Easily the least hyped of 2017’s top-grossing films, It provides an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel. Set in 1988, strange events affect the small, quiet town of Derry, Maine, as more and more young children go missing.

The plot basically follows the exploits of seven kids - six boys and one girl - who call themselves the “Losers Club”. Nerdy outcasts, the horror that affects the town – and their social status – brings them together and creates a bond.

Each one of them experiences grisly hallucinations at the hands of a sadistic clown known only as Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). While the gang keeps their visions a secret from one another for some length of time, they realize that they all went through the same thing. All of this eventually leads toward a confrontation with Pennywise.

King’s book received its first adaptation back in 1990, as It became a two-part TV movie. That leads to one notable difference between the two: the graphic nature of the material.

Even by the looser standards of 2018, a network TV take on the novel can’t boast the freedom enjoyed by an “R”-rated movie. As such, the 2017 It can go down a more violent, darker path than the 1990 TV edition could.

That’s one reason I expected better things from the 2017 It - but not the only positive factor. Though I know it enjoys some form of fanbase, I don’t think the 1990 It works very well, as it seems fairly toothless.

Another change: the scope of the project, for the 2017 It essentially goes with just half of the original story. The TV version followed the novel and took place in two periods: the childhood of the protagonists and then their adult years.

With a sequel on the way, we’ll see the “adult” side before long, but the 2017 film sticks entirely with the kids. That seems fine with me, as these parts of the story feel most appealing.

At least that was the case with the 1990 version. It didn’t offer a lot of pleasures, but whatever success it enjoyed came from the parts set in the characters’ youths.

Given all these potential positives, the 2017 It should become a total winner – but it doesn’t quite get there. Despite an occasional effective moment, the movie lacks a whole lot of real impact.

Put simply, It gives us a horror film without much in terms of actual scares. Granted, not ever tale in this genre needs to evoke big “frights” – I’m just as happy with flicks that stick with a general feeling of foreboding and dread.

It fares a bit better in that regard, but the film still fails to find its feet. Despite the dark subject matter and the potential for moody terror, the movie tends to come across like a horror movie in desperate search of actual horror.

The young actors do fine in their parts – God knows the cast improves over the TV talent from the original – and Skarsgård manages a fairly infectious turn as Pennywise. In a twist, he actually seems less effective than Tim Curry’s TV version – Curry was the 1990 movie’s sole highlight - but Skarsgård still adds a creepy demeanor that works.

And for whatever it may lack, the 2017 does fare better than the 1990 TV edition, but that may fall into the “damning with faint praise” domain. Though not a bad movie, It tends to feel sluggish and without much real passion, factors that turn it into a slow ride that fails to deliver a great payoff.

It appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. I felt very impressed with this terrific visual presentation.

Definition excelled, as the movie always came across with tight, accurate material. Even in the many dimly-lit sequences, the image stayed taut and distinctive.

Jagged edges and moiré effects didn’t mar the presentation, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to appear.

In terms of palette, It went with a standard orange and teal orientation – one that emphasized the blue side of things. Within stylistic choices, the hues seemed well-depicted and brought out vivid tones.

Blacks were dark and dense, and shadows gave us good clarity. I felt exceedingly pleased with this transfer.

As for the Dolby Atmos audio, it offered a mostly typical horror movie soundscape. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, this meant a fair amount of creepy atmosphere and occasional “jolt moments”.

Along with good stereo music, the soundfield was able to open things up in a satisfying manner that embellished the story. We got a good sense of rain and other natural elements along with a useful sense of the spooky elements, with some – like an explosion of blood – that worked really well.

Audio quality was always good. Music appeared full and rich, while effects demonstrated nice clarity and accuracy. Low-end appeared deep and rich.

Speech was natural and distinctive throughout the film. The mix used the speakers well and created a fine sense of the material.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both sported the same Dolby Atmos track, so audio remained identical.

Visuals showed moderate improvements, though, as the 4K seemed better defined, and it also showed richer colors and deeper blacks. While the Blu-ray looked very good, the 4K was even stronger.

No extras appear on the 4K UHD disc, but the included Blu-ray copy provides some materials. We get three featurettes, and these start with Pennywise Lives!, a 16-minute, 25-second show that includes comments from producers Barbara Muschietti and Seth Grahame-Smith, director Andy Muschietti and actors Bill Skarsgård, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jeremy Ray Taylor and Chosen Jacobs.

“Lives” examines aspects of the Pennywise character as well as Skarsgård’s performance. I feared “Lives” would be little more than happy talk, but it delivers a fair amount of substance.

The Losers’ Club lasts 15 minutes, 42 seconds and offers notes from Grazer, Taylor, Jacobs, Wolfhard, Andy Muschietti, Oleff, Barbara Muschietti, performance coach Benjamin Perkins, and actors Sophia Lillis and Jaeden Lieberher. “Club” discusses the young actors and their roles. While “Lives” exceeds expectations, “Club” mostly seems fluffy.

Finally, the 13-minute, 51-second Author of Fear includes info from author Stephen King. He gets into aspects of his source novel in this informative, engaging chat.

11 Deleted Scenes occupy a total of 15 minutes, 18 seconds. Most of these add a bit more exposition to the kids and some secondary parts.

This means they flesh out matters to a minor degree, but they don’t manage to contribute anything of real significance. I do like the “gag” version of Georgie’s meeting with Pennywise, though – it’s surprisingly funny.

The Blu-ray opens with ads for Annabelle: Creation and the Fantastic Beasts “Virtual Reality Experience”. No trailer for It appears here.

A major success, I admit I can’t figure out why It resonated with audiences. While the source boasts potential, the film adaptation seems fairly trite and without real inspiration. The 4K UHD offers excellent picture as well as very good audio and a smattering of bonus materials. Maybe the second chapter of It will work better, but part one leaves me cold much of the time.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of IT