AllMovie

Stephen King's much-maligned It TV miniseries might not be quite as horrible as it's generally considered to be, though the final 30 minutes is every bit as brutally stupid and lame as just about everyone recalls. If you can get past Richard Thomas' stomach-turning yuppie ponytail, much of the first few hours is pretty engaging, with such strong horror moments strewn throughout as bloody balloons, off-the-wall fortune cookies, and even a wolfman pop-up to keep the creepy momentum going. Sadly, the forward motion comes to a dead halt late in the third act, where the plot takes over and the screams stop. By the time the flashlight-stomached spider monster shows up at the end, the silly shock of it has already been tempered by a lackadaisical buildup. True, the book itself isn't known for the strongest ending, but considering the time audiences already invested in the miniseries, the televised product tends to have a much more immediate visceral letdown. The acting is a hodgepodge affair that stacks up for the most part with only a few miscasts to slow the sucker down (again, John Boy anyone?). Of course, the crown of the series is owned by Tim Curry, whose playful menace as Pennywise scarred countless clown-fearers through the years. Leaps and bounds above The Stand miniseries that followed this one, It remains a miniseries event that pushed the boundaries of the medium thanks to its love of blood, clown-dog demons, and overall endangerment of children -- certainly a match made in televised heaven that even the King would enjoy!