On Nov. 28, the Student Entertainment Committee showcased the movie “IT” for free at Quinn Hall. The URI SEC “plans and manages events for the students here on campus,” said the Special Events President, Jennifer Roth.
When asked upon showing this classic horror film, Jennifer said “Many people have favorited and raved on this film. On top of that, we thought it would be different and satisfying to students that were into the thriller genres. We try to incorporate all interests and opinions of the students at URI.”
At 7 p.m. students filled Quinn Hall’s auditorium to feast on the intense, high rating film. Before the movie began, the organization provided red-bull and candy to enlighten the eerie mood.
The film started out with the classic scene of yellow-jacketed Georgie frolicking in the rain, chasing his paper boat. The boat then falls down the drain and in to the hands of Pennywise the Clown. The encounter between Georgie and Pennywise is best described as playfully creepy, as the clown manipulates its way in imprisoning the innocent boy.
The disappearance of Georgie sparks an increase in other children to go missing. Due to this, an implicated group of boys decide to investigate the rumors of the barrens. While they try to investigate, each child experiences some sort of bullying that disrupts their adventures.
The types of bullying the children experience include: cutting, punching, pushing, teasing, spitting and sexual harassment. Although the bullying does slow down their adventures, the group never loses track of their goal. Throughout the movie, the clown feeds on each child’s fear and desire. Pennywise does this by transforming into a distorted subject of a painting, disfigured leper who hangs around an abandoned house, geyser of blood bursting from a bathroom sink and real people the children know.
Symbolically, the bullying and the killings from the barrens all connect to this theory of comical fears. It’s difficult to work comedy into a horror film, but the comical relief encompasses a sense of reality to the story. Oddly, the clown is able to stimulate laughter within the audience, but then transpires it into fear. Since the movie is able to create a messed-up atmosphere, it delivers intense terror successfully.