It
1990
Original language: English
- mystery
- sci-fi & fantasy
- drama
The story
In 1960, seven outcast kids known as "The Losers' Club" fight against an ancient shape-shifting alien who poses as a child-killing clown, while also dealing with bullies and abusive parents. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the creature once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
What it’s like
Rain-slick Maine streets, a sickly yellow sodium glow over a sleepy 1960s town, and a 1990s present shot in the flat, slightly washed-out palette of early television. The sound is built on a tinkling, music-box motif and sudden stingers that make small rooms feel unsafe, with long stretches of ordinary kid chatter, bike rides and creek-side quiet in between. It's a two-timeline miniseries, so the rhythm alternates between childhood summers and adult reunion scenes, and the grown-up strand brings a gentler, rueful mood. Its vibe is nostalgic dread: sun-bleached summers with something rotten underneath, the feeling of a childhood fear returning. The intensity is substantial: frequent scares, horror imagery, child peril, and some graphic violence including a fatal murder, plus a suicide and abusive parenting depicted onscreen, with brief gore rather than sustained splatter. The writing gives the seven outcast kids real warmth and loyalty, and the friendship arc carries the emotional weight. It suits a Halloween-season binge or a late-night watch for people who like Stranger Things-style small-town horror, and it is not a fit for anyone wanting something gentle or free of violence.
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