Stephen King’s IT adaptations have been smashing successes at the box office. The iconic imagery of Pennywise and his red balloon shook the horror industry with its story, characters, and, of course, the phenomenal creature design of the clown itself. With this in mind, it’s only natural that Warner Bros. hasn’t let the franchise go yet, and a TV Series seemed to be just what it needed to explore the horrifically rich history of Derry, Maine.
You’ve probably heard or seen clips and edits from the series, but if you haven’t watched it yet, I sincerely encourage you to do so. (This review will keep spoilers to a minimum, as to not discourage anyone from going to see it.)
You’ve probably heard or seen clips and edits from the series, but if you haven’t watched it yet, I sincerely encourage you to do so. (This review will keep spoilers to a minimum, as to not discourage anyone from going to see it.)
The series begins during the civil rights movement era, which is much to its credit, as many series today are too afraid to discuss the era or explore how it affected people of color at this time. Bonus points considering the black cast members are actually fleshed out and aren’t killed off or used as props to uphold the white cast.
For those with more background knowledge on IT, it can be expected that the series is going to go over the previous tragedies of Derry before The Loser’s Club came along. But the show also explores Native American struggles as a main plot point and driving factor of the series, which is another thing that I don’t see very often in today’s television shows. It discusses the mistreatment of patients at mental institutions at the time, and the struggles of growing up as a black child in a white, conservative town.
It does a much better job at exploring these aspects than Stranger Things, despite how much nostalgia I have for it. ST suffers from quite a few problems regarding the treatment of its minority characters and cast members. Regardless, I’m excited to see what else Welcome To Derry has in store for us as we go further into the past of Derry.
For those with more background knowledge on IT, it can be expected that the series is going to go over the previous tragedies of Derry before The Loser’s Club came along. But the show also explores Native American struggles as a main plot point and driving factor of the series, which is another thing that I don’t see very often in today’s television shows. It discusses the mistreatment of patients at mental institutions at the time, and the struggles of growing up as a black child in a white, conservative town.
It does a much better job at exploring these aspects than Stranger Things, despite how much nostalgia I have for it. ST suffers from quite a few problems regarding the treatment of its minority characters and cast members. Regardless, I’m excited to see what else Welcome To Derry has in store for us as we go further into the past of Derry.
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In terms of horror, Welcome To Derry loves to use your own expectations against you. Much like in IT Chapter 2, Pennywise torments our main cast by turning their fear and trauma against them. The real icing on the cake for Pennywise in this series, though, is not just the creative scares, but also how Pennywise purposefully targets people who are oppressed in society and uses the prejudice of other people as leverage to get away with it. A black man takes the fall for a murder he did not commit, and he attacks black people who are under fire from a group of masked white folks. He torments a character who is already thought to be schizophrenic by her community. The series is not afraid to show the exploitation of those who are vulnerable and the cruelty of bigotry. There’s also a really nice connection between The Shining and the series, but I'll leave that up for you to experience. |
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Of course, the series has its cringeworthy moments, like the terribly placed greenscreen scene placed behind two of the characters as they ride their bikes through the cemetery. But honestly, a few seconds of a bad greenscreen is fine compared to the cheap slop companies like Disney’s Marvel pump into theatres and claim they spent several million on. The visuals for those movies look more akin to something you’d see in Sharkboy & Lavagirl, but with absolutely none of the charm those passionate 2000’s movies had.
Pennywise being an omniscient god-like being can be a strange concept for some people to understand, particularly those who aren't familiar with other fantasy or sci-fi timelines of similar merit, but the series does a pretty good job making it clear that the rules of reality, time, and space do not apply to the clown. Ideas like this are really cool, and I wish more series implemented more complicated plotlines into their works.
Pennywise being an omniscient god-like being can be a strange concept for some people to understand, particularly those who aren't familiar with other fantasy or sci-fi timelines of similar merit, but the series does a pretty good job making it clear that the rules of reality, time, and space do not apply to the clown. Ideas like this are really cool, and I wish more series implemented more complicated plotlines into their works.
Since the first season of the series just recently wrapped up, I implore you to go check it out and show the creators some support. We need studios to know we want more stories that explore minority struggles and actually make the audience think about the context and meaning of the content they’re consuming. Studios will keep trying to push slop onto us if we don’t show them what we really want, and Welcome To Derry will inspire other directors to follow in its footsteps in terms of how they choose to tell their stories.
Most importantly, don’t trust creepy old ladies who dress as clowns.
Most importantly, don’t trust creepy old ladies who dress as clowns.
