Derry, Maine – 1990
A young girl, Laurie Anne, rides up to her home on a tricycle. Her
mother, Mrs. Winterbarger, is bringing in the sheets and sees her daughter, and
calls her in. When she goes inside, Laurie Anne hears a man giggling and
calling to her from between the remaining sheets. The girl sees the man and
starts to approach him... A minute later, Mrs. Winterbarger comes out, sees
what's left of her daughter, and screams.
The police arrive and secure the murder
scene, and the local librarian, Mike Hanlon, comes by. He talks to the deputy,
Sam, who warns him that Chief Andrew Rademacher doesn't want him poking around
in the recent spate of murders and disappearances among Derry's children.
Unimpressed, Mike asks Sam what he has, and the deputy says that Laurie Anne's
body was torn up and no one saw what happened. Rademacher and comes over and
says that the other six children could have simply wandered away, but Mike
notes that at least two of them were too young to leave home. The librarian
insists that something is terribly wrong in Derry, but Rademacher tells him to
stick to running the library.
As Mike goes, he sees a photo laying on the yard and picks it up. It's an old
photo of a young boy that Mike recognizes. At his office that night, Mike makes
a journal entry talking about how the photo couldn't have been there. He
considers calling the "others," but worries that he may be
overreacting. Finally Mike takes out a small black book and starts dialing numbers.
Hampstead Heath, England
Horror writer Bill Denbrough is working on the screenplay for the
movie based on his novel. His wife, Audra, is starring in the movie that is
being filmed nearby. She calls him to supper and Bill finally breaks himself
away from his work. Audra argues that even in England he's still working, but
Bill insists that he has to keep the producers from ruining his work.
The phone ring and Bill takes the call: it's Mike. Bill has no idea for a
moment, but then remembers that they were childhood friends. As he
concentrates, Bill remembers himself, Mike, and five other children standing at
the side of the lake, vowing to return and kill It if it isn't dead. Mike isn't
surprised at Bill's amnesia, and tells him that It is back and left the photo
of Bill's younger brother Georgie at the new murder scene. Bill hangs up and
goes back to his study, telling Audra that it was a wrong number. Once he's
alone, Bill starts to remember what happened in 1960.
Derry, 1960
Bill is home sick with the flu during a storm and his brother Georgie
comes in and asks him for a story. Bill starts to tell him to get lost, but
then gives his brother a newspaper boat. Stuttering, he tells Georgie to go to
the basement and get some paraffin so they can waterproof it. Georgie does so,
running quickly down the steps and up again out of fear of whatever is lurking
in the darkness. Once Bill waterproofs it, Georgie kisses him on the cheek and
starts to run out. Bill tells him to be careful. Outside, Georgie chases the
boat down as it floats on the rainwater streaming down the gutter. Before he
can stop it, the newspaper is swept down a gutter. Georgie starts to go, but
someone in the sewer calls to him. It's a clown, who offers Georgie a balloon.
When Georgie says he can't accept gifts from strangers, the clown introduces
himself as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Georgie starts to go but Pennywise
offers him the boat. When Georgie reaches for it, Pennywise bares fangs,
promises Georgie that he'll float in the sewers, and grabs his arm.
A few days later, Bill and his parents attend Georgie's funeral. Also present
are Bill's six friends. Afterward, Bill goes to his brother's room and looks at
Georgie's collection of old photos. He finally comes to a photo of Georgie,
which comes to life to him, smiles, and winks. Terrified, Bill throws the photo
album into a corner, but the pages flip open on their own and turn to the photo
of Georgie. Blood oozes out from beneath the photo and covers the floor. When
Bill screams, his parents hear him and enter the room. However, they can't see
or feel the blood, and Mr. Denbrough tells Bill never to enter Georgie's room
again.
1990
Bill realizes that he forgot Georgie's murder and the blood. He goes
out and tells Audra that he has to go Derry and that the producer, Greco, will
have to finish the script on his own. Bill explains that his friend Mike
called, and that Georgie didn't just die as a child but was murdered. Audra
wonders why he didn't mention it, and Bill explains that he didn't remember it
himself until Mike called. Stuttering for the first time in years, Bill
explains that he has to go back and keep his promise. Audra says that she's
going with him, and an increasingly desperate Bill makes her promise that
she'll stay far away from Derry before he leaves for the airport.
