Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween 2018: Day 8: Stephen King’s IT (1990)

The title of one of the greatest authors of horror has to belong to the one and only Stephen King who has been scaring people since at least the 80’s. The stories he creates are so iconic that they many have been turned into films like Stand By Me, The Mist, Misery, Graveyard Shift, Pet Sematary, and the film I chose for today in Stephen King’s IT. which is only a fraction of the 74 stories that have been turned into films. Last year, the remake thrilled audiences so much that I felt the need to watch the original to see the differences and such. In Derry, Maine, there have been too many unexplained disappearances that have involved children over it’s history. For seven kids known as the Losers Club, they’ll do whatever it takes to kill the evil manifestation known as Pennywise (Tim Curry), but 30 years later he has returned and the gang has to face the fear once again. The film stars Jonathan Brandis (Ladybugs) as Bill-age 12, Richard Thomas (The Waltons) as Adult Bill, Seth Green (Robot Chicken) as Richie-age 12, Harry Anderson (Night Court) as Adult Richie, Brandon Crane (Otherworld) as Ben-Age 12, John Ritter (Three’s Company) as Adult Ben, Adam Faraizl (RoboCop 2) as Eddie-Age 12, Dennis Christopher (Django Unchained) as Adult Eddie, Ben Heller as Stanley-Age 12, Richard Masur (My Girl) as Adult Stanley, Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps) as Beverly-Age 12, Annette O’Toole (48 Hrs.) as Adult Beverly, Jarred Blancard (The Boys Club) as Henry Bowers-Age 14, Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas) as Audra Denbrough, and the film was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season Of The Witch).

I know that one of the biggest questions that you are all are wondering how I am going to answer is who did it better? I think it’s kind of an unfair question to ask because Tim Curry’s performance was iconic, but his performance was very different than Bill Skarsgård’s performance. I feel like Tim Curry’s Pennywise was more sinister and it was in a very direct way. You could tell that there was something seriously evil about him in just the way he spoke while Bill’s Pennywise has that innocent and playful side that he uses to fool you. One thing I will say about the film is that the special effects were a little cheesier in this one like the coming out of the drain pipe scene looks like they used claymation to shoot it and then the spider at the end of the film and that whole sequence was a little cheesy. Nonetheless, the film is three hours in length so you better be prepared to spend the time watching it because it’s an investment. The film was originally laid out as a TV miniseries so while you are watching you will see the pauses for commercial breaks. The style of this one is that they go back and forth in time to the present when addressing what happened which is why I give the remake a lot of credit. I like the idea that the first chapter was focused on them as kids so they can fully tell the story. Some details have changed as far as who presents the news about Derry’s past and who gets chased in the famous rock throwing scene. This was an iconic film that left an impression on a lot of people hence why people flocked to the theaters when the remake came out and why book sales probably jumped. I know I am going to try and read that monstrosity of a 1200 page plus book. For now, I am giving the film an A- for a final grade. Beep beep Richie!

Based On A Truesday Story: Hotel Rwanda (2004)

There is no denying that a true story is a lot more interesting to watch because it really happened even though sometimes it seems like the most unthinkable thing. That is why I started the Based On A Truesday Story (a play on the words True and Tuesday). This week’s film is the compelling tale of tragedy in Africa in the country of Rwanda called Hotel Rwanda. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) was a manager of a hotel called the Hôtel des Mille Collines when war all of a sudden breaks out in the country of Rwanda between a militant group known as Hutu Militia. The Hutu are hunting down a group of Africans known as Tutsi and they are slaughtering them in an act of genocide. So, Paul will do his best to protect thousands of Tutsi from falling victim to the genocide by hiding them in his hotel in hopes that they can escape. The film also stars Hakeem Kae-Kazim (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as George Rutaganda, Nick Nolte (48 HRS) as Colonel Oliver, Fana Mokoena (World War Z) as General Bizimungu, Sophie Okonedo (After Earth) as Tatiana Rusesabagina, Antonio David Lyons (American History X) as Thomas Mirana, Joaquin Phoenix (Her) as Jack Daglish, David O’Hara (Braveheart) as David, and the film was directed by Terry George (In The Name Of The Father).

George Santayana once said, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” and quite sadly the man is correct. We have seen it time and time again throughout history and it’s very sad. In the 1940’s Adolf Hitler blamed all of Germany’s troubles on the Jewish Community and in Rwanda the Hutu’s did the same when they sought out to massacre millions of Tutsi’s which they did in 1994. The film has often been compared to 1994’s Schindler’s List due to the fact that Oscar Schindler protected hundreds of Jewish people from massacre like Paul Rusesabagina did in Rwanda with the Tutsi’s. One of the things that struck me as sad is that this was happening all over Africa whether it be in Liberia, Rwanda, or even Darfur. You see the struggle within the film that Paul goes through along with his family as they struggle to protect so many while trying to protect themselves. They risked their lives and basically were able to bribe their way to freedom. It’s sad when you see all the abandoned children due to the causality of the madness that ensued. The acting is superb and the movie is gripping, it is definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in real life stories. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.