Stephen King’s clown slasher film, It, is being remade and revamped in a two-part series. Talented newcomer Cary Fukunaga will be co-writing (along with Chase Palmer) and directing. This horror classic turned the iconic childhood figure of a friendly clown into a child-eating monster.
Stephen King published his bestselling horror novel It in 1986 under Viking Press. After great reviews, It was developed into a TV miniseries aired on ABC. Tommy Lee Wallace directed and co-wrote, along with Stephen King and Lawrence Cohen. The series was a hit and even won an Emmy for its musical score composed by Richard Bellis. The cast included a number of very talented twelve-year-old child stars, and Tim Curry as the killer clown himself.
To some, clowns are extremely scary even when they are not evil, but to most they are funny thespians painted up. Therefore, the idea of a monster clown is very silly, and most movies that portray the concept do an awful job. That is, until Tim Curry’s legendary performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Curry brings a lot of energy to every bizarre character he plays, but Pennywise showed a dark demented side to his acting never before seen. This role could have easily made scary look more like ridiculous, but was flawlessly executed by the seasoned actor. Although fans rave how Curry should stage a comeback with the new films, that most likely will not be the case. This leaves fans eager to see who will be the new face of this classic killer.
Cary Fukunaga definitely has his work cut out for him if he is going to please the crowd. Although Fukunaga has only directed a handful of films, his track record is untarnished. His first big film, Sin Nobre, was a popular 2009 movie released in Mexico. However, he did not come into the limelight until Jane Eyre in 2011. The dark romance film was nominated for an Oscar for its costume design. Since then, he has been working with HBO on their popular True Detective series.
Stephen King’s new “It” remake is already shaping up to be increasingly more violent and bloody than the original. The film follows a group of people who were attacked by Pennywise as children one summer but survived. 30 years later, they return to their hometown to reunite the Losers Club. Pennywise has returned and started taking children again, leaving behind nothing but blood splatters and body parts. Although no one in the group remembers what happened during their encounters with Pennywise, it is up to them to somehow stop him.
From the sounds of the plot, the new It movie could easily be a sequel as opposed to a remake, considering the first movie followed the kids and not the adults. One of the most creepy things about It was that he hurt children, which is one of the few subjects that can still elicit a reaction out of horror movie goers. Horror movies are making a fierce comeback, and Stephen King’s It remake is rumored to be released sometime in 2015.
Sources:
IMDB
Hollywood Reporter
Shortlist
