It!

So you think that you've heard of every film called It, huh? I thought so, too. Until, that is, I smoked out a cheeky British import from 1967 with the same title. It! (you can't forget the exclamation point) concerns a killer statue. This isn't just any statue, though; it's a golem, a decoction of Jewish folklore. Am I ringing any bells? The term should be familiar to horror buffs. 1920's Der Golem, a silent classic of the "German Expressionism" variety, centers around such a figure. At first, I thought that It! was a remake, but aside from the obvious, it has nothing in common with said classic. No, this is a different beast altogether.

An enthusiastically hammy Roddy McDowall plays Pimm, an eager upstart who oversees a museum exhibit displaying a peculiar statue. His boss - the curator - died a mysterious death in the vicinity of the statue, and Pimm doesn't rule out the possibility that the titular object had something to do with it. That's just the tip of the iceberg. It! is the kind of film that you want to see without prior knowledge of every plot detail, so I'll shut my trap. McDowall's performance is delightfully over-the-top. Pimm is a petulant brat, and I like the fact that he alternates between "unfeeling bedlamite" and "sophomoric boob." Regrettably, he is the only layered character in attendance.

The golem itself is rad. A monster movie needs a cool monster, and this monster happens to be really, really cool. Luckily, we don't have to wait until the climax to see it in action. Don't let the release date fool you; It! feels like it was forged in the mid-50's. Writer/director Herbert J. Leder mirrored this creature feature after the Hammer hits of the day. It definitely shows. I can't say that It! is structurally sound in all areas of interest. There are quite a few plot holes, and the ending doesn't make a lick of sense (the golem was parched, I guess). In conclusion, It! rates higher than the Stephen King mini-series while falling short of The Terror From Beyond Space.

I don't have much else to say about It! I do enjoy typing It! Okay, that's It! I'm done.