SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “It: Welcome to Derry” season one.
I hate clowns.
With their unnerving makeup, synthetic outfits and overly exaggerated slapstick comedy, there is just something about a clown that makes me uneasy. I mean, everyone has that slightly embarrassing thing they're afraid of, and mine just happens to be found at a circus.
So, it makes sense people are surprised when I share one of my favorite horror films is none other than the 2017 clown-filled classic “It.” Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the film features one of the most memorable horror movie villains, Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård).
Six years after the release of “It: Chapter Two,” the sequel that culminated in the final defeat of Pennywise, HBO Max has now released “It: Welcome to Derry,” a prequel series that details Pennywise's origins in the fictional town of Derry, Maine. Besides Skarsgård, who makes a return as Pennywise, the show introduces an entirely new cast of characters who work together to try and take down the vicious, clown-like entity.
Structurally, the series can be broken down into two separate storylines: the adventures of the adults and those of the children. While the adult storyline has its upsides, it was clear from the first few minutes of the series that the lives of the kids in this series were going to be much more interesting.
The first episode opens with the introduction of Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt), a young boy desperate to escape his troubled home life. After hitching a ride with an eerily nice family, his one-way ticket out of Derry becomes something far more sinister. Four months later, all but four young students in the town of Derry have moved on from Matty’s tragic disappearance and presumed death. As the kids begin investigating that fateful night, they uncover a string of missing children and unexplained events in their town that stem from something much darker than they could have ever imagined.
As far as first episodes go, “It: Welcome to Derry” stands in a category of its own for having one of the most shocking beginnings I have ever seen. Even weeks after watching it, the episode has stuck with me and does a great job at setting the tone for the rest of the show. It’s bloody and gruesome, a perfect glimpse into what the rest of the series has in store for the viewer.
While this first episode is the catalyst for all the events that follow, it’s every episode after that brings us into the “meat” of the story. The rest of the series follows Lilly (Clara Stack), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Marge (Matilda Lawler), Will (Blake Cameron James) and Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) as they try to stop Pennywise from terrorizing the town and killing any more of their friends.
Like the 2017 “It,” this new group of extremely brave children is the glue that holds the story together. I cheered every time they were able to beat Pennywise at his own game and teared up at each emotional moment. Their characters and friendships just felt so real that it was hard not to root for them.
The other half of the show follows the adults in the series, intertwining several flashbacks from their lives in Derry that help further the explanation of how Pennywise became the monster we see in the show.
Of these adults are Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), Will’s parents. Leroy, a US Air Force Major, is the reason for the families move after getting assigned to the military base in Derry. While Charlotte adjusts to life in her strange new town, Leroy works with clairvoyant Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) and slowly becomes more entrenched in General Shaw’s (James Remar) plan to not kill Pennywise but capture him instead.
For most of the series, their plots take them on separate paths but, throughout it all, Charlotte and Leroy remained to be two of my favorite characters in the adult storyline. Even if it is slightly concerning that they don’t ever truly try and move themselves and their son out of Derry, the couple becomes a fierce example of the lengths parents are willing to go to protect their children.
Now, if the last name Hanlon sounds familiar to you, that’s because the Hanlons in this prequel series are related to none other than Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs), a key member of the Losers’ Club from “It.” While they are the first characters to be immediately connected to the 2017 movie, they aren’t the only ones. Nods to “It,” as well as several other King novels, are sprinkled throughout the series, which made for a fun “Easter egg hunt” that fans of King’s work can partake in.
I won’t say that this show was perfect. There were a couple plot points that got a bit too convoluted, most of the flashbacks left me with more questions than answers and the body horror could often feel overdone, but as far as prequels go this series exceeded all my expectations.
While I still hate clowns, “It: Welcome to Derry” reminded me why I loved the “It” franchise so much in the first place. And for a horror series this gripping, some fears are worth putting aside.
