For many humans, clowns are scary. Even the regular, birthday party variety have a creepy aura to them. So, when you make a film about a clown that will actually try to murder you, then audiences will likely freak the hell out. And that’s what happened with Stephen King’s “It,” in all the forms (book, TV movie, and feature film).
And in a new interview with EW, the man behind the makeup in the new remake of the novel, Bill Skarsgård wants fans to know that Pennywise the Dancing Clown will return in the upcoming sequel, “It: Chapter Two,” but he won’t be as jovial and fun as before.
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“The arc of the first movie is that he, for the first time, experiences fear himself,” Skarsgård said. “His last line — ‘Fear…’ — is him experiencing it for the first time, and he’s sort of shocked and perplexed and surprised. Like, what is this?”
He added, “He’s inflicted fear on his prey, and he’s very focused on fear, but he’s never experienced it himself. Now he’s experienced something that he has been inflicting on others and … there’s a shift leading into the second movie.”
It’s not every day that you find a horror franchise that’s willing to show a character arc for its villain. Over a dozen films, Michael Myers really didn’t grow. Jason Voorhees never experienced anything that would change him over time. The closest thing you may be able to find is Freddy Krueger, who went from straight-up slasher to almost comic relief over the course of the ‘Nightmare’ films.
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But Skarsgård says that the effects of the first film will result in a different Pennywise. Perhaps even a scarier version of the monster.
“It fuels hatred and anger towards the kids, who will be adults in this one, so I think there might be an even more vicious Pennywise,” Skarsgård explained. “He’s really going after it.”
As a horror fan myself, it’s refreshing to hear that the villain is getting a hate-filled upgrade this go around. If there was anything that you could criticize the previous “It” film for was perhaps actually the horror aspect. Sure, Pennywise was scary to look at, but the film had an overall tone that seemed to be similar to “Goonies” or another adventure film of that ilk.
So, bring on the more vicious Pennywise!
“It: Chapter Two” hits theaters on September 6.