A horror sci-fi miniseries these days is as rare as moon rocks, as far and few between as known inhabited planets. And make no mistake, It is a humdinger, one big kicky ride thanks to the charismatic acting of Curry as savage, sneering malevolence. Moreover, the work of Reid, Anderson, Christopher, Ritter, Thomas, O'Toole and Masur make It a sensational horror show.

A true horror story, possibly the most successful horror story ever made for television, a medium hostile to sustaining belief in the unbelievable. The four-hour miniseries is a bit too long, and the ending doesn't live up to what has gone before, but this Stephen King story is gripping, fascinating, well-acted and superbly produced. [18 Nov 1990, p.5]

The four-hour package makes an eerie supernatural tale, spiced with substantial good-versus-evil subtext and musings on the power of friendship. Screenwriters Lawrence D. Cohen and Tommy Lee Wallace are true to the book`s spirit, and Wallace`s direction is snappy. They treat King`s gifts with respect. One of the best is his way of transforming the most ordinary items into images and instruments of terror.

Pennywise is no sweetheart. Yet this is a story that’s icky, not scary. And when you finally do get a look at the evil force in its natural state, well c’mon! Now, the monster in “Alien” was a load. But this clanky klutz? Please! The performances here, especially Thomas as the stuttering horror novelist Bill, are very good. And director Tommy Lee Wallace nicely mixes realities, artfully using his flashbacks to establish Pennywise and repeatedly return “It” to its 1960 roots.

Offers some deliciously shocking moments, several sequences when you may want to remind yourself: "This is not real. [17 Nov 1990, p.C-9]

In addition to It‘s slow pace, I found the ending a big letdown — unimaginative special effects animate the monster in its final incarnation. But the cast is terrific, Curry’s cackle is chilling, and King’s usual buried theme — about the pain adults inflict on children without even realizing it (It?) — is always worth pondering.

If Twin Peaks is a midnight movie for prime-time, then Stephen King's It is the miniseries equivalent of those Saturday-matinee shockers that merrily warped a generation before Freddie and Jason began staking their more graphic turf...None of the big moments, especially the limp climax, are as nerve-wracking as the plentiful incidental spooks along the way. Accept It on its own popcorn-munching terms, and keep the lights on high. [16 Nov 1990, p.1D]

One of the most remarkable book adaptions I've ever seen. While it's not likely that everything from the book made it into to the movie, this mini-series feels like a complete tale all on it's own. I never felt like I was missing something. As a result what I watched stood out as one of the most fascinating works of horror I have ever watched. Part of what makes Stephen King's It so great is that it's so much more than a horror story. It's a tale about friends coming together to (literally) face the demons of their past. Themes like overcoming fear, the influence childhood experiences have on who you become, and many more make this such a compelling story. The characters are well-realized and layered. It's just as emotional as it is scary. The horror element of this mini-series is also on point. There's just so much freaky crap happening. The sense of imagination here is incredible. Tim Curry's work as Pennywise is iconic for a reason. He makes genuinely unsettling and real. The way "It" is able to bend reality to it's will and manipulate the characters is genuinely terrifying in a way few other works of horror have ever been able to achieve. They simply don't make them like this anymore. Stephen King's twisted vision might not entirely capture the essence and events of the book (I really can't say for sure as I have not read it), but what's here is a complete, masterfully created, and twisted horror vision that needs to be experienced. It's an outright masterpiece that's earned it's name as a classic piece of horror. It gives us one of the most terrifying villains in horror history that's backed up by an incredible performance by Tim Curry. All of which is supported by all around excellence in every other department as well. It is nothing less than a must watch.

The best Stephen King without a doubt. At first I was scared to watch it, but as I got older the dialouge made more sense and the storyline was very well thought through. Deffinitely a movie to watch with a group of friends instead of alone.

While I wouldn't say this is overall a good movie, Tim Curry's iconic, and at times, frightening performance as Pennywise, the good acting and sense of friendship from the kids and some very famous moments, (albeit for good and bad reasons) make this adaptation an intriguing and somewhat fun watch. Even if the ending is a little bit of a letdown and it can sometimes drag. The book is still way better though as is often the case with King.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I remember reading the original novel, and it was really, really good. It was well over a thousand pages, one of the few epics of the horror genre. However, when I saw the television show, I was... less than pleased. The show ran for 189 minutes, just over three hours, and so it's to be expected that they couldn't condense the entire book into those three hours. I can also understand that they were unable to make a television series out of the novel. However, the performances could be better. The story feels jumbled and disjointed, and it feels like they just took the main plot elements and threw them in. The acting and effects are cheesy and, since it's a television movie, they were unable to throw in the more violent aspects of what was an extremely violent novel. However, this film does have one saving grace, and that's Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. He pulls of something that very few horror movie actors have in recent times, or ever have. Pennywise is actually freaking terrifying. However, this film has a jumbled and abrupt plot, silly and cheesy dialogue and effects and extremely average acting (mostly), so it's not as brilliant as I would have hoped.