Spoiler Alert / Mature Content: This review may include plot details and adult themes. Reader discretion is advised. This site discusses horror films, which may not be suitable for all ages.

I was traveling the past several weeks, and because of that, I was unable to start It: Welcome to Derry with everyone else. “What could be more important than watching a very new and very cool horror show on time?” some might ask, and the answer is: I got married. But now that things are settling in and we are taking the time to watch things again, we both sat down last night fully prepared (mentally and physically) to consume the first episode. At least we thought we were prepared. We were both happy and appalled by what we saw (this is a good thing). Let me explain.

From the opening moments of the episode, it was clear that series creator and director Andy Muschietti (IT, The Flash) wanted to keep things in line with what he had previously done with both films. The look and feel were consistent, and the unease of the surroundings and terror-filled moments started right away. The episode was written by Jason Fuchs (Pan, Argylle), and he held nothing back. The dialogue was never cheesy or forced, and the way the tension kept climbing with each new moment in a scene made it hard to look away, even when the unthinkable was happening.

We meet our first missing kid right away in Matty Clements (Miles Ekhardt), a down-on-his-luck, poor child living in Derry and just trying to survive. After being discovered ticketless in a movie theater, Matty escapes only to be picked up along the road and thrust into the middle of a brand-new nightmare. A family, clearly possessed by the spirit of all things evil, won’t let him out of the car, chanting “let me out” and mocking the poor boy. All of this is happening while the mother is giving birth to some kind of monster demon baby without cutting the camera away. I’m telling you, it goes from zero to ninety so fast.

The show is filmed in such a way that, honestly, even the grotesque moments look beautiful. It’s like something you would see on the back of a postcard from hell. Setting the show in 1962 was not only a great story decision, but it allowed the costume and set departments to really play with the era and give us something fun to discover with every new shot. So far, the show has been as much about the children as it has been about the town. Derry not only exists, but it seems to breathe—and it’s hungry.

Speaking of the children, the cast of kids they put together for this (at least in the first episode) has been incredible. We talked about Miles Ekhardt as Matty: he only has a few short scenes so far (I fully expect to see him more), but he was fantastic. Making us feel for his situation and hope for the best outcome, though we all know how this will go. He will not be found. He’s definitely already gone, another bone for Pennywise to pick his teeth with.

We are also introduced to a slew of other kids: Phil and Teddy (Jack Molloy Legault and Mikkal Karim Fidler) are a couple of best friends trying to deal with the disappearance of Matty, both handling it in their own way. Then there’s Lily (Clara Stack), who we learn also had a connection to Matty. She is doing an incredible job, and her emotion really comes through. And rounding out the rest of the gang for episode one, we have Robbie (Amanda Christine) and Susie (Matilda Legault), the last child to see Matty alive and Phil’s little sister. Every one of them shines in their own way. No weaknesses here.

In addition to the cast of incredible children, no story would be complete without a few grownups. If not to make it make sense, then at least to give us a few veins of drama not usually suitable for kids. There is a military side story (maybe a B story, maybe it’s just part of the main story—it’s too early to tell) where so far the biggest concentration of adult actors live. Early on we meet Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), a Korean War Air Force vet who arrives in Derry to help test B-52s. 1962 is not the right year to make a Rock Lobster reference; just know I’m thinking it. There’s also General Shaw (the great James Remar) and Pauly (Rudy Mancuso), who all seem like they will have important roles to play going forward, even if we have no idea what those roles are just yet.

Episode one did everything an episode of television is supposed to do. It introduced us to many of the important players (Pennywise didn’t show up, but that’s okay) and set forward the story. It let us know who is going to be working together and who is going to be having a lot of struggles (for example: racism is still a problem in Derry, Maine, on their military base) that they will have to overcome. The episode showed us that nothing and no one is safe (especially in that last five minutes), and it made me hungry for more.

From the directing to the writing, the cinematography to the score, the acting to the scares, this first episode had it all. There were no weaknesses. This show could end up being something really special in the history of horror on television, but an hour in is still too early to tell. They have a lot of time to completely ruin it, to lose the plot, to feed us either leftovers or something reheated, but so far: that doesn’t seem to be the case. It seems like they cooked something fresh.

All I know is, when it comes to adapting things from Stephen King, it either goes really well or really terribly—but rarely is there a middle ground. When people try to expand upon what he did and make their own thing, I’m hard-pressed to think of an example that succeeded. That said, this holds potential, and the man himself (Stephen King) has said that he loves it. He has never held back the truth when it comes to adaptations of his work, so I have to trust him. My verdict is: so far, so good, and I can’t wait to check out episode two. You should do the same.