Reviews

Het by Stephen King

tuckeralmengor's review against another edition

5.0

”For 27 years, I dreamt of you. I missed you. I craved you.”
-Pennywise, IT

Last night, I watched IT: Chapter 2. And holy sh*t, you guys. I did not expect the horror, sadness and raw emotion this movie gave me. I have so many thoughts and feelings to share so this review might will definitely be an unorganized blob of thoughts. It will still be fun, though.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REVIEW HEAD WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR IT: CHAPTER 2! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[Art by 800LBProductions]

I’d like to start at the beginning (a very good place to start). Those of you who’ve read the book will remember that the book opens with a murder. Two gays, Adrian and… I forget the other guys name. They kiss and then homophobia strikes. Adrian gets pushed off a bridge and eaten by Pennywise. It was extremely sad and slightly triggering. I was surprised at how much it affected me. I think it didn’t hurt as much when I read it for two reasons.
1). Back in December, I hadn’t accepted my sexuality yet.
2). Now that I have accepted and embraced my sexuality, I love seeing gay couples.
My heart is very ship-happy and so when I see two guys together my heart gets attached. This happened very quickly with Adrian and the Other-Guy-Whose-Name-I-Can’t-Remember and seeing the bullying and assault just made me feel so sad and helpless. I appreciate the scene because it was kind of a warning of what was to come. It shouted If you can’t handle this scene, get the f**k out

Now, we obviously have to talk about the scariness level of IT 2. On a scale from one to ten, IT 2 is a

Halfway through the movie, I went to use the bathroom and, after I finished washing my hands, I backed up to an automatic air dryer and it turned on. I jumped about a foot in the air. It scared me so bad. I was that jumpy. AND I DON’T GET SCARED. There is so much gore and violence but the worst part is the jump scares.


I really wanted to discuss the differences between the book and the movie because there were A LOT! Some were good and some were bad. The first one is the mythology behind IT and the Ritual of Chud. They greatly simplified it and made it seem less… weird. They completely cut out the giant turtle vomiting up the universe, though they did give it a nod in the first movie. The ritual also took place physically. As in the losers had to actually run around and fight whereas, in the book they just stood and battled It psychically. I was very relieved that they changed those details.

Another huge thing they changed was Richie. In the movie, it is never said but heavily implied that Richie is gay. Listen, I love to see those representations in movies and books BUT whoever decided to make Richie gay (I’ve heard rumors that it was Bill Hader, the actor who plays adult Richie) totally pulled a J.K. Rowling. I totally get that they were trying to make the movie a little more up to date but it (in my opinion) failed and completely rubbed me the wrong way.

Finally, I’d like to discuss the ending. It was surprisingly sappy. It wasn’t completely horrible. I really loved all the closure and positive themes they fit in.

Bottom Line:
5 Stars
Age Rating: [ R ]
Content Screening (Spoilers) - Educational Value (2/5) - [Teamwork] ~ Positive Messages - [Strength in numbers. Being proud of yourself.] ~ Violence (5/5) - [Attacks, limbs being bitten off, gore, Violent homophobia, physical and emotional abuse, suicide, creepy creatures, zombies] ~ Sex (2/5) - [Kissing scenes, sexual and crude jokes.] ~ Language (4/5) - [F**k, sh*t, b*tch, p*ssy, asshole, prick, damn, god and Jesus Christ] ~ Drinking/Drugs (3/5) - [Underage/of age smoking, drinking. Medicinal drugs but no illegal ones]
Content and Trigger Warnings: Suicide (character shown with bloody wrists), Homophobia, Gay character murdered, hypochondria, loss of friends/loved ones, depression, physical abuse, verbal abuse, extremely graphic gore and violence, jump scares, flashing lights (for those with photosensitivity), drowning, blood, spiders, zombies, mental hospitals, headless and decomposing bodies
Cover: 4/5 ~ Characters: 5/5 ~ Plot: 5/5 ~ Actors: 4/5
Release Date: September 6th, 2019 (fun little easter egg 9+0+6+2+0+1+9= 27)
Company: Warner Brothers
Genre: Horror/Fantasy

*************
[9/6/2019] - F*********KKKKKKKK THE MOVIE WAS SO GOOD AND SCARY AND SAD AND HAPPY AND AMAZINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO FULL OF EMOTIONS!!!!! HERE IS A PICTURE OF JAY RYAN'S ABS TO CALM US DOWN:

ahhh that's better

*************

[9/5/2019] - I found an adult (Thank you, thank youuuu, Ms. L!!!) I will be watching the movie tomorrow evening and I CANNOT EVEN! I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDDDD

*************

I have a dilemma... I want to see IT: Chapter 2... but I'm am not 17 so that means I need an adult to see an R rated movie (which is so dumb, imo)... THE STRUGGGLLLEE

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THE FINAL TRAILER HAS BEEN RELEASED TO THE WORLD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhJ5P7Up3jA

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Just finished the movie. Holy sh*t! It was amazing. I am so excited for It: Chapter Two

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Found this online! It's so hilarious:


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IT: Chapter 2 trailer has dropped!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUopiAYdRg


*************

We all float down here.

