<\/p>\n
Stephen King is famous for many things, but brevity is not one of them. He\u2019s produced more than his fair share of short stories and novellas, but King\u2019s biggest successes<\/a> \u2014 The Stand, It, 11\/22\/63 <\/i>\u2014 double as doorstops. It <\/i>in particular, often considered King\u2019s masterpiece, is meticulous to the point of exhaustion. It\u2019s unlikely that anyone finished its 444,000 words and thought, \u201cBut how did the evil, shapeshifting clown impact the United States Air Force?\u201d<\/p>\n And yet that\u2019s the premise of prequel series It: Welcome to Derry<\/a>, <\/i>which is answering question after question about Pennywise that no one has ever had<\/a>. Derry <\/i>has generally been well-received for the grisly inventiveness of its scares, but even positive reviews, like that of SlashFilm\u2019s<\/i> Chris Evangelista, noted that it<\/a> \u201cseems a little too hellbent on explaining every single mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n At this rate we\u2019ll soon be watching Cujo: The Puppy Years, <\/i>but King, and horror in general, is at its weakest when lore overtakes tension. That\u2019s why Misery <\/i>remains one of King\u2019s most effective novels, and why Rob Reiner\u2019s film adaptation, which came out 35 years ago today, is still thrilling in its brutal simplicity. <\/p>\n