How would you feel if you were being taunted with the echoes of your name coming from the sewage system? That voice and the accompanying glowing eyes staring at seven kids would become each individual’s worst fear in the Sept. 8 release of “It.”

The group of young friends comes together to battle a demon that takes the form of a creepy clown. This is the plot of Warner Bros. “It,” an  R-rated film directed by Andy Muschietti.  Rotten Tomatoes stated,“‘It’ is a well acted film with an emotionally affecting story at its core. ‘It’ amplifies the horror in Stephen King’s classic 1986 story without losing touch at its heart.”

WJ students expressed mixed emotions in classrooms and the Commons as they talked about the new movie. Some reviewers described “It” as everyone’s worst nightmare. However, many students were left unimpressed. “‘It’ was very disappointing in its entirety. The special effects were not believable, and it was not the horror movie I expected,” offered senior Chrissy Ferfolia. Nick Labbe,’19, agreed,“The movie ‘It’ just didn’t do it for me. It was deceiving in its scariness, and it was not a movie I would be eager to see again.”

Numerous students shared their confusion after seeing the movie. Senior movie-goer Jillian Reich was one of them.“‘It kept me on my toes at all times. Some of the parts were terrifying while others were very friendly. There were many laughable moments; however, I spent a lot of the movie being confused because so many different things were going on in one scene.”

Director Andy Muschietti was tasked with the laborious challenge of taking something as beloved as Stephen King’s “It” and putting a modern spin on the novel as he adapted it to film. Entertainment Weekly said, “Beyond killer clowns ‘It’ also delves into the grief and anger kids feel when they realize those who should love and protect them do the opposite.”

On the other side of the spectrum, WJ Media Specialist Mr. Long enthusiastically commented,“‘It’ was well done, and I am usually pretty critical with movies. But ‘It’ kept me engaged through the characters. Also, as someone who isn’t afraid of clowns, I was shaken, thinking it was very morbid and disturbed.”

Although the movie has its fans, I was not impressed. I thought the film was very basic in its plot structure and lacked the haunting quality typical of Stephen King’s novels adapted to the cinema.