New York, New York
Architect Ben Hanscomb returns from an award ceremony with his newest
girlfriend Cyndi on his arm. They go into his warehouse apartment and start to
kiss, and Ben explains that he was incredibly fat as a boy. The phone rings and
Ben answers it and realizes that it's Mike, who he just now remembers. Mike
calls him "Haystack," and Ben immediately sobers up. He has a memory
flash of an older boy, Henry Bowers, pulling a knife on him in Derry. Mike tells
him that It has come back and asks if Ben will come back, and Ben says that he
will. He hangs up and pours himself a drink. When Cyndi wonders if he's going
to kill himself, Ben says it might be better if he did. He walks out on Cyndi
and drives to one of his buildings under construction, and takes the elevator
to the top floor to remember.
Derry, 1960
Ben and his mother Arlene arrive in Derry from Texas and Ben talks
about himself during his first day in class. With some prodding from the
teacher, Mrs. Douglas, Ben says that he likes reading books about ancient
civilizations. Henry Bower and his friends Patrick and Belch mock Ben from the
back of the class. As Ben goes to his desk, he notices a young girl, Beverly
Marsh, looking at him. He smiles at her and she smiles back. Henry keeps
insulting Ben until Mrs. Douglas puts him in detention for a week. Henry
complains that his father will beat him because he can't do chores after
school, but Mrs. Douglas points out he should have thought of that before. As
Henry goes to the principal's office, he tells Ben that he's dead. As class
ends, Mrs. Douglas tells the students to remember the curfew.
Outside, Ben looks around nervously for Henry and his friends, and Beverly
sneaks up on him. They talk briefly and two girls and make snide remarks about
Beverly and the fact her father is the school janitor. Beverly says goodbye to
Ben and goes. As Ben walks home, muttering Beverly's name over and over, Henry,
Belch, and Patrick ambush him on a bridge going over the Barrens, an overgrown
piece of forest on the outskirts of Derry. Patrick and Belch hold Ben, figuring
that henry just plans to beat him up. However, Henry draws a switchblade and
prepares to carve his name into Ben's stomach.
Yanking free, Ben kicks Henry in the groin and falls backward down a slope and
into the Barrens. Running, he finally takes refuge in a drain pipe. The three
bullies spot two boys, Bill and Eddie Kaspbrak, building a dam over the stream.
They kick it apart and ask if the boys have seen Ben. When Bill and Eddie
refuse to answer, Henry yanks away Eddie's asthma inhaler, giving Eddie a
stress-induced asthma attack. After they leave, Eddie discovers that his
inhaler is empty. Ben comes out from hiding and introduces himself, and offers
to stay with Eddie while Bill rides to the drugstore on his huge silver
Schwinn, nicknamed "Silver."
As Ben and Eddie wait, they talk about their fathers. Ben's died in the war
while Eddie's passed away from cancer. As Bill returns, Eddie tells Ben not to
make fun of Bill's stuttering, which has grown worse since Georgie was
murdered. Once Eddie is better, he and Bill invite Ben to come back the next
day and help with the dam. Ben instinctively knows how to build an effective
dam and says that he'll show them how, and they say that he can do it with
them.
Later at his Aunt Jean's house, Ben writes a haiku to Beverly on a postcard.
His cousin Bradley comes in and yanks it away, teasing him, and Ben hits him.
Aunt Jean see them fighting and blames Ben, and tells him that he and his
mother are only living there because she won't see her sister living in
poverty. Jean complains to Arlene, who tells Ben that they have no choice but
to stay with her. Ben insists that they wouldn't be living like poor relatives
if his father was alive, and runs off rather than apologizes.
Ben goes back to the Barrens and a lake next to a sewer plant. His father,
still wearing his Air Force uniform, appears while standing on the top of the
water. He tells Ben that he lives in the sewers and offers him a balloon from a
batch that suddenly appears in his hand. Orange pompoms appear on his jacket
and he tells Ben that he can come to the sewers and never have to grow up, and
that he'll float like all the other. Ben's father transforms into Pennywise,
laughs, and disappears, and a skeleton crawls out of the lake toward Ben. He
runs away as it tells him that he'll float.
1990
Ben can't remember anything at all for the moment. He drops his bottle
of booze to the sidewalk far below and pleads for the memories to stop.
