Five stars for this IT prequel: I’ve never seen body horror like this before

3 hours ago 2

IT: Welcome to Derry ★★★★★

Can an eight-part series expanding on Stephen King’s IT outdo the two wildly successful film adaptations from producer-director siblings Barbara and Andy Muschietti?

Within the first 10 minutes of this chilling spinoff from the films’ same creative teams, the answer is a definitive yes – no spoilers, but there’s an insane body-horror sequence the likes of which I (a seasoned horror buff) have never seen before. It’s quite the opener, and sets the tone for this lavishly produced prequel exploring the origin story of Pennywise, the character surely responsible for most cases of coulrophobia post-1986.

Welcome to Derry is set in 1962, and is loosely based on King’s “interludes” between the stories of the Losers Club (the kids at the story’s heart), delving into the history of the town of Derry, which has been terrorised every 27 years by a shapeshifting evil that dwells in the town’s sewer. The last incident was in 1935, so you know what that means…

The Muschiettis give us another group of teenagers being preyed upon by Pennywise in its various, terrifying – and I mean genuinely terrifying – manifestations, again feeding on their individual fears. Lily (Clara Stack), who has been wrongly implicated after a nightmarish attack in the local cinema leaves three kids missing, and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) whose dad Hank (Stephen Rider), works at the cinema and has been wrongly jailed for the crime, team up with science nerd Will (Blake Cameron James) and his mate Rich (Arian S. Cartaya), to try and exonerate Hank.

Pennywise’s use of fear to control the people of Derry has always been something of a metaphor for fearmongering, and the series’ Cold War setting offers up new fears while underscoring the cruelty man is capable of, touching on the racism of the era.

Alongside King’s trademark coming-of-age elements (the author was heavily involved), there are also central adult characters. That includes Jovan Adepo as Will’s dad Leroy Hanlon (the grandfather of the original story’s Mike Hanlon), an air force major who is posted to Derry’s military base to work on a top-secret mission.

Leroy believes he’ll be working on some kind of defence missile, but soon discovers that the base’s General Shaw (James Remar) oversees something much more sinister, which the military hopes to contain – and possibly use for their own ends. Shaw spent time in Derry as a kid, where, after befriending Native American girl Rose, he encountered an ungodly creature in the woods. Like all who leave Derry, he had forgotten everything – until he returned to town. Now he wants the help of the local Indigenous population, who know the origins of the centuries-old evil.

It’s something of a slow build towards Pennywise’s first appearance in clown form (Bill Skarsgard in top spine-chilling form), but the anticipation is part of the fun, and between some compelling character development, each episode has at least one jump-scare.

A bonus for King fans is that in the tradition of many of his books – and subsequent adaptations – Welcome to Derry is set in King’s “universe”, and there are plenty of Easter eggs, with settings and characters from several different stories.

The big-budget series looks incredible, features a great cast and the creepiness level does not disappoint.

Strap in.