Movie Review: Clown chiller 'It' is frightfully boring

Hot on the heels of the successful 1980s nostalgia of Netflix's Stranger Things comes Mama director Andy Muschietti and True Detective's Cory Fukunaga's adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 coulrophobic chiller It.

Those who are old enough may remember the less-than-acclaimed 1990 miniseries adaptation, but for those who don't this adaptation offers plenty of old-school, if not very subtly telegraphed chills to satisfy the demands of horror lovers.

Not being one, I'm biased against the film from the start, but it says something that even a fear-aphobe such as myself was eventually so bored by the overlong, all-over-the-place material that I managed to watch its last half hour with my eyes open, tapping my foot in hopes of its end.

WATCH the trailer for 'It'

In the town of Derry, Maine a maniacal clown called Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) terrorises and eats children during the summer months every 27 years.

This summer, however, Pennywise's feeding frenzy is challenged by a group of misfit kids who discover his dastardly plan and aim to bring it to an end.

Making use of far too much CGI and over-the-top blood-spilling, Muschietti guides the audience and his ragtag bunch of kids on a journey that soon becomes dull, uneven and way too long.

It's all very dutifully retold from the source material but once you get over the jitters and face the screen it becomes very easy to see where it's all going in spite of the fright factors.

It may be the sum of all fears but this It is just another predictable summer scary movie that will rake in the cash without leaving much else in its wake. The joke is, as always, on the audience.

• This article was originally published in The Times.