Andy Muschietti’s two movies did a fantastic job of bringing Stephen King’s ‘It’ to life for today’s viewers. Now, the story continues with a new prequel series. So far, the series offers a compelling look at how Pennywise came to be, and the history of the town where the story takes place.
Even if you accept the show’s basic idea, its scares haven’t resonated with everyone, and even dedicated Stephen King fans have noticed. The series is gaining a reputation for relying heavily on computer-generated imagery (CGI) for its scares, falling into a frustrating pattern in horror and TV where CGI is overused when practical effects would be more effective.
Welcome to Derry‘s Effects Undermine the Terror
The tone of the IT franchise has always been noteworthy. Both IT: Chapter One and IT: Welcome to Derry quickly create a sense of unease. However, a recurring issue – perhaps stemming from the character of Pennywise – is that constant fear can become numbing. In Welcome to Derry, this happens surprisingly quickly, right from the start, due to its reliance on CGI.
The story then moves to a famously awkward graveyard scene, starting with a statue of Jesus that unsettlingly resembles the clown Pennywise. This leads to a chaotic sequence of the main characters biking in front of a clearly artificial backdrop, either shouting into the void or attempting to escape obviously fake ghosts. Like the poorly-rendered demon baby from an earlier episode, and before a full-on monstrous appearance by Pennywise, this scene highlights how much better real, practical effects are.
Practical effects feel more convincing when used sparingly, as seen in shows like Midnight Mass and Fallout, where they’re only added to truly elevate a moment or character. In contrast, Welcome to Derry relies too heavily on CGI, which makes it difficult to feel genuinely scared when characters are fleeing from poorly rendered monsters in brightly lit, unrealistic scenes.
Looking back, ‘Welcome to Derry’ had the potential to be truly frightening. While it could have learned from other successful shows, it ultimately highlights how important practical effects are for genre television – and in this case, they might be its biggest weakness. It’s simpler to create monsters digitally after filming, but the result just doesn’t have the same power.
Modern Genre TV Deserves Better Than Welcome to Derry
Viewers are perceptive and quickly notice when something isn’t quite right. While the acting and writing in Welcome to Derry are solid and effectively build on the existing story, the show struggles with its attempts at creating scares. Many scenes simply don’t look convincing, and the show would greatly benefit from using more practical effects – for example, in the carnival scenes and the frightening theater massacre in the first episode.
Today’s popular TV shows often feature fantasy and science fiction, and shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are more convincing when they use real-world effects. For example, creating orcs with makeup and prosthetics feels more realistic than relying solely on computer-generated imagery, as seen in The Hobbit films. Similarly, the show Fallout keeps CGI to a minimum, which makes its mutated creatures feel even more believable. Even The Walking Dead, despite its large scale and dedicated fanbase, still chooses practical effects over excessive CGI whenever possible.
As a fan, I’m starting to feel like the scares in the new IT series are really showing their age. It feels like they’re relying on CGI in a way that was exciting when the first movie came out, but now it just doesn’t hit the same. We’ve seen such a comeback with practical effects – things like incredible makeup work – and honestly, audiences like me really appreciate seeing that artistry. Genre shows need to find a good balance between CGI and practical effects to really succeed. I’m hoping Welcome to Derry can step up and give us something more realistic, but right now, it feels like it’s falling into a trap that a lot of shows have been stuck in for too long – and it needs to change!
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2025-12-04 00:08