The Pilot

Holy cow that opening scene and ending scene was intense! You rarely see anything on that level and it was satisfying. Probably because all horror seems really tame these and hardly any shock value. But this checked every box I had going into this show. I was excited for this to air and it lived up to my expectations. I want to write a lengthy, in depth review but I'm still getting over the whole thing. Don't come up like characters right out the gate, that's all I'm saying. But this started off with a great big jump in the right direction, I hope it keeps the same momentum for the Halloween episode. Shock value, brutality, interesting story line that we all know from the IT movies already but the deliverance was a chef's kiss.

I loved It Chapter One, HATED Chapter Two so I have mixed hopes for the show. This episode has great moments but my two complaints are the dialogue is not realistic with the kids at all- Chapter One had great, realistic flowy dialogue and this isn't like that at all. I can picture the script while hearing it. And the scares did nothing for me which I know is subjective, but the CGI action stuff does nothing for me. If I'd see it in an action movie it's not that good. But the stories are intriguing and the acting is pretty good. Interested to see where the show will go.

This is it! This is what we want! I love the fact that they are not shying away from making this series as disturbing as possible. I won't spoil anything but the ending is so unpredictable and you don't see it coming at all. I don't think there could've been a better start to a show than this first episode. I seriously cannot wait for the next.

I didn't expect much from this adaptation if I am being brutality honest. I am still to be surprised. Not as if this has a slow start, pretty much out of the gate it's obvious this is King's work, not necessarily a bad thing. It begins with a scolding for modern cinema in a back handed way and goes on to have a pop at bad parenting, both of which are still relevant topics today, unfortunately. The time it's set in is a little bit on the nose (easy pickings to background the story against the pre Cuba crisis when, as now, everyone is encouraged to be on alert for a situation that has no winners). Having said that this is not a terrible opener to a series that has to live up to the fear produced by Scarsdale's Pennywise and the camp beauty of Tim Rice's clown king. Although the laughs that set me up for the scares are thin on the ground in this so far, it does show a little promise for the rest to follow.

In summary, I might have expected too much from IT, Welcome To Derry. Only time, and the rest of the episodes, will tell.

The first episode of It: Welcome to Derry is simply magnificent and serves to redeem the director who failed with It: Part Two. And anyone complaining that It didn't appear clearly didn't understand the first movie and its premise, it's about It's influence on Derry and its people. It's not just about fear, but its power over the collective. And the episode delivered that very well - not to mention the ending, which features a twist that, at least for me, was unexpected.