Chicago, Illinois
Fashion designer Beverly Marsh is working with her boyfriend and
partner, Tom Rogan, when her secretary tells her that she has a call. Tom tells
the secretary that they're not to be interrupted and overrides Beverly when she
considers taking the call. He then assures his girlfriend that everything will
be fine and she needs to get control of herself for their imminent meeting with
the Japanese investors. As they go to meet them, Tom tells Beverly never to
contradict him again or else.
That night, Beverly and Tom return to their apartment to celebrate the
successful deal. After sex, Tom goes to get more champagne from the
refrigerator. The phone rings and Beverly answers it. It's Mike, who tells her
to brace herself. When Tom comes back, he discovers that Beverly is packing for
a trip. She tells him that she has to go to Maine and he slaps her, telling her
that she's forgotten her "lessons." He gets a belt from the closet
and prepares to beat her, but Beverly insists that she has to go to Maine. When
he comes after her, Beverly throws her cosmetic jars at him until she hits him
in the head and knocks him down. She tells Tom that she'll kill him if she ever
sees him again and then hails a taxi to the airport to catch a flight to Maine.
Derry, 1960
Beverly is at home when the doorbell rings. She answers it but only
finds a postcard with a haiku on it. Unaware that Ben is hiding in the bushes
nearby, Beverly takes it inside and starts to read it. Her father, Al Marsh,
yanks it away from her, reads it, and wonders if she's messing around with
boys. He slaps her and she runs out of the house, ignoring his screams to come
back. Ben follows her and offers to take her to the Barrens. Beverly accepts
and Ben introduces her to Eddie and Bill. She's smitten with Bill and vice
versa, upsetting Ben. Their other two friends, Richie Tozier and Stan Uris,
join them. Richie talks constantly and makes jokes, and Stan is quiet and
clean.
Ben directs them in building a proper dam and they soon have the stream backed
up and flooding the Barrens. Afterward, Ben and Bill walk Beverly home. Bill
rides off on his bicycle and Beverly looks after him. After Ben goes, Beverly
goes inside and prepares for bed, washing her face. A child's voice calls up to
her from the drain, asking for help. The girl says that the clown has them in
the sewers and she and all of the others float. The other children cry out, and
a balloon comes up out of the drain. It pops, showering Beverly and the room
with blood. She runs out of the room, screaming, and her father wonders if a
boy was peering in the window. Beverly takes him into the bathroom to show him
the blood, but she quickly realizes that her father can't see or feel it. She
tells him that she saw a spider and was scared, and he dismisses her concern.
Once he leaves, Pennywise calls from the drain and tells her and her friends to
stop give up or they'll die.
Great Neck, New York
After receiving Mike's call, Eddie Kaspbrak packs all of his numerous
medications. His mother demands to know where he's going and he insists that he
has to go back to Derry. Mrs. Kaspbrak says that there's nothing there for him,
but he ignores her and goes out to meet one of his limo company's rides. The
chauffeur, Joey, assures him that they have enough drivers lined up to cover
business. Eddie thanks him and they head to Penn Station.
Derry, 1960
The six friends are at the Paramount Theater in Derry, watching I
Was a Teenage Werewolf. They notice that Henry, Patrick, and Belch are
sitting below, but the bullies haven't noticed them. Beverly buries her head in
Ben's arm at the scary parts, much to his satisfaction. Eddie jerks at a scary
part and knocks his popcorn off the balcony rail onto to the bullies, who start
to come after them. Richie pours his pop on them and they all run out,
laughing. At the Barrens, they pass by the lake and the sewer plant, and then
go by Eddie's home. He admits that he doesn't want the summer to end because
it's been the best time of his life.
Mrs. Kaspbrak comes out and tells him that he won't be playing with them
anymore, and that Eddie doesn't friends when he has a caring mother. As she
takes him inside, Mrs. Kaspbrak tells her son that he won't be participating in
gym at school or taking any showers, to make sure that he doesn't catch
anything.
The next day at school, the coach insists that Eddie take a shower after gym.
The boy goes into the showers alone and turns on the water, but the shower
heads come to life and surround him, spraying hot water. Pennywise calls out
from the drain and then pulls the opening wide and climbs out. He tells Eddie
that he'll see him in his dreams. 1990 Eddie arrives at Penn
Station and takes the train to Derry.
Beverly Hills, California
Richie Tozier is finishing a standup routine on a TV talk show.