I take back everything I said about Stephen King being overrated. This book a masterpiece of not only horror but also coming of age and science fiction.

Even so, it was really challenging for me to listen to this because of the way it was told. That is; Then and now style. Except unlike the usual T&N style, you aren't told when is then and when is now. You just had to figure it out which was really frustrating.

I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't know the full story of IT. You see, I was too afraid to actually read the book so I read the plot in Wikipedia. Little did I know, that I read the plot of IT (2017) so I didn't actually get the full story because IT (2017) is only the first segment of the story. IT: Chapter two will be coming out in 2019!


The Characters:
I feel like Bill was the leader. Even though that was never said out loud, it was heavily implied. He was probably my favorite of the Loser's club.
Eddie is a bit like me in the aspect of health issues. While I'm not a hypochondriac, I still could empathize with his mental illness. Every time he stood up for himself, I cheered!

Spoiler

And so I was so heartbroken when he was killed by IT

At first, I thought Richie had theatre's because of all the voices he kept spurting out but then I realized that was just part of his personality.
I felt like Stanley was barely there and so I honestly don't have anything to say about him.
Beverly was obsessed over by all the boys. they all had a crush on her which was awkward.
I'm glad Ben was included in spite of his size. It's nice to know that there 's some humanity in the 50's (I say this because the racism and hate was almost too much to bare)
I'm glad that there was a POC character as that's not something I usually see in King's work. I just wish Mike had been more included in the story. I felt like he was always in the background.

The idea of IT is terrifying. I mean a being that appears to you as your worst fear and then kills you?! Eek! I have to admit after seeing a few big chunks of the movie, I was very freaked out. But my biggest concern wasn't being killed; It was that I didn't know what my biggest fear was. And if I didn't know, how would Pennywise kill me? (I know; I'm worrying about how a psycho clown can't kill me. I need help.) Seriously though. All my biggest fears are abstract things. Being alone. Being hated. Fire. Okay, Pennywise could appear to me as fire. Maybe.

The mythology of IT was absolutely crazy. Like, was Stephen King high when he wrote this???

Anyway, if your like me, then you probably had know idea what the **** was going on. And so, I will explain everything. Your welcome.

Explanation of IT (Spoilers ahead... Duh.):
First the basic run down of the plot:
George gets eaten.
Time passes.
Each of the losers club has a interaction with IT.
They band together to discuss IT.
They scare IT away.
TIME PASSES (AGAIN)
The losers club comes back to Derry as adults.
They AGAIN get confronted by IT.
They defeat IT using the Ritual of Chüd. (More on that in a second)
And now: The lore of IT.
IT is an entity from the Macroverse, a universe surrounding ours (the microverse.) IT feeds on people's fear. It turns into a person's fear and then kills him using the dead lights, IT's true form. IT can only be defeated through the Ritual of Chüd, a psychic battle.

I hope that helps. Comment if you have any questions about the lore of IT.

Bottom Line:
5 Stars: Wow.
Age Recommendation: 15+ (Contrary to popular belief, this book isn't THAT scary. Just violent and sexual)
TW: Gore, domestic abuse
Cover: 4/5 ~ Plot: 4/5 ~ Characters: 5/5 ~ Audio: 4/5
Genre: Horror
Publication Date: September 15th, 1986
Publisher: Viking (Penguin Random House)
Standalone: Yes
Best Format: Audio/eBook

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pauline1512's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ravina_b's review against another edition

3.0

He had me in the first half

veerlebotter's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

rann_n_30's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

cedrisc's review against another edition

DNF - thought it would be like the movie, but I think the author just likes to shock. I didn't like the gay bashing/murder theme at the beginning. I know it was the time, but I don't want to read it.

cekisha's review against another edition

4.0

Stephen King really knows how to write a great horror story, the characters are lovely, the history of the town, the first murders committed by the crazy alien clown etc. BUT it seems that King's weakest point is how to end his books, and I am not the one only one who agrees on this.

I enjoyed this book, but the ending and the famous child gang bang ruined almost the whole book for me, I mean what the hell? They are like 12-year-old kids, and six boys have sex with one girl (who at least was the one who kept urging them on), and only for the sake of "bonding" and connecting past to the future?! This man has a problem with sex scenes, that is what I know. Not only that I had been disturbed by many rape scenes in his books, but this one screams ''creepy'' at me all over!

jeanstromberg's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bookishb03's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

explodingalice's review against another edition

5.0

Twenty-six years after this book was published, and probably 23 or so since I read it the first time, I was a little nervous to read it again, for two reasons. One, I've seen the made-for-TV movie several times and I was afraid that the differences would be overly apparent. Two, as much as I loved everything King wrote when I was a teen, everything new of his that I've read in the past 5-10 years has been mediocre at best to me. I felt like there was a King "formula" and that everything was predictable and in the same voice. I was afraid that this old favorite would end up a disappointment.

I was wrong. There is so much to this book, so many scenes and characters and plot points that I had completely forgotten over time. Even in the places where King's standard voice comes through, it steel feels fresh. I whipped through this book and enjoyed every minute - it was at turns creepy, disturbing, horrifying, hopeful, funny, and wonderful. It actually makes me want to go back and read ALL of his books that I loved during that phase of my life!