What actually happens
A paper boat and a storm drain
The scene people dread is the first one, and it is in October 1988. Bill Denbrough folds a paper sailboat for Georgie, his seven-year-old brother, who takes it out into the rainy street. The boat falls into a storm drain, and when Georgie leans down to get it, a clown named Pennywise the Dancing Clown introduces himself. Pennywise takes Georgie's arm off with a bite and pulls him down into the sewer. That is all of it, and it happens right at the start of the movie. A summer later, Bill and his friends Richie, Eddie and Stanley are on the wrong side of Henry Bowers and his gang. Bill is convinced Georgie's body washed up in a marshy area called the Barrens, and he is not sure Georgie is dead. Ben Hanscom, a new kid, learns that Derry has been losing children for centuries.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
Seven kids and a very persistent clown
Ben meets Bill's group in the Barrens while running from Bowers, and they find a sneaker belonging to a missing girl named Betty Ripsom. Patrick Hockstetter goes into the sewers, where drowned children kill him. Bill and Ben both fall for Beverly Marsh, and the group rescues Mike Hanlon from Bowers. Each of them has run into a version of Pennywise that matches their worst fear: a headless boy, a sink full of blood, a rotting leper, a painting that comes alive, a burning building and Georgie. No adult sees any of it. The group names itself the Losers Club, works out that It wakes every 27 years to feed on Derry's children, and tracks it to a well beneath an abandoned house on Neibolt Street.
The house on Neibolt Street
Pennywise attacks the group in Bill's garage, and they go to the Neibolt house anyway. Their individual fears separate them. Pennywise charges at the group, Beverly stabs him in the head with a metal spike, and he retreats after hurting Ben. The kids scatter, traumatized. Weeks later, Beverly deals with her sexually abusive father and Pennywise takes her. The Losers go back to the house to rescue her. Bowers, who killed his own father after Pennywise drove him insane, attacks the group, and Mike pushes him down the well. The Losers climb down into the sewers and reach Pennywise's lair, a pile of decayed circus props and children's belongings under floating bodies. Beverly is catatonic after seeing the Deadlights inside Pennywise's mouth, and Ben wakes her with a kiss.
The lair and the oath
Bill meets Georgie in the lair and realizes it is Pennywise in costume. Then Pennywise holds Bill captive and offers to leave the others alone and hibernate if they abandon him. The Losers refuse, fight Pennywise, and face their individual fears. They beat him, and Beverly stabs him in the face with a broken pipe. Pennywise retreats and drops down a well. Bill finds Georgie's raincoat covered in blood, and the others comfort him while he cries. As summer ends, Beverly tells them about a vision she had while catatonic, where they fight Pennywise a second time once they are grown. Together they swear a blood oath to return if he comes back. After the others say goodbye, Beverly tells Bill she is moving to live with her aunt, he tells her how he feels, and they kiss.
The ending, explained
The Losers fight Pennywise in his lair while facing their fears, and they beat him. Beverly stabs him in the face with a broken pipe, and he retreats down a well. Bill finds Georgie's raincoat, stained with blood, and the group comforts him while he cries. As summer ends, Beverly describes a vision of the group fighting Pennywise again as adults, and the Losers swear a blood oath to return if he ever comes back. Beverly is moving to live with her aunt, and she and Bill kiss before she leaves. Every member of the Losers Club survives, and Pennywise has only retreated.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is It scary?
Yes, It is a 6 out of 10. It has frequent jump scares, a clown that becomes whatever each kid fears most, and a medium dread that fades within a night or two.
How does It end?
The Losers Club beat Pennywise in the sewers, Beverly stabs him with a broken pipe, and he falls down a well. Everyone in the group survives. They swear to return if he ever comes back.
Does the dog die in It?
No dog dies in It. Several sheep are shown dead on screen, and the dog status is fine.
Is there a post-credits scene in It?
No. It has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
What is Pennywise in It?
Pennywise is a creature the kids call It. It wakes up on a 27 year cycle to eat Derry's children, moves through the sewer lines, and takes the shape of whatever each victim fears most.