Backstage he celebrates with his friends and gets the call from Mike. Once he's
done, he tells his agent, Nat, that he's cancelling all of his engagements for
the foreseeable future and heading to Maine. Nat objects and warns that Richie
is writing off his career if he backs out of his commitments, but the comedian
doesn't care. Richie insists that he has to keep his promise. After Nat leaves,
Richie has a brief flash of a werewolf from his childhood and vomits into the
toilet. Once he finishes, he remembers the rest of the encounter.
Derry, 1960
Bill tells one of his fictional stories to his friends and they talk about what
they want to do when they grow up. Bill starts to tell them about what happened
with Georgie's photo album, but Officer Nell of the Derry Police arrives to
investigate reports that the sewers are backed up. Each of the six friends
tries to take the blame, but Nell tells them that there's been another death
and that if they play in the Barrens, they're to come together as a group and never
be caught alone.
The next day at school, Richie and Stan are getting food when Henry and his
friends corner them and demand to know who spilled the pop on them. Richie
refuses to talk, and Henry smears mashed potatoes on his glasses. Richie upsets
his tray on Henry and runs, and Henry slips on some of the mashed potatoes
chasing him. As the other students laugh at Henry, Richie runs into a teacher,
Mr. Gedreau. Gedreau sends him to find the janitor, Al Marsh, to come mop up
the mess. Richie goes to the boiler room to find Mr. Marsh but gets no
response. He finally sees someone moving behind the boilers, but the figure
emerges and reveals that it's the werewolf from the movie Richie was watching.
It grabs Richie, who yanks away and starts running. When he turns back, he sees
that it is Pennywise, who waves and bares his fangs and tells Richie to come
back anytime he wants. Richie runs up to the cafeteria and tries to tell the
students what happened, but the only ones who believe him are his five friends.
Derry, 1990
At his office at the Derry Library, Mike looks at a photo of himself
and the other six, and hopes that whatever protected the "Lucky Seven"
that summer is still present.
Derry, 1960
Mike gives a presentation to the class on the disasters which have occurred in
Derry over the centuries. Among them are the explosion at the Ironworks in 1930
during an Easter egg hunt, the destruction of the standpoint in 1900, and the
disappearance of the original 253 settlers shortly after the town's first
founding. Mike has a book of photos which he shows to the class. As he goes
home afterward, Henry and his gang ambush Mike and yank the album away. Henry
reminds Mike that he and his father have done everything they can to ruin the
Bowers farm, and prepares to put a lit firecracker in Mike's pants. When a
shopkeeper yells at Henry to stop, Mike takes advantage of the distraction,
grabs his album and his camera, and runs away.
The six friends are at the junkyard and have finally decided to tell each other
about their separate encounters with Pennywise. They realize that it takes on
the image of whatever they fear, and that once one of them sees it a certain
way, the others can see it that way as well. Stan hasn't had an encounter with
Pennywise, and insists that it's impossible for it to function as it does.
They hear Henry and the others chasing Mike, and Bill tells them to pick up
rocks as ammo. Mike climbs over a fence and gets inside the junkyard. Henry and
his friends arrive, and Henry tells the six friends that they can walk away for
now because Mike is the one he wants. He calls them the "Losers Club"
and goes for Mike, but Bill throws a rock at him. The other Losers open fire,
hitting Henry repeatedly. He throws rocks back and hits Beverly, and Ben goes
berserk, knocking the bully to the ground. Henry's friends run away and Bill
tells Henry that the six of them will put him in the hospital if he doesn't go.
Mike steps forward and says that there are seven of them now.
Henry runs off, promising to kill them the next time they meet. Mike thanks
them for their help and they invite him to join their Losers Club. When he
accepts, Mike takes the photo of the seven of them together. Afterward, Mike
shows them his collection of historical photos and posters. Pennywise is in all
of them, never changing. The album suddenly comes to life like Georgie's, and
it stops at a photo of a turn-of-the-century carnival. Pennywise is among the
circus performers, and runs up into the foreground of the photo. Climbing up a
lamp pole, he tells the Losers that he'll kill them all. His hand emerges from
the photo and Stan knocks the album to the ground. Hysterical, he can't bring
himself to accept what he saw is real. The others assure him that he's not
going insane, and Stan reluctantly accepts it because they want him to. When he
wonders who they can turn to, Bill warns that the adults can't see Pennywise
because they grew up. Crying, Bill begs his friends to help and the others hug him
and promise that they will.
