It: Welcome to Derry Review, A New Perspective on Pennywise

It: Welcome to Derry is a horror tv series created by Argentines Andy Muschietti as director and his sister Barbara Muschietti as general producer.

This captivating story follows four children around the age of 12 who are the outcasts of their school. The plot also includes several conflicts between adults, cruel policemen and military who face both the growing Russian threat and various supernatural entities, just to mention a few. This varied proposal causes constant changes in tone and atmosphere, leading to moments that sometimes confuse and do not enrich the narrative. Surprisingly, the appearance of Pennywise produces an exaggeration and a dramatization that only serve to amplify a story that at other times was more traditional and contained.

It: Welcome to Derry focuses on the enigma of a being who captures children to keep them hidden underground in the sewers for long periods, which becomes the main engine of a story full of detours, side plots and frequent interruptions by fantastic and frightening elements. There is an accumulation of hallucinations, visions and nightmares with deformed creatures that, in my opinion, are too elaborate and obvious.

Having a broad narrative and temporal development sometimes seems to harm a story that touches on too many themes. The plot covers aspects such as racism, bullying, class differences, Cold War paranoia and the difficulties of a typical small community with a big hell, transiting between various characters and eras. The main action takes place in 1962, but there are memories that go back to 1908.

Extreme variety

It: Welcome to Derry offers many narrative variants, incorporates new characters, expands the environments and begins to explore different mythologies. It is all this new field that this horror story is facing that connects it with the iconic tv series Stranger Things, a type of narratives in which what is at stake is something more vast and universal than it initially seems. The director manages to effectively combine the numerous subplots and nuances that the series presents. The first episodes are touching and dynamic, even if the narrative takes a considerable time to fully clarify.

Thus, these five episodes are set up almost as a drama about racial tensions in Derry, with an occasional but shocking undercurrent of horror. Perhaps to compensate for the dearth of such scenes in the first half of the season, Muschietti and his team create moments of great impact, with shocking special effects and remarkable violence. As you know, everything we observe is in an intermediate territory between the realistic and the imaginary, but even so, the scenes have a strong impact and transform what could otherwise be perceived as a social thriller in an original town in Maine.

The creature

At the beginning of the story, the series reveals Pennywise's impact as an infectious force. It not only generates terror. In addition, he has the ability to bring out the worst in every person in Derry, who consumes his harmful influence without realizing it. One of the highlights of the plot is the creation of a threatening environment, without giving clues about what really happens. Moreover, it is important to note that Pennywise and Derry maintain a parasitic connection that becomes increasingly negative over time.

A part of the recognition belongs to the way the series presents its creature. Unlike what one might think, the script does not assume that the audience already knows him. Or, in the best of circumstances, that he has knowledge of his abilities. Therefore, he invests time and attention in showing their effects and what their simple presence can trigger. For the first time, the suggestion that Pennywise contaminates everything he touches and is therefore more than a creature hiding in the shadows stands out as a central element of the story.

Conclusion

It: Welcome to Derry does an excellent job of offering a new perspective on its monster, which more closely resembles cosmic fear and body horror. On this occasion, the terrifying clown demonstrates his ability to affect physical reality, cause destruction with a monstrous force and control his victims. In addition, the approach emphasizes a kind of non-human-sized being, much scarier than a person. Therefore, when he acts like a clown, the impact is terrifying in every aspect.