I don’t know why this one didn’t work so well twenty years ago. Lawrence Kasdan (!) directs from a script he wrote with William Goldman (!), based on a novel by Stephen King (!) , a score by James Newton Howard (!) and a top-notch cast; Damian Lewis, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant, Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore, and Donnie Wahlberg. This should have worked like gangbusters.

As of this writing, I haven’t read the novel yet, though it’s moved up on my to be read pile. I remember drifting in and out of the film when I took it home from work, but this time out, I gave my due attention to it.

It works. This thing is a solid film, and I think it’s rather underrated. The ending is a little shaky, not helped by the VFX, but it makes sense within the context of the universe it’s told in.

Four friends who grew up in Derry, Maine, between risings of It, befriend a special young boy, who gifts them with abilities, including telepathy, in preparation for a future that he sees coming their way.

Jonesy (Lewis), Henry (Jane), Beaver (Lee) and Pete (Olyphant) are off to their cabin for a weekend getaway. But things go wrong very quickly as this is the weekend when everything changes. It seems an alien incursion of horrific parasitic aliens is underway, and the friends are right in its path.

Colonel Curtis (Freeman) and Owen (Sizemore) are part of a special military group who have deal with these incursions before, but time is running out, and one of the aliens has taken over Jonesy.

I really quite enjoyed this one this time out. The body horror stuff walks a thin line, because juvenile humour would dictate we laugh at it, but thinking about it is truly terrifying.

Jonesy is being kept alive by a being that is referred to as Mr. Gray. It’s using him for transport, and while Jonesy hides in his memories he tries to find a way to fight back, and keep the secret of his childhood friend Duddits (Wahlberg) secret.

There are some really great sequences, and both Goldman and Kasdan have a handle on King’s writing and storytelling style. And I love this cast!

I’ll be honest, this time out, I really liked this one. Sure the visual effects at the climax could have been stronger, they were strong throughout the rest of the film, and that definitely detracted from it, ruining the suspension of disbelief, but the rest of it is solid.

I dug it, I enjoyed the performances, Lewis has always been a favorite, and I enjoyed the execution of the story. I don’t think this one was as bad as people thought at the time. It’s definitely worth a rewatch.

And now, of course, I have to go back to the source material to see what I think of that.