It was known for some time that Pennywise would return, and during Halloween week, it finally happened. The first episode of IT: Welcome to Derry premiered on HBO Max. But did it meet my expectations? It is well-known; in 1986, Stephen King's IT was released. A book about a demonic entity that goes on a murderous spree in the town of Derry (a place that appears in many of King's stories) and often takes the form of the sinister clown Pennywise. Every time it has killed enough, it goes into a hibernation lasting about 27 years, only to start the cycle anew.
A miniseries based on the book was made in 1990, featuring Tim Curry as Pennywise (which gave me quite a few sleepless nights as a 10/11-year-old boy), and in 2017 and 2019, a couple of films were made with Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. IT: Welcome to Derry is based on the book IT and serves as a prequel to that book and the films from 2017 and 2019.
When Matty (Miles Ekhardt) disappears, most people in Derry assume he is dead. However, at school, some classmates are not so sure about that. The group of 'outcasts' consisting of Teddy (Mikkal Karim Fidler), Phil (Jack Molloy Legault), and Lilly (Clara Stack) have their doubts, and when Lilly hears Matty's voice, they are convinced he is still alive. They set out to find him, aided by Ronnie (Amanda Christine), who was one of the last to see Matty.
Besides this quest, in the first episode, we see Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) arriving in Derry with his family from the Korean War. The series, however, is set in the 1960s, a period when racism was more the rule than the exception. So, not everyone is pleased with their arrival, and a warm welcome is certainly not in order.
The beauty is that there is an interesting contrast between these two storylines. The children find themselves in a supernatural horror setting from the very first moment, while the Hanlon family has (yet) no such experience. The horrors Leroy Hanlon faces are equally terrible but not of a supernatural nature. This fits well within the setting of IT, and it will be interesting to see how these storylines converge.
The pace during this first episode is high. Within a few minutes, I was fully drawn into the story, and the tone was immediately set. And that pace is well maintained throughout the rest of the episode. Without feeling rushed, the (horrific) events follow each other in quick succession.
The references to IT are, of course, there, making the whole feel familiar quite quickly. But there are enough other 'easter eggs' in it that many King fans will recognize. Moreover, the series creators dare (for now) to put their own spin on it. While the beginning of the episode feels very familiar due to a new impending battle between a 'losers club' and Pennywise, the creators seem to want to give the story a different twist as the episode progresses.
All in all, I really enjoyed the first episode of Welcome to Derry, and I am very curious about what the rest of the first season will bring us. What is clear, at least, is that it will be a delightful pure horror series. So, be prepared for some 'gore' and 'jump scares' in this episode and throughout the rest of the season.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
Great review, I recognize a lot of what you're saying. I also thought the first episode was surprisingly good, with a strong atmosphere and pacing right from the start. The way they set up the two storylines, with the children on one side and the Hanlon family on the other, really worked for me. I'm curious to see how the two storylines converge.
