So, the IT movie has set like all of the records ever. Anybody else see it? Statistically you probably did.
Personally I loved it, so much that I've got tickets to see it a second time tomorrow night. I can remember the last time I saw a movie twice in one theater run. It's not a perfect movie, it's got some weird pacing problems and is overly long, but it's still one of the most effective horror movies I've ever seen. It's a movie with a lot going on without being convoluted and with mostly solid effects and great imagery.
A lot of its box office success seems to come from the crossover potential it has that few other horror movies have ever been able to capture, where it's tense and scary without actually being THAT scary. A lot of horror fans have criticized it for being non-scary, but I thought it captured a surreal, nightmarish tone that was just as good even if it's rarely actually scary. It's an upbeat horror movie that's compelling without being oppressive to watch or excessively disgusting or upsetting, which means that people who hate horror movies have been enjoying it too. If other movies can capture that effect then I think it could be great news for the genre.
I'm waiting warmly for the second part, and curious to see if it can avoid the problems that the TV series and to some extent the novel had in the later half. The first part is different enough from the source material that I hope the second part will be even more original and, hopefully, more effective.