It: Welcome to Derry

Last night, the season finale of It: Welcome to Derry released on HBO Max. It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel to the movie It, set 27 years before the events of the film. The movie follows a group of kids as they look into the disappearance of one of their friends. I enjoyed the first 'It' film and really liked the book, so I was very interested to see how an 'It' prequel series would work.

This show was a big and pleasant surprise. It brings everything you want out of a Stephen King horror show and more. The show doesn't stray away from edgy graphic horror action. Several sequences really toe the line of disturbing and entertaining, which is what you want from horror. Every episode has at least some sort of horror sequence or gory action that satisfies every level of horror fan. The show also does a great job of subverting expectations and keeping you guessing. The story that is set up in the beginning is very different than the story set up at the end. There are so many intense scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering who is going to make it out alive. The best thing about this show is the return of Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. He absolutely steals every scene he is in. He is just so horrifying while also being a very fun character. The show also does a great job of delivering on the Pennywise action. It is a little light in the first half of the season, but it completely makes up for it in the second half of the show. I also appreciated how the season had no filler episodes. Every episode had something interesting in it and advanced the story forward. I like how the show was made to be a standalone story. You don't need to know anything about the original film or book to enjoy this show. Finally, I thought the show had a surprising amount of heart to it. You get really invested in the relationship that these kids have together and want them to succeed, which leads to some heartbreaking and also sweet moments.

While I largely enjoyed this show, I do have a few nitpicks. The show is very Stranger Things coded with a group of kids fighting a monster, along with a government agency conspiracy. There are a lot of parallels between the two. It didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story, but in a year with Stranger Things also coming out, it does feel a little redundant. I also felt that the continuity with the original story was a bit strained in the final episode. With how big the finale gets, I found it hard to believe that certain townspeople in the original movie wouldn't know that Pennywise was going to be coming back in 1989 and be prepared to fight him.

Overall, this was a very good horror show that brings everything that you want to an It prequel. While the ending does strain a little bit of continuity, I still found this to be a very well-made show with a lot of heart.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A- Recommendation: This is a must see show for horror fans