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The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

“It” smashes box office records

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“It,” the horror movie based off of the 1986 Stephen King novel, is now a record breaking film. Released on September 8, this movie is officially the highest grossing September film of all time and is also about to break the record for the top R-rated horror film ever, currently held by “The Exorcist.” As of September 24, the movie has received about $478 million worldwide in the box office, greatly surpassing the film’s original budget of $35 million. With a critic score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems this movie is a big hit for moviegoers everywhere.

There’s no true explanation as to why movie executives wanted to bring this classic story back, but freshman Jacob Dincin believes there’s a certain timeliness factor to it that could apply to what’s been going on recently in our country.

“Honestly I think they had a great idea [of bringing it back]. From all the frenzy of the clown situation about a year ago, this movie was bound to reel people in. I definitely plan on seeing the movie soon,” Dincin said.

This isn’t the first time “It” has reached the screen. The original adaptation of King’s horror novel was a mini series by the same name released in 1990, starring Tim Curry, known for films such as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and “Annie,” as the clown Pennywise. Junior Anne-Marie Cuff has seen both adaptations and prefers the original version to this most recent film.

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“I thought that [the new version] was actually funny,” Cuff said. “I’m not sure if it was really was scary, but there were some jokes. I personally prefer the original… [the new version] wasn’t as realistic.”

The movie has been generally well received by critics everywhere, earning high scores from organizations such as IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and the Washington Post. While these reviews are mostly positive, critics raise questions about the original intent of the film. Film critic Andres Muschietti from Entertainment Weekly gave this film a B rating, inquiring about things such as the film’s intended audience.

It doesn’t shy away from nastiness and definitely earns its R rating. There’s implied incest, bullying in the extreme, and children are violently attacked. But that raises the question: Who exactly is It for? Its heroes, like its audience, are kids. What responsible parent will buy their tickets?” Muschietti said.

The film is known to have severe violence and gore as well as some mild profanity that may disturb some viewers. Above all, you’ve got to have a strong stomach going into this movie.

Despite some questionable aspects to the film, “It” is clearly a box office success. What did you think of the movie? Comment down below!

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    bobOct 23, 2017 at 9:39 am

    kool

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