by Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema's "It", based on a Stephen King novel, murdered competition to become the top-grossing horror film of all time, raking 314.9 million U.S. dollars in North America and more than 630 million U.S. dollars worldwide.
It is a tale of seven misfit youngsters who unravel the mystery of the disappearances of their classmates in a pleasant, nondescript town in middle America.
But this is not your normal scare-and-scream horror flick. This R-rated bruiser takes viewers down a very dark road, featuring everything from brutal bullying, abusive parents and implied incest to graphic violence, blatant racism, and a child-killing clown who leisurely culls kids to feed his grotesque appetites.
So how is this gruesome nightmare reaching the mainstream audience?
Some say that with the baby-boomer horror fans aging, nostalgia played a big part in bringing in an older, wider audience.
" 'It' feels like a darker 'Stand By Me' - a nostalgic coming-of-age story about seven likable outcasts riding around on their bikes and facing their fears together," said Entertainment Weekly.
'Stand By Me", a 1986 film also based on a Stephen King story, is a similar tale of four young boys searching for the body of a missing peer and the ensuing complications.
Dr. Glenn Sparks, professor of communication at Purdue University studying the psychology behind the appeal of horror films, believes "It" is a modern adaptation of an ancient rite of passage.
"There's a motivation males have in our culture to master threatening situations that goes back to the initiation rites of our tribal ancestors," he explained.
Others believe that venting fears cinematically gives viewers a sense of control over larger, uncontrollable fears in their lives.
"People often fear what they cannot control," said Dr. Christopher Bader, professor of sociology at Chapman University. "And we find continued evidence of that in our (list of) top fears," he told Xinhua.
Chapman's annual poll found that Americans' top fears are political corruption, terrorism and financial collapse - all endemic in today's uncertain sociopolitical climate.
Peter Stearns, author of "American Fear: The Causes and Consequences of High Anxiety", notes that the collective American zeitgeist over the last couple of decades has shown high levels of fear prevailing, punctuated by jarring spikes of terror, such as during the devastating tragedies of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Oklahoma City bombing, Sandy Hook -- the 2012 shooting by a lone attacker in an elementary school, killing 26 people and ending with the gunman turning the gun on himself, the recent Las Vegas shooting spree and others.
So it should come as no surprise that audiences might find temporary relief from their unrelenting fears and anxieties by letting off steam watching celluloid terrors that can't really hurt them, though the damage such viewing might do to our psyches is the subject of vigorous debate.
Another prevailing opinion gathering momentum is that the unexpected success of "It" is due to its poignant and spot-on political symbolism.
The movie resonates with viewers who fear that the inspiring example of the United States' once all-inclusive "American Dream" is rapidly degrading into a divisive "American Nightmare."
Entertainment Weekly's guest columnist, Samantha Becker, said Stephen King "understood that bullies are timeless and they come in all shapes and sizes. And that a lack of empathy can metastasize, spreading through a population."
"One powerful person behaving cruelly can activate the worst impulses of savagery in the rest of us," Becker wrote.
Director of "It" , Andy Muschietti, told the media: "Fear is used as a tool these days to divide and control and conquer. And that's something Pennywise (the supernatural clown-killer in the film) does, so that's something resonating in our society right now."
For many, this film is a timely reminder that only when individuals band together to stand up to evil can it be defeated. < Whatever the reason for the unprecedented popularity of the movie, with Halloween just around the corner, it is likely to be a screaming success for a long time to come, observers say.
