The IT horror movie series was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise saturated genre. Based on the characters written by Stephen King, the films are now getting a prequel series backed by HBO. The creators Jason Fuchs, Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti have brought back actor Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise with Joshua Odjick at the centre of the narrative. Much to the producer’s delight, the show has received incredibly positive reviews before its release on October 26.
According to Rotten Tomatoes’ ‘tomatometer’, the series received an average rating of 80%, which is likely to rise in the days post its release. Variety’s Aramide Tinubu wrote that Welcome to Derry is “a masterfully woven and terrifying tale about the origins of the monstrous Pennywise the Clown. The show may be set in the past, but its themes have never echoed louder than today.”
James Mottram of NME gave the series 4/5 stars and said, “Welcome To Derry can best be described as precision-tooled prestige horror. So much so that when you see Pennywise’s notorious red balloon for the first time, you’ll get a shiver down your spine.”
However, some believed that the series didn’t live up to the initial feeling of horror built by the movies. Emma Kiely of the Collider wrote, “In Welcome to Derry, with so many different characters, that dread that should be pulsing through the narrative feels fragmented and neutered. The series never proves gripping enough to fill you with the desire to keep watching.”
But the reviews that don’t think Welcome to Derry is all that great aren’t calling it a bad production either. So with only one out of five reviews calling out the troubles within the narrative, the overall sentiment around the project remains positive.
The cast of the series includes Bill Skarsgård, Joshua Odjick, Mikkal Karim Fidler, Jack Molloy Legault, Amanda Christine, Jovan Adepo, and Clara Stack. The show will premiere on HBO Max on October 26 and stream on JioHotstar from October 27.
