The lights slowly dimmed at the Rosemount AMC theatre. Immediately I started getting a little antsy in my seat and the movie hadn’t even started yet. “Why did I come to a rated R movie?” and “Why did I let my friends force me into this?” were questions that filtered through my head. Looking at the nine friends sitting down the entire front row with me, I could see everyone was feeling something different. Some smiling at the previews, others scared (me) of the feature to come, but we were all ready to take on the movie “It” together. Quickly the screen switched to a little boy and his brother attempting to make a paper boat. Georgie, the younger boy, seen in a yellow raincoat, ran out into the pouring rain to see if the boat was seaworthy.

Chasing his boat beside the tiny river that had formed on the curb, it eventually got swallowed into the gutter. On hands and knees he slowly reached for the boat, only to see a clown arise from the depths of the darkness. From there Pennywise, the clown, and Georgie had a chat about floating together forever. Their conversation continued, and sadly Georgie didn’t make it home. Bill, Georgie’s older brother, decides to take action and assembles an unstoppable group of eight. Together, they attempt to uncover the truth behind the repeating incidents of kids in their town disappearing. Even though it sounds simple, the movie had the ability to crawl under your skin.

Starting off friendly was only a way to make us feel partially safe. Gradually, as the movie continued, that feeling of being comfortable started chipping away. Each scene got more  intense, leaving my heart beating faster and faster each time. Being my first scary movie, I liked the fact that it was freaky in a whole new way.

Turnouts for the movie exceeded expectations, making $189.7 million dollars, according to Fansided on September 12th, in its first weekend. One thing that the regular horror movie fans may not enjoy is the quality of the animations. Personally, I liked the fact that it left me afraid, yet I knew it wasn’t real. During the movie, staring at the screen with the lights out did really have me completely submerged in the story. Though it was believable, falling asleep that night was effortless. Also the actors played their parts beautifully, truly making the friendship look unbreakable.

Walking out of the theatre and into the dark parking lot, I was satisfied. The questions that popped into my head during the previews didn’t even cross my mind and the car ride home was gone in an instant. Each of us discussed our favorite parts not leaving the car silent for a second. Ryan Schlichting shared, “My favorite part was when I had to go to the bathroom, so I started crawling along the front row (and in hindsight I shouldn’t have crawled but I did) and I scared the crap out of the people sitting next to us. They started freaking out cause they didn’t know what I was.”

After this, who knows, maybe I’ll go see more horror movies in the future. That amazing feeling of my heart racing was priceless, and I learned from Ryan never to crawl through the theatre. All I know is I’m glad my friends made me go see “It”. It is pretty cool that a movie about a clown can prove anything that is terrifying is easier with friends by your side.