Show Review: IT: Welcome To Derry
By Daniel O’Neill
One might think that creating a prequel show years after an original movie came out might be an attempt to cling on to the success of the original and bring nothing new to the table, but IT: Welcome to Derry proves that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s been 8 years since the original ‘IT’ movie took the nation by storm, and over 6 since the ‘IT Chapter 2’ gave us the well-awaited conclusion to the story, leading the viewers to question what could the tv show possibly offer us that hasn’t been done before.
The show is based 27 years before the original movie in 1962 and follows a group of children being terrorized by the name forsaken monster. The difference between the movies and the show is that the movies heavily follow the book, whereas with the show original characters are introduced, meaning no one is 100% safe.
Episode 1 alone proves that Welcome To Derry isn’t afraid to shock their viewers and leave them with more questions than answers. Welcome To Derry has a key element that so many prequels lack: unpredictability. It tells the viewers straight off the bat that no one is safe and that assuming otherwise will lead to heartbreak.
With the malevolent ‘IT’ being a shapeshifter, it gives writers the chance to create the most horrifying and unpredictable scares that they can imagine. The opening scene of episode 1 proved that no matter where our characters are or who they’re with, no one is fully safe in the town of Derry.
The acting from the cast of the show, in particular the young actors was superb. Some of the standouts were by Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, Taylour Paige and Blake Cameron James who all perfectly encapsulated the dread and fear of having to encounter such a dire evil.
IT: Welcome To Derry proves that horror is in its prime. Between recent box office powerhouses like ‘Weapons’ and ‘Sinners’ as well as innovative genre bending body-horror endeavours like ‘The Substance’, Welcome To Derry adds to the list of innovative and risk-taking modern horror media.
4 episodes are available on streaming and 4 more will be releasing throughout the oncoming weeks. If they manage to stay as consistent as they have been with the first half of the season, this could very well be one of the strongest entries to the long list of horror shows in recent years. It’s addictive, thought provoking and terrorizing in all the right ways.
5/5 stars.
