Based on Stephen King's 1986 novel, the new film It follows a group of middle school "losers" as they face bullies, crushes, and a shape-shifting demon that reflects their worst fears. As a self-professed horror-movie junkie, I was thrilled to finally get to see this new movie. But, It was nothing more than a disappointment. Can we even call this a horror movie?

First, there's the villain. Technology can create some awesome movie effects, but in the case of Pennywise, we have an over CGI-ed clown who evokes more thoughts of a childhood toy than feelings of fear. This is true of even the most climactic moment of the film.

Critics have compared the film to other hits from the horror genre, including The Conjuring and Annabelle. But, in reality, It has more in common with The Goonies than any horror film.

The storyline focuses more on real-life bullies than it does on any demonic forces. The bullies are old school Stephen King, but they aren't as fear-inducing as a rogue clown snatching up children.

The group of boys that the film follows brings a sexually abused girl into their fold and we watch as each one of them falls for her. Reviews have pointed out how some of the best moments of It include those when we see these young boys nervously interacting with their new friend.

That's great, but I expect the best parts of a horror film to scare me out of my seat, not warm my heart. Sorry, but the moment when the beloved heroes face off with the demon should grasp the attention of the audience — not the scene where some kids go swimming in their underwear and gaze up at the clouds.

This brings me to my next point: the jokes. Everybody knows that some of the best novelists are able to bring the worlds of fear and comedy together. While I'm sure that Stephen King uses humor flawlessly in his novel, the filmmakers were not blessed with the same talent.

They clearly focused more on creating humorous and endearing content, but hardly put any effort into scary conflict. Watching some kids sling rocks and insults at each other is not scary. Watching a group of friends make the same "your mom" jokes over and over again is not scary.

After an hour, I was bored. Like, really bored. I found myself rolling my eyes as I watched the story unfold because I already knew that this film wouldn't keep me up all night, It just isn't good enough to be considered horror.

The film runs for a little over two hours. That's longer than the standard horror film, but clearly, it wasn't enough. The 7th Harry Potter novel was just under 800 pages and two movies couldn't do it justice. King's novel is almost double that size and the original film was actually a mini-series.

Yet, here we are in 2017 thinking that a little over two hours is good enough to depict half of King's storyline. Spoiler alert: it's not.

The most intense scene is when the only girl in the group, Beverly, faces off with her abusive father. Her fear triggers the appearance of Pennywise, who promptly takes her to the well where he stores all of the kidnapped children.

The scene at the well includes a demented clown dancing in a fiery furnace with unconscious children floating above him and a pile of clothes and toys that belonged to the children that have already been eaten. I imagine that on paper this scene is haunting. But, in the film it was laughable. Pathetic even.

Earlier in the film, there's a scene where blood comes up the bathroom drain and squirts around the room, covering everything. Long intertwined strands of matted hairs grab onto Beverly, wrapping around her in an attempt to pull her down with the sewage. Again, kinda cliche with a very Final Destination vibe.

Disclaimer: Final Destination is my favorite movie of all time, but it doesn't try to compete with notorious horror films.

Yes, the film sends an endearing message about coming together to defeat the evils that exist within the normal realm. Yes, It reveals the truth about the horrible people that exist in real life. But, that doesn't make it a horror film.

Ultimately, King combined multiple genres together in his novel in a way that filmmakers were unable to replicate. This isn't surprising. King's descriptions of the creepy are unmatched as is his ability to blend horror, romance, and comedy within a single story.

The entirety of the film relies on jump scares and grotesque images to frighten the reader. The scariest thing about the movie is how cliche it is.

If you're searching for something that will keep you up all night, go watch the new Annabelle movie instead.