Stephen King's IT: What The Ending Really Means

From the first trailer for It, it looked like horror fans might be in for a treat, but even with the teaser picking up millions upon millions of views in its first 24 hours and going on to be one of the most viewed ever, there was still some reservation. As horror fans, we've all been hurt before by remakes and the promise of "genuinely scary" chillers, so you could have been forgiven for taking some of the hype with a grain of salt.

But now the truth is out. It is a truly great modern horror - better than the original in almost every way (though Tim Curry remains the king of killer clowns, even with Bill Skarsgard's stunning performance). It is creepy, scary in places and oddly funny, with a tone that blends Stranger Things with The Goonies and captures that essential Stephen King spirit. It will stick with you long after the cinema, and it deserves to make the money it's already hoovering up.

The film is not as mind-bending as the original novel (nor the mini-series that followed it), but some of its intricacies do require further reflection, and the way it sets up a second Chapter is also intriguing to break down. In the absence of concrete info on that sequel, it's fun to start picking at the end of It for answers and shockwaves.

First, to what actually happens...