Welcome to Derry

I had high hopes for this series and hope it gets better. I'm not sure if it's meant to be scary but the visual effects just aren't doing it for me. It's comical at times when it's not mean to be?

I will hold out that the series gets better but right now I'm struggling to get into it. I want to clarify I haven't watched any of the IT movies, so it's my first intro to this franchise.

IT: Welcome to Derry is a solid horror series that really nails atmosphere and suspense, with Pennywise as terrifying as ever and the adult performances bringing real depth. The town feels alive, full of secrets that keep you hooked, and the storytelling mostly balances tension and emotion perfectly. Some of the younger characters' arcs don't hit as strongly, and a few moments drag or show slightly off CGI, but these are minor hiccups in an otherwise gripping show. Overall, it's a strong 8.5-9/10 - highly recommended for horror fans.

I'm three episodes in, and honestly, if this wasn't an HBO show, people would be tearing it apart. The effects are awful, the pacing is dead slow, and there's nothing remotely scary.

It's like It lost its bite and decided to mope around instead. I'll keep watching, but only because I clearly hate myself.

It borrows a lot from the IT movies that came before, which makes it look cheap and tacky. These kids feel like Temu versions of the original kids. Two main boys in this episode are just knockoffs of Richie and Stanley from the original movie. The only good thing is production quality the rest is kinda "meh" and the acting is not good. It's not really scary or creepy it just feels random and considering the runtime is almost 55 minutes, the story seems slow. As a pilot it's meant to hook people and I'm personally not, but the series might get better.

If you like ghost stories and The Evil Dead, you'll enjoy this show, which features supernatural elements and horrific scenes. Some of the scenes are extremely well thought out and filmed. You may find yourself wondering "how they even imagined these scenes". However, alongside the positives, there are some CGI failings. Hopefully, the producer or director will fix these in the near future.

I gave it 8 stars. But I think it should be 7 for the first three episodes. After watching the first two episodes, I watched the IT movies (2017 and 2019) again. And realised that this TV series is very similar to the IT movies. I also hope they can bring some fresh ideas and scenarios to the first season. The 8-star rating is for that hope! :)