It
New Line Cinema | Release Date: September 8, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Critic Reviews
Positive:
37
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubSep 6, 2017
It’s smart and funny and makes great effort to capture not just a time and place, but the specific feelings of being on the verge of adulthood and thinking the world is against you. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 5, 2017
IT...carried me along from the opening frame, rarely missing a beat. Read full review
92
IGNWilliam BibbianiSep 5, 2017
IT may not be the best Stephen King movie (even though it comes impressively close), but it’s probably the MOST Stephen King movie. Read full review
90
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoSep 6, 2017
As far as mainstream horror goes, It is a brilliant example of what can happen when equal attention is paid to story and scares. Read full review
90
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 6, 2017
Consistently, persuasively unnerving, It turns the coming-of-age drama into a nightmare. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovSep 7, 2017
Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Skarsgård) is as joltingly nightmarish as fans could have hoped for. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonSep 7, 2017
If you’re looking for a film that’s guaranteed to have you gripping your seat, this is It. Read full review
83
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanSep 6, 2017
The whole movie is affecting, so much so that Pennywise doesn’t even matter. In a way, he’s more of a McGuffin to the real horrors at hand, from parental abuse to violent bullying to the unnerving revelation that life has only just begun. Read full review
83
The PlaylistDrew TaylorSep 5, 2017
Even with these minor complaints, it’s hard to deny that It is anything but a triumph. The craftsmanship is impeccable, the performances incredibly strong..., and the fidelity to the source material, in spirit more than specificity, is admirable and appreciated. Had the story given even more time to breathe, it would have been one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations ever. As it stands, it’s simply a very good one. Read full review
80
VoxAja RomanoSep 6, 2017
Muschietti’s largely faithful adaptation of King’s story relies not on nostalgia for its emotional underpinnings, but rather a keen sense of the present moment in all its deep tensions and ugliness. Read full review
80
ScreenCrushBritt HayesSep 6, 2017
IT is better than The Dark Tower in every conceivable way. And beyond the inevitable comparison, it’s just really good. Scary good, even. The new IT is narratively coherent, mythologically complex, and above all, fun. Yes, fun. Read full review
80
Total FilmJamie GrahamSep 5, 2017
Thrilling and haunting, pitching the power of adventure and friendship against the day-to-day horrors of childhood and a chilling Pennywise. An absolute scream. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeySep 5, 2017
As a rattling ghost-train ride through sewers and derelict houses even David Lynch would think twice before exploring, the film toot-toots its way around at often deafening volume, but settles for doing only partial justice to King’s epic ambitions. Perhaps Muschietti has more of these stored up for the sequel, once an audience has gained faith that the scary stuff – petrifying, when it peaks – is well and truly in hand. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentSep 5, 2017
More successful as a coming-of-age movie than a horror, It still ranks among the better Stephen King adaptations — no small praise indeed. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 5, 2017
This is a really fun movie. Good, too. Not great, but old-school in its approach to scares and, even better, in its approach to the relationships between kids, outsiders who band together to try to take down a monstrous evil. And maybe flirt a little while they’re at it. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 7, 2017
One reason why It works is that it doesn’t rely solely on jump-scares and gore to startle audiences. Yes, there are some of both, but It is more about building tension than cheap gimmicks. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 7, 2017
If it doesn’t rewrite the rules of horror, it calls attention to them, in a manner that is not just flamboyant, but also baroque. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireSep 7, 2017
What Bill Skarsgard does with the role works well precisely because he doesn’t appear to be laboring so hard to frighten us. He doesn’t vamp it up. He’s coy — he toys with these kids — making his sudden bursts of insane clown hostility that much more shocking. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 6, 2017
It works enough of the time to deliver on the promise of bad dreams. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartSep 6, 2017
The literal ghouls here take a back seat to the subtler ones, which are really where It shines darkly. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallSep 6, 2017
King's book isn't hallowed literature, just a little vicious fun, if 1,100 pages can be considered little. This is the spooky, overlong movie It deserves and It deserves that sequel. Float on. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzSep 6, 2017
From its haunting opening in Derry's gently flooded streets to its nightmarish finale in the forsaken sewers underneath, this new version of It stands as a solid execution of King's modus operandi. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeSep 6, 2017
While Pennywise is legitimately terrifying, overall, It is more intense than it is chilling. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittSep 5, 2017
The infamous clown is plenty freaky, though it’s the youngsters, bursting with hormones and one-liners, who make It one of the better Stephen King adaptations. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatySep 5, 2017
It is essentially two movies. The better by far (and it’s very good) is the one that feels like a darker Stand by Me — a nostalgic coming-of-age story about seven likable outcasts riding around on their bikes and facing their fears together... Less successful are the sections that trot out Pennywise. The more we see of him, the less scary he becomes. Read full review
72
The VergeTasha RobinsonSep 6, 2017
The convincing child cast carries the film when the scares start to feel redundant. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaSep 9, 2017
This new It has more on its mind, and gives more body and voice to King’s ideas of childhood anxieties and the corrosive power of fear. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensSep 7, 2017
Nearly every scene builds to some kind of climactic jump scare. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJen YamatoSep 7, 2017
Mama maestro Andy Muschietti directs this visually splendid but thematically toned-down interpretation with finesse, crafting a world rich in detail where menace lurks in every shadow. Read full review
70
New York Daily NewsEthan SacksSep 6, 2017
Most of the scares are well earned, as Muschietti mines horror tropes effectively, but there’s also a stretch where the film really turns into a circus. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottSep 6, 2017
The filmmakers honor both the pastoral and the infernal dimensions of Mr. King’s distinctive literary vision. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 5, 2017
It is a solid thriller that works best when it is most involved in its adolescent heroes' non-monster-related concerns. It will prove much more satisfying to King's legion of fans than "Dark Tower" did. But it falls well short of the King-derived film it clearly wants to evoke, "Stand By Me"; and newcomers who were spoiled by the eight richly developed hours of Stranger Things may wonder what the big deal is supposed to be. Read full review
67
The Film StageJordan RaupSep 6, 2017
You won’t float off the film’s intended horror high, but the characters will endear you enough to show up for the promised second chapter. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnSep 5, 2017
At times, the movie excels at portraying the dread of children forced to confront a world indifferent to their concerns. But no matter how many times Pennywise leaps out from unexpected places, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that we’ve been here many times before. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoSep 6, 2017
Ultimately, cast and crew conjure up horror that’s more efficient than terrifying. Read full review
63
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonSep 6, 2017
You almost wish the movie had jettisoned the horror elements entirely, and converted It into what it feels like it wants to be — something more like King’s Stand By Me, with a teen girl in the mix. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 5, 2017
The visions are grim, grisly and graphic, although actual hair-raising moments are rare — a chase here, a narrow escape there. Director Andy Muschietti (“Mama”) keeps the violence lurid and shocking, interrupted by moments of often-profane gallow’s humor. Read full review
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