Derry, 1990
Mike wakes up from a doze and sees muddy clown shoe prints on the floor of the
library. Turning, he sees a balloon floating right next to him. It pops and Pennywise's
laughter echoes out.
Atlanta, Georgia
Stan and his wife Patti are watching TV, and she mentions that her grandmother
is wondering when they're going to make her a grandmother. Stan sits down next
to her and they kiss, but the phone rings and Stan answers it. It's Mike, who
tells him that It has come back and asks if Stan will keep his promise. Stan
will only say that he'll consider it. After Mike hangs up, Stan says that he's
going to take an early bath. Stunned, he walks upstairs and remembers the past.
Derry, 1960
Stan and the others are at the Barrens. While he recites his Boy Scout oath to
hold onto his slipping sanity, the others take turns shooting at bottles with
Bill's slingshot. Beverly is clearly the best shot, hitting ten out of ten, and
they realize that it was meant to be. Richie has stolen a pair of his mother's
silver earrings and they plan to use them as ammunition. The seven Losers go to
the sewer plant and promise that they'll go in together and face It. Each of
them takes a shot of Eddie's inhaler, Stan last, and they go inside. Henry,
Belch, and Patrick watch from the bushes, and Henry vows that the Losers won't
come out alive.
The Losers find a tunnel leading down into the sewer and descend. Once they're
out of sight, Henry tells a reluctant Patrick to go on ahead and scare the kids
back toward him and Belch. When Patrick tries to back out rather than go alone,
Henry calls him chicken until he gives in.
Once they're in the tunnels, Ben finds an orange pompom and they wonder who is
tracking who. Eddie, who has an unfailing internal compass, leads them to the
center and Beverly takes point so she'll have a clear shot. Patrick is looking
for the Losers when a glowing light beneath the floor comes toward him. It
emerges, glowing with light, and Patrick screams in terror as it attacks him.
Stan trails behind the others and Henry and Belch grab him and haul him off to
a side tunnel. Henry starts flicking off shirt buttons with his switchblade and
then prepares to kill Stan. Before he can, a glowing white light comes toward
them through a wall pipe. It smashes through the pipe and lifts Belch up into
the air, pulling him backward into the much-too-narrow pipe. Stan runs away
while Henry stares in horror, his hair turning white.
The other Losers have found the central juncture of the sewers, and realize
that Stan is missing. He manages to find them and they join hands, forming a
circle. It soars over them in some vast indescribable form and then continues
into the sewers. Mist pours into the central chamber and the seven friends join
hands to avoid being separated and cut off. Bill tells the others to resist,
but hesitates when he hears Georgie call to him. Before he can run off, the
others tell him that it's another of It's illusions. Georgie disappears, but Al
Marsh calls out to his daughter. Richie insists that there's no one there, but
has to face his own horrors when were wolf claws grab his shoulders. He tells
the werewolf to get lost and the claws disappear.
Stan is still trying to hold onto his sanity in the face of the impossible,
reciting his Boy Scout's oath. He looks down and realizes that he's holding
Pennywise's hand. The clown slams Stan into the wall and demands that he give
into his fear, making his flesh that much sweeter. Beverly tries to shoot but
drops the earrings, and Pennywise bears Its fangs. Stepping forward, Eddie says
that his asthma medicine tastes like battery acid and sprays it into
Pennywise's face. Screaming, It falls back, Its face melting from the 'acid"
that Eddie believes exists.
Beverly finds the earring and shoots, cracking open a hole in Pennywise's head.
A bright white light shoots out, and a badly wounded Pennywise leaps over them
and slithers down a drain before Beverly can shoot the second earring. Bill
grabs the clown's hand and tries to keep it from escaping, but the hand
transforms into a tentacle and slithers free. As It shrieks in agony, fleeing
into the pipes, Bill says that they have to follow and make sure that it's
dying, but the others say that it has to be mortally wounded. Bill finally
gives in and leaves with the others. Before they go, Bill insists that they all
must swear that if It survives and comes back, that they'll all return to Derry
and finish the job. One by one, each of the others swears, Stan going last.
Atlanta, Georgia
When Stan doesn't come back, Patti goes upstairs with a beer to check on her
husband. She opens the door and finds Stan naked in the bathtub, his clothes
neatly folded on the chair. He has cut his wrists and written a single word on
the wall: "It."
Written by Gadfly on Mar 19, 2018