It.

Released: 1990
Starring: Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O'Toole, Tim Reid, John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Tim Curry
Run Time: 192 Minutes

"You wanna a balloon Georgie"

Without a doubt on of my all time favourite films (Don’t start I know it was a TV movie but it still counts as a movie), based on my favourite book by Stephen King, I first saw this film when I was five and it gave me nightmares, I read the book for the first time when I was 18 and it gave me nightmares after that went back and watched the film again and found how much I loved it.

This films main theme is fear and overcoming it, the villain of the piece is a menacing entity know only at first as ‘IT’ who can take the form of your worst fear, but for most of the time he stalks the town of Derry under the guise of ‘Pennywise the Dancing Clown’ (here in lies my fear of clowns) he is the eater of worlds and of children who appears every 25-30 years to feed and with It’s ascent so comes a veil of violence and hate over the town.

It is set in the summer of 1960 and the ‘present’ day 1990 in the small township of Derry, Maine. The protagonists of the film are the "Losers Club" (Bill, Beverly, Richie, Eddie, Ben, Stan, and Mike) a group of outcasts who slowly gravitate towards each other and find comfort, acceptance and safety with each other, as they all have encountered ‘IT’.

Although the film is based in the horror genre it also deals with issues such as poverty, racism and domestic violence.

The child actors are the standout in this film (particularly Emily Perkins and Jonathan Brandis) as I truly believed in their friendship and the bond that ultimately saves them.

The other standout is Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise, he is quite terrifying in this role all the little details his movements his voice all add up to a chilling performance.

The movie follows the novel almost to the letter, small things are missing and one major point is changed/left out, possibly it wasn’t allowed for in the budget or maybe to hard to interpret faithfully to the screen, either way as a lover of the book I didn’t find it at all

I could talk about this film forever but i wont all i will say is RENT, BUY OR ILLEGALLY DOWNLOAD IT WHATEVER IT TAKES BUT SOMEHOW SEE THIS FILM

Follow Me To It On IMDB

The Other

Released: 1972
Starring: Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, Chris & Martin Udvarnoky and John Ritter
Run Time: 108 Minutes

"It was only a game. We were playing a game, Doushka, like all the other games that we play. Only the time has come for all the games to stop. It is wrong, you see? Dangerous."

It’s the summer of 1935 and 9 year old twins Niles and Holland Perry live with their family on a Connecticut farm, during the depression era. Their loving grandmother Ada has taught them something called ‘the game’ which allows their imagination become reality. A number of accidents begin to occur, and Niles begins to wonder if Holland is responsible. Soon after Ada begins to see the truth and she is the only one who can stop this macabre game of murder.

This film employs the classic good twin bad twin plot and to be honest in my opinion the only one that pulls it off. The movie begins well has an amazing twist in the middle and finishes strongly, unlike most in its genre the bulk of the film is shoot in daylight matched with its innocent but eerie score adds another facet to the film and makes it all the more sinister. It will definitely mess with your head and have you going back to the point of that intelligent (some might see it coming but I didn’t and I usually do) twist just to make sure you heard right. The Other will stay in your head whether you want it to or not.

Follow Me To The Other On IMDB

The Heathers

Released: 1989
Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker
Run Time: 102 Minutes

"Dear Diary: Heather told me she teaches people 'real life.' She said, real life sucks losers dry. You want to fuck with the eagles, you have to learn to fly. I said, so, you teach people how to spread their wings and fly? She said, yes. I said, you're beautiful."

So you thought the Plastics were Mean Girls? You think the 'Flawless Four' would break your jaw if you dared question them? Well the the Heathers would eat them alive they are so very. The dark dramadey stars our favourite klepto Winona Rider and Christian Slater.

The it clique are the "Heathers" three girls all named Heather and Riders character Veronica, they are the most popular girls at school who rule with a well manicured fist and intimidation, not being named Heather means Veronica must work extra hard to keep her spot in the group as Heather Chandlers (Heather Number 1) protege. Veronica soon tires of the pointless surveys and unprovoked attacks on the socially challenged and is drawn to the new rebel in school J.D (Slater).

A bit of harmless fun turns sinister as the most popular kids in school start committing 'Suicide' with a little help from Veronica and J.D. Veronica comes to realise she is in way over her head, is it too late for her to stop and make things right?

This gives us a perfect insight to high school life, it is a very true (albeit somewhat exaggerated) interpretation of the struggles faced by teens. Every detail even down to the colour of the clothes each character wears is a statement about their nature (follow this link to the Wikipedia page that explains this) it was way ahead of its time and is still relevant now and probably will be in another twenty years. I really love this film for its dark humour, well rounded characters and amazing script filled with classic lines that just define ones teen years.

Follow me to The Heathers on IMDB

The Craft

Who is this? Thats right good readers of POV music lover That Boy James is now an author, the lovely Jess has kindly allowed me to post my little movie rants on her blog which would just be out of place on mine, much like my own music blog it will just be short reviews of some of my favourite movies. Enjoy

Released: 1996
Starring: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell. Rachel True
Run Time: 101 Minutes

"Watch out for the weirdos, girls. We are the weirdos, mister."

In my view the only movie about witchcraft that doesn’t resort to stereotypes and tired story lines to portray the ways of the witch. New girl at school Sarah falls in with the (surprise, surprise) outcasts of the school Nancy, Bonny and Rochelle who dabble in the dark arts discovering that Sarah is a natural witch they quickly form a tight coven. The ever present struggle for power is rife in this film as the covens actions don’t sit well with Sarah. She tries to distance her self from them only to drawn back in for a final showdown. A very slick and edgy film which portrays so well the angst of being a teen with a magical twist.

Side Note: You know I have to talk about it the music and whats used here just adds that extra facet to the film, that feeling of not abiding (How Soon is Now is a good example of this) to the social norms and the angst of growing up whist being different. Also you cant go past that distinctive 90's sound, my four favourites from this soundtrack are Sick Child by Siouxsie & The Banshees, Scorn by Portisehead, How Soon is Now by Love Spit Love (No match for the original by the Smiths) and I Have the Touch by Heather Nova.