IT: Welcome to Derry Review
Just in time for Halloween, the highly anticipated prequel series, IT: Welcome to Derry, will make its premiere on Sunday, October 26 on HBO and HBO Max and fans of the Stephen King supernatural horror franchise are in for a treat.
Though Welcome to Derry is a television series, it certainly doesn’t feel like one given the cinematic experience it offers viewers. This is because it was created by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs who were also involved in 2017’s It and 2019’s It Chapter Two. The pilot episode even opens and ends in a movie theater – a nice nod to that cinematic feel.
In the opening scene, we see 12-year-old Matty (Miles Ekhardt) watching a film during the holiday season followed by him deciding to hitchhike his way out of Derry – it is alluded that he lives in a dysfunctional household. But the ride he gets ends up being a nightmare fueled one. It doesn’t take long for the series to firmly establish itself as a horror show. There is no shortage of gore, bizarreness, or terrifying scenes.
The series ultimately works because there are several storylines woven into one that will keep you invested. Within the first five episodes, we get to better understand each character and the history behind the mysterious horror that occurs in Derry.
A few months after Matty’s hitchhike ride from hell, we are introduced to his classmates Phil (Jack Molloy), Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), and Lilly (Clara Stack) who decide they need to team up to find him. Matty has been deemed by many as a runaway but after speaking with Ronnie (Amanda Christine) who works at the cinema Matty was last seen at, it is clear something sinister and seemingly unexplainable is going on.
Viewers are then taken to a U.S. Air Force base in Derry where we meet Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) who has moved to the town with his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige), and 12-year-old son, Will (Blake James). At the base, it is clear something is going on as Hanlon is asked to take part in a secret assignment. The details of this assignment carry over throughout the first five episodes and slowly get revealed.
One of the strongest aspects of the series is the lore behind the supernatural horror in Derry which is linked to an Indigenous tribe. As the episodes unfold, it becomes a bit clearer as to what just might be going on.
The downside to the series is that we won’t actually get to see Bill Skarsgård’s reprisal of his version of Pennywise from the 2017 and 2019 films until much later on. This does make sense since Pennywise is a shapeshifter who can take on infinite forms, and this series is a prequel. The slow build up to his appearance will hopefully pay off in the remaining three episodes.
IT: Welcome to Derry is an overall strong prequel series to an iconic franchise. Fans of both the horror genre and the It films will have a good time with it.
IT: Welcome to Derry premieres on Sunday, October 26 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. New episodes will drop weekly through December 14.
Rating: ★★★★½
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IT: Welcome to Derry Review