It (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story takes place in Derry, a fictional town in Maine with a long history of unexplained tragedies and missing children. Derry is portrayed as an outwardly ordinary American small town hiding deeply disturbing secrets, which makes it an ideal hunting ground for the entity preying on its residents. The town's cyclical violence and adult indifference create the dark backdrop against which the children's fight unfolds.

• derry
• maine
• setting
• fictional town
• small town horror

The Barrens is a marshy wasteland on the edge of Derry where the Losers Club frequently gathers to escape adult supervision and talk in private. It functions as a sanctuary for the group, a place where they can share fears and form their bond away from bullies and troubled homes. Its desolate, overgrown quality gives it an eerie atmosphere that mirrors the liminal space between childhood safety and supernatural danger.

• the barrens
• marshy wasteland
• losers club hangout
• derry

Neibolt Street is home to the abandoned house at number 29 that serves as Pennywise's primary lair in Derry. The decaying, boarded-up house represents a physical gateway between the children's ordinary world and the entity's domain of fear. Its looming presence throughout the film establishes it as the geographic heart of the supernatural threat, and approaching it becomes a defining test of the Losers' courage.

• neibolt street
• abandoned house
• pennywise lair
• 29 neibolt

The events of the 2017 film unfold from October 1988 through the summer of 1989, placing the narrative firmly in late 1980s America. This specific window matters because Pennywise awakens on a 27-year cycle, and the late 80s represent one of those recurring periods of terror for the town of Derry. The era's cultural atmosphere shapes both the look of the film and the freedom its young characters have to roam unsupervised.

• 1988
• 1989
• late 1980s
• time period
• 27 year cycle

The late 1980s setting reinforces the film's nostalgic yet menacing tone, evoking a childhood era still defined by innocence but shadowed by darker undercurrents. Without cell phones, constant surveillance, or helicopter parenting, kids in this period had wide freedom to explore, which makes their vulnerability to a hidden predator feel more plausible. The cultural references and aesthetics also anchor the supernatural horror in a recognizable, lived-in world rather than a vague or timeless one.

• 1980s nostalgia
• childhood freedom
• era context
• period setting

The two central themes of the 2017 film are childhood fears and the power of friendship. Pennywise embodies each character's deepest personal anxieties, from grief and guilt to abuse and isolation, turning the horror into a confrontation with the inner shadows of growing up. The film argues that facing those fears together, through trust and loyalty, is what ultimately gives the children the strength to fight back against an entity designed to isolate and consume them.

• themes
• childhood fears
• friendship
• growing up
• trauma

Childhood fear is the very engine of the horror in this film, since Pennywise feeds on terror and uses it to locate and manipulate his victims. Each Loser is hunted through a fear tailored to their personal wounds, turning the supernatural threat into a metaphor for the anxieties kids carry but cannot easily express. The story frames fear as something that must be confronted rather than avoided, and suggests that courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to act alongside it.

• fear
• childhood anxiety
• courage
• pennywise

Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the primary antagonist of the film, portrayed as an ancient shape-shifting entity that awakens in Derry every 27 years to hunt and feed on the town's children. Although he presents himself as a clown, Pennywise is not human at all; he is an otherworldly being who takes the form of whatever his victims fear most. By weaponizing imagination itself, he turns children's natural vulnerability into his primary hunting tool.

• pennywise
• dancing clown
• antagonist
• shape-shifter
• entity

Bill Denbrough is the determined, compassionate leader of the Losers Club, a role shaped by the disappearance of his younger brother Georgie at the hands of Pennywise. Haunted by guilt and a lingering stutter, Bill channels his grief into a relentless pursuit of the truth about Derry's missing children. His arc is driven by the need to make peace with Georgie's loss while protecting the friends who have become his new family.

• bill denbrough
• georgie
• stuttering leader
• losers club leader

Beverly Marsh is a strong and resilient member of the Losers Club who faces danger from both Pennywise and her abusive father at home. She challenges the gender norms of her 1980s setting, proving herself one of the bravest and most resourceful members of the group in confrontations with the entity. Her evolving connection with Bill represents not just a teenage romance but a shared journey toward healing from trauma.

• beverly marsh
• abuse survivor
• female lead
• resilience

The Losers Club is a group of seven young misfits in Derry who bond over being bullied, ostracized, or dismissed by the adults around them. Each member carries a personal wound, from grief and illness to abuse and neglect, and their shared outsider status forges them into a chosen family. The group is presented as the only force capable of standing against Pennywise, embodying the film's argument that isolation makes people vulnerable while genuine friendship provides real strength.

• losers club
• misfits
• outsiders
• chosen family
• group of seven