IT: Welcome to Derry

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.

Episode 1. So, I just watched the first episode of the new IT series, and yes, I'll keep watching because I've always been a huge IT fan.

Honestly, I get that IT is all about imagination... it's meant to be something you experience through the eyes of children, where fantasy and fear blend together. That part I respect. But the way they used CGI and fake-looking sets... nope. It completely kills the vibe. It's overdone, unrealistic, and honestly kind of ridiculous at times.

As for the child actors, they're not terrible, but it feels like déjà vu. Like we've seen this exact lineup a hundred times before. Everything feels recycled and generic.

At this point, if we're going to rely that much on CGI, we might as well let AI make the whole movie and honestly, I think I'd prefer that over this cartoonish visual style.

Anyway, that's just my take after episode one. I'll keep watching and see how it evolves but let's just say, my expectations are officially on pause for now.

Episode 2 of IT: Honestly, it just confirms what I said in my review of the first one, the CGI completely kills the atmosphere. It feels like they're trying to make up for a flat storyline with visual effects, but it only makes everything look fake and lifeless. There's no tension, no real fear, nothing unsettling about it.

And again, it's all so déjà vu. The kids are OK actors but it's the same formula we've seen a thousand times: the bullied kid, the abusive parent, the depressed mom, the family trauma. It's like they're following the Stephen King cliché checklist, updated for 2025.

As for horror? None. Not a single scene feels scary or even suspenseful. Everything is so polished and predictable that you never actually feel on edge. It's starting to feel more like a sad drama about traumatized kids than a horror series.

Honestly, I'm just waiting for Bill Skarsgård to show up, because right now, even the plot feels painfully slow and uninspired. Nothing grabs you. If they don't start bringing real horror into it soon, this might just end up being another overproduced, CGI-filled flop.

Only 2 episodes in and so far I'm loving it. The effects are top notch and I'm enjoying more then the recent IT movies. It's very intense and no one is safe.

Great they managed to get Dick Halloran from The Shining into this series. Sure it's light on details and backstory so far, but if you're watching this you probably already know the lore of IT.

Hoping they can keep ramping up the intensity as the later episodes drop. Love the nostalgia of all the old cars.

Wish there was more good horror tv shows out there. I'm enjoying this for the effects more than anything. Hope they add more backstory in the later episodes.

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.

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.