Stephen King’s ‘It’ Early Buzz: A Terrifying Movie With Heart, True To The Spirit Of The Book
Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema’s new adaptation of Stephen King’sItwon’t hit theaters untilSeptember 8th. But in an effort to kick off positive word of mouth, some critics have already seen the film from directorAndy Muschietti, and the first reactions have started to hit the web.
There aren’t any full reviews available yet, but the embargo on social media reactions has been lifted, and the early buzz is through the roof. This adaptation captures the spirit of Stephen King’s original book, assembles an incredible group of kids to play the Losers Club, and brings a terrifying new Pennywise to the screen. Check out the first Stephen King’sItearly buzz below.
Here’s the round-up of social media reactions from critics who have seen the movie:
I love the#ITMovie. It’s everything I wanted. Scary as shit, Skarsgard nails Pennywise, and the Losers are perfection.
— Haleigh Foutch (@HaleighFoutch)July 01, 2025
Just saw IT. Really well done. Cast were all great with some twisted visuals. Going to make a ton of money. Ready for the sequel tomorrow.pic.twitter.com/XYTEG39YCX
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty)June 08, 2025
#ITMovieis everything I hoped for & more. Has heart, laughs & TONS of incredible scares. Fell in love w/ The Losers. Didn’t want it to end.
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff)July 01, 2025
#ItMoviewas spooktacular. Great cast, surprisingly funny, and genuinely unnerving scares. You’ll still be freaked out when you get home. 🎈pic.twitter.com/n5EQpbk53N
— Dan Casey (@DanCasey)July 11, 2025
I can say I saw#ITtonight. And IT was great. Cast is excellent. And, yes, 🤡is scary! This will be a, ahem, monster at the box office.
— Jim Vejvoda (@JimVejvoda)June 20, 2025
IT was terrifying and hilarious and delightful, so we’re deciding to see how this thing goes.#ITMoviepic.twitter.com/FI6zuvki3h
— Terri Schwartz (@Terri_Schwartz)August 09, 2025
Happy to say#ITis an effectively scary & faithful adaptation of (half)@StephenKing’s novel. Walked out very satisfied.@ITMovieOfficial
— Eric Walkuski (@ericwalkuski)August 08, 2025
IT is creepy, bloody, super funny, adorably romantic and hands down among my favorite movies of the yearpic.twitter.com/tYpaNFHOsu
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis)August 20, 2025
#ITdefinitely captures frights of the novel whilst adding a new fears. Major set pieces are bone-chilling -even summons a splash of tears
— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle)August 25, 2025
IT makes me nostalgic for when I used to get scared by things because I don’t anymore. But man oh man, if you still do…
— Franchise Fred (@FranchiseFred)June 02, 2025
Saw#ITMovieI loved it.
Then took trash out in my empty, dark, stairwell…
SHIT FREAKED ME OUT CAUSE THAT MOVIE SCARED ME LIKE FOR REAL
— Mark E Reilly (@ReillyAround)July 26, 2025
Just finished watching#ITmovieWow! Incredible!Scared me shitless!#itpic.twitter.com/pAg2gQQlx7
— Rama’s Screen (@RamasScreen)June 07, 2025
This is all overwhelmingly positive, but verify you keep your expectations in check. In fact, if you’re looking for a little more even-handed reaction, check out this thread from the first reaction above,from our our Chris Evangelista. While he loved the movie, he pointed out some flaws, such as using orchestral cues for jump scares a little too often, some unnecessary visual effects used for Pennywise here and there, and one moment involving one of the characters. But overall, he was still extremely satisfied.
These reactions also jibe with thefootage that I saw at San Diego Comic-Con. The studio didn’t go out of their way to scare us with a bunch of footage of Pennywise, but opted to show us how much chemistry and camaraderie there was between all of the kids playing the Losers Club. It looked like it was as much of a coming of age story as it was a horror movie, something that you usually don’t see in movies like this. Plus, with a longer running time than we’ve come to expect from horror movies, it’s clear there’s no hurry to just scare the audience and run through the story.
For more from Stephen King’sIt, be sure to check out ourreaction to footage from Comic-Con right here, and check out the mostrecently released theatrical trailer over here. Otherwise, we’ll be back with even more early buzz when the review embargo for the movie lifts on September 5.
This adaptation of Stephen King’sItstarsBill Skarsgård(Allegiant) as the horrifying Pennywise the Dancing Clown while the group of young misfits known as the Losers' Club is played byJaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Olef, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen JacobsandSophia Lillis.
MamadirectorAndy Muschiettiis at the helm of the feature produced byRoy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David KatzenbergandBarbara Muschiettiwith a screenplay fromChase Palmer & Cary FukunagaandGary Dauberman.
When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
