I was sceptical when this was announced. Nothing unusual about that though, I’m sceptical about all remakes, reboots, sequels, cash-ins. There’s nothing original here, it’s packed with tired cinema tropes, but... it’s rather good, in a straight to TV but with decent production values kinda way. The characters are good, the idyllic 80s Americana is cool, the floating balloons are fun, but the nursery rhymes telegraph every jump scare. If you’re short on time and can’t watch The Goonies, Stand by Me, ET, not to mention Stranger Things or the original IT TV series, then watch this, it’s pretty much all the above, although it’s a good half hour too long. Watch those though if you’ve not already (seriously you’ve seen them right?), but this is worth a watch too, even if Tim Curry did it better. Simple & spooky. Right, I’m off to listen to NKOTB.
6/10
