It
AsStephen King ’s Itreceives a prequel TV show , the Creator ofWelcome to Derrywill need to avoid the bighearted pitfall that run to the sequelIt : Chapter 2 ’s humdrum reception . 2019’sIt : Chapter 2was far from dread . The sequel to 2017 ’s blockbuster repulsion hitItwas featured a leading turn fromBill Hader as Richie Tozier , and the moving-picture show was successful enough to remind the creators to pursue a prequel series , the upcomingWelcome to Derry .
However , It : Chapter 2did have some major issues . Perhaps the most pressing was that the continuation ’s tone was discrepant , lead in broad comedic scenes arriving simple mo after profoundly worrisome , self - serious horror second . This signify thatIt : Chapter 2was never sure what variety of movie the sequel was hypothesize to be , something that will be a much big problem forWelcome to Derryif the prequel series repeats this issue .
relate : Why Stephen King ’s It Prequel Series Is A Bad Idea
It : Chapter 2failed to win over critics who praised 2017’sItbecause the sequel ’s tone was right smart too raw and grounded ( evidenced by the porta murder of Adrian Mellon ) and too comedic ( the notorious “ Angel of the Morning ” sequence ) all at once . Jack Nicholson ’s role inThe Shining ’s classic adaptation proved that a lilliputian black funniness could work in Stephen King movies , but the funny scenery ofIt : Chapter 2were instantaneously comedic while some of the horror scenes were jarringly dark and grimly naturalistic . Welcome to Derry , as a video show , will have a long runtime and thus more room to reverberate between wide different tone — something the prequel serial require to avoid .
The balance between horror and comedy achieved by 2017’sItis not an easy one to nail , and the ending of the early 1990 miniseries adaptation of the novel proved that shoddy special gist alone were enough to derail the good piece of work done by Tim Curry ’s impressively creepy public presentation as Pennywise . However , likeStranger Things , A Nightmare On Elm Street , Scream , and other successful fusions of coming - of - age funniness with teen revulsion , the first half ofIt ’s cinematic version played its drear genre elements directly and mine wit from the way the character reacted to and coped with Pennywise ’s attacks . In all the above examples , and ideallyWelcome to Derry , the monster is a material and really serious threat , even if the character ’s reactions to it can often be comical .
In dividing line , what derailedIt : Chapter 2more than anything was the motion picture ’s discrepant approaching to its villain . In scene like his goofy singsong and subsequent transmutation into a lumberjack statue , Pennywise is a comical terror , something also envision in the Chinese restaurant sequence’sEvil Dead 2 - esque gory slapstick . However , when he brutally murders two children onscreen ( a tabu rarely broached in big - budget revulsion ) , Pennywise is a terrific , pestilent serious threat . LikeNightmare On Elm Street ’s Freddy Krueger , the originalIt ’s fiend succeeded because the movie took him seriously despite his fantastical origins and power . Now , forWelcome To Derryto succeed , theItprequel must make Pennywise more of a menace thanIt : Chapter 2 ’s inconsistent baddie .
More:1408 Is Stephen King ’s Most Underrated Short Story Adaptation
