Believe it or not, there are things in this world that creep me out. Lakes, deep water I can’t see the bottom of, and clowns. Stephen King’s 1990 mini-series IT is wholly responsible for that fear. The trailer for the reboot dropped today and you guys, my fear has been renewed. As a child I watched the mini-series on TV. I can still remember curling up on the couch in my parent’s basement watching through my fingers as Tim Curry’s Pennywise the Clown filled my entire body with fear. I can also remember the next night refusing to take a bath because I was sure he was going to come up from the drain and kill me. This reboot has some large shoes to fill (a little clown joke) and if this first trailer is any indication, it is well on its way to succeeding.
Updating horror movies is hard. Especially ones that have such a large cult following as this film does. Tim Curry did such an incredible job as the terrifying antagonist, I must say I was slightly skeptical at the casting of Bill Skarsgard. I mean, he’s pretty handsome. After watching this trailer today, I am sorry I ever doubted him. He is unrecognizable as the demented circus performer and from what I can see, he is trying to make this character all his own. I believe the story will be slightly different, as the mini-series is told through mostly flashbacks. This seems to be an in-the-moment telling of the killer clown’s reign of terror. With a cast of kids that look like they’re straight out of Stranger Things (one of them actually is. I see you Finn Wolfhard!), this trailer was giving me old 80’s-90’s horror movie vibe with a twist.
It’s directed by Andres Muschietti, who also directed one of my favorite horror movies to come out in recent years, Mama. He has used beautiful, yet haunting imagery in his films and I am sure this is going to be no different. Only showing us a portion of the iconic scene where Georgie loses his boat down the storm drain was a perfect homage to the original without giving everything away. You don’t hear Pennywise speak this entire trailer which honestly, made me that much more intrigued.
I have such high hopes for this film. This first trailer was the perfect way to introduce an old classic to a new generation of horror movie lovers and grab the attention of fans of the original. While I am still quite wary of reboots, I have a feeling this will be one that I love. Muschietti has said that this film will have way more horror and gore than the original, which is how it was in the book. This film will also feature more of the dark sexual undertones like that in the book. I am a huge advocate of horror movie makers going all in and not holding back when it comes to taboo subjects and I admire this film for pushing the envelope. IT is set to release on September 8th 2017 and you know I will be there, front and center. Balloons and all!
[…] Pennywise did and still does haunt the dreams of thousands of us, and with a new incarnation of IT around the corner, he has a whole new generation to terrorize. While there will never be another […]