem TV series etc) was assigned to the US airbase there to work on special assignment under General Shaw (James Remar - Black Lightning TV series, Megalopolis etc) and also cooperate with Airman Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk - Perry Mason TV series, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt etc). Leroy arranged for his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige - The Toxic Aventer 2023 version, Hit the Floor TV series etc) & their young son Will (Blake Cameron James) to move to the town as well.
At school Will befriended the kind-hearted Rich Santos (Arian S. Cartaya) who had a crush on Marge (Matilda Lawyer - Station Eleven TV series etc). Meanwhile Marge's best friend Lily Bainbridge (Clara Stack) was having trouble fitting in due to her tragic past. But things got bad for Lily when one of the class student Ronnie (Amanda Christine) blamed her for the problem Ronnie's father Hank (Stephen Rider - Instinct TV series etc) had to face with the local police Chief Clint Bowers (Peter Outerbridge - Bet TV series etc) which was related to the missing of young children.
So what was Leroy's assignment for and what was the reason for the children's disappearance? You could find out in this series.
End of Brief Story Line
After completing the whole 8 episodes of the first season, I was pretty amazed by the ending that smartly connected to the movie IT and its sequel. It was indeed the main reason for me to watch this series cause it was the prequel to the movies adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same title which were really entertaining and highly praised. Anyway the opening scenes of the pilot episode was already scary and made me curious of what would happen next. But nothing would make me ready with the shocking end to the episode.
Subsequently the pace felt a bit slower with the story seemed to focus on some characters and the problems they faced. Occasionally there were still some horrifying scenes, though they were combined with other parts which personally to me was not too interesting. I liked it whenever the children appeared cause they were all likable and the dynamics was fun to see. However, I was not that pleased with the part related to the social condition even if it was a big deal in the US during the period cause it felt a bit distracting from the main plot. Good thing it did not take long before the main villain Penywise (Bill Skarsgård - Nosferatu, Barbarian etc) appeared and wreaking havoc.
In addition to the children and the wonderful settings of the 1960s that looked realistic, the origin story of Pennywise was definitely the awesome part that I enjoyed here. It was very creative how they were able to connect it to something bigger, even if it became a bit similar to the plot of that hit series Stranger Things. I still have to applaud the series developers Andy Muschietti (who was also the director of the previous two films & four episodes here) plus Barbara Muschietti (producer of several films including The Flash that was directed by his brother Andy) & Jason Fuchs (writer of I Still See You etc) who were able to expand the universe.
The cast did a great job here including some of the child actors whose performance as children who had to endure a lot of things were just amazing (though I think the girls were older than their characters age). Aside from those mentioned above, there were also appearances of the young Miles Ekhardt as Matty Clements and Mikkal Karim-Fidler & Jack Molloy Legault as his friends Teddy Uris & Phil Malkin respectively. Another part of the main cast was Madeleine Stowe (12 Monkeys, Revenge TV series etc) as one of the employee of Juniper Hill Asylum Ingrid Kersh. Other recurring cast included Kimberly Guerrero (Reservoir Dogs TV series etc) as Rose the owner of antique store, Joshua Odjick (Wildhood etc) as Taniel and several others.
Out of the 8 episodes here, my favorites were the last two that were greatly done with lots of drama, intensity, suspense and some scary moments. The series seemed to have a good enough closure that I am satisfied with as it nicely link to the movie. But the words "Chapter One" towards the end of the finale obviously hinted possibility of subsequent seasons. So I guess they have plans to continue if it's successful enough. Looking at the critics praise and audience high score, I think chances are high for renewal (though by the time I wrote this, it's not official yet). So if you are interested in the origin of Pennywise & how the kids fought against him plus the expansion of the universe & the intelligent ways to connect to the main story, then I am sure you would love this. For me though, I would have loved it even better if they just focused on Pennywise story and the kids, without the distraction.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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