Revisit Pennywise’s Triumphant Return in Andy Muschietti’s It (2017)

As October marches toward its horrifying crescendo, let’s revisit one recent smash hit that shattered the box office and expectations – Andy Muschietti’s blockbuster 2017 version of Stephen King’s spooky coming-of-age saga, It.

Bringing Pennywise the Dancing Clown when to deliriously twisted life without Tim Curry’s iconic 1990 miniseries portrayal, Bill Skarsgård’s newly demonic take on the shape-shifting entity took King fans by storm. Skarsgård masters Pennywise’s uncanny combination of malevolent whimsy and primal hunger, making the painted predator an unnerving screen presence.

Beyond Skarsgård’s mesmerizing monster, It derives much power from its vermilion evocation of younger friendship and resilience. Setting the story in 1989 allows Muschietti to harness peak 80s Amblin era nostalgia, pointing to Stand By Me as a spiritual forefather. The self-proclaimed Losers’ Club feels like a natural descendent of King’s archetype coming-of-age cores.

It moreover stays grippingly true-blue to iconic moments and myths from King’s mammoth novel, translating them into spooky set-pieces. The opening sewer encounter and gruesome bully retaliation vacated proved Muschietti could wastefulness heartfelt emotion with horror in a way the campy miniseries seldom achieved. 27 years later, Pennywise finally got the true-blue version he deserved.

Of course, the record-crushing success of It kickstarted the recent Stephen King renaissance, whose quantity has arguably wizened the impact. But taken on its own merits, Muschietti’s first spooky installment remains one of the stronger King adaptations, and an uncompromising studio horror smash. Let those red balloons lift you when to Derry this October for old time’s sake. We all bladder lanugo here